Tractor heritage, news and features

Unsung hero?

I once heard an enthusiast expressing the opinion that he’d rather use a fully restored tractor than one still in its factory finish; the reason given being that it’s easy to re-create the restored finish should the unthinkable happen. It’s impossible, however, to get the factory finish back. The more I think of it the more I agree.
It is always wonderful to see something in its factory paint; there is truly nothing like originality. I’m not decrying restorations, but as mentioned, you can never truly replicate the first finish; and that’s why I was drawn to this little Leyland spotted at the Carrington rally earlier this year.

Remarkable condition

OK, it’s not quite a perfect museum exhibit, but when you consider that it’s survived for over 30 years and is still in this condition, it’s quite remarkable.

Actually, I’ll go further than that; it’s amazing that anything can survive 30 years of use and look so good, let alone 30 years of agricultural use. Yes, the paint is a little careworn in places and there are speckles of rust bursting through the paint, but that’s expected; antique experts call it patina, a term that I never thought that I’d apply to a tractor, but times change.

British Leyland is a name synonymous with strikes and industrial action throughout the 1970s and creators of the Austin Allegro and the woeful Austin Princess. Bar room discussion would probably pretty soon reach the conclusion that the Leyland car range throughout the 1970s was pretty darned poor. But had the malaise reached the agricultural division?

The Leyland tractor seen here can trace its roots back to 1946 when the first Nuffield prototype tractor appeared in their poppy red colour scheme, although production didn’t start until steel shortages eased in 1948.

Nuffield tractors became part of the BMC organisation when their parent company merged with the Austin concern in 1952. Production facilities originally based in the Midlands moved to Bathgate in Scotland in 1962 as part of a government incentive to regenerate that area following wholesale closure of the local coal mines. Perhaps it was portent of things to come when it was found that local industry didn’t rise to the challenge of supplying the outsourced parts to the re-located factory. Instead, the traditional Midlands-based suppliers continued to manufacture and ship much as they had always done.

In May 1968, the company merged again, this time with the Leyland Motor Corporation to form British Leyland. At this point, the Nuffield range lost its familiar red livery, emerging partially cosmetically redesigned in the Leyland colours of two-tone blue and white.

Keeping the sales up

This should have been the ultra tractor firm capable of taking on anything that the might of Ford and Massey Ferguson could throw at them. And initially things were encouraging. Especially when you consider that among the contracts tucked away in the corporate breast pocket were bulk orders for skid units used by the JCB concern as the basis for their back hoe machines. These helped keep Leyland tractor sales up; indeed workers of the time talk of the entire line being taken up with units destined for the JCB plant.

Although an excellent contract to have, this reliance on JCB for bulk orders placed Leyland in a dangerous position. After all, should JCB decide to change their supplier, who else could use up all that production capacity?

Throughout the history of Leyland, there is a recurring theme of what is euphemistically called labour relations trouble, the first signs of which reared their head almost as soon as the Scottish factory was opened in 68 and continued until its closure in 82.

It’s easy to pin the blame on the workers for all of the troubles suffered by Leyland in the 1970s, but some of the culpability must rest with a complacent management, who among other things perhaps didn’t look towards the inevitability of JCB developing its own skit unit.

Sure enough, in the late 1970s, the cessation of the contract placed Leyland tractors in a perilous financial position from which it never fully recovered. The government-supported company staggered on for a few more years but a change in political regime in 1979 heralded the eventual disposal of Leyland Tractors to the Marshalls concern in 1982 and another colour change to the sandy hue of the Gainsborough manufacturers, who history records didn’t manage to turn the company around either.

Leyland history

Although the history of Leyland tractors is difficult to unravel, at least the Leyland numbering system is easy to understand. This is a 253 which translates to an engine capacity of 2.5 litres and three cylinders. These were introduced at the Smithfield show in 1971 and used the Perkins D3-152 engine producing a reliable 47hp at 2250rpm with a strong 128ft-lb of torque at 1300rpm. Although this tractor was built to be a direct competitor to the Massey Ferguson 135, it was never as popular, although it did prove to be a good reliable tractor for the smaller farmer.

The trusty Perkins drives through an 11-inch dual plate dry clutch to a sliding mesh gearbox with a choice of 10 forward ratios and two reverse speeds. The rear axle houses nothing more complicated than a standard-type crown wheel and pinion with a pedal-operated locking differential; a set of spur gears providing the final gear reduction. Stopping power is provided by dry discs on the ‘high speed’ drive shafts, interlocking pedals providing a choice of independent or conjoined use.

The hydraulics, although adequate, were nothing unusual for the day, operating at 2600psi via a gear-type pump buried in the transmission. The set-up had a handy lift capacity of 1.7 tons and the expected take-off for tipping trailers. An independent power take-off was provided capable of transmitting a healthy 40hp at just over 650 revs per minute, this proving adequate to drive most machinery of appropriate size to the 253.

At the front end, adjustable track is available on the pivoted beam front axle by the simple expedient of narrowing the axle by sliding the simple outer beams into and out of the box section centre portion. The steering was by worm and peg as standard, although power assistance was offered as an option.

This version is seen without the cab, which means one of two things; either it has been removed for whatever reason or it was supplied to the UK market before 1976 when safety cabs became mandatory. Overseas tractors were exempt from this legislation and continued to be supplied cabless if the customer required.

So what have you got to pay if you want to add a 253 to your tractor collection – surprisingly little really. A cabbed version is being offered on an internet auction site as I write this; admittedly it’s not as nice as the one in our photographs, but still isn’t too shoddy and it’s priced at under £2250. I’m also pretty sure that a little negotiation would bring the price down to sub £2000. While the economic downturn is not too much fun for most people; if you still have a few quid in your pocket, it’s certainly a good time to grab a bargain – think of it as doing your bit to stop the recession.