Tractor heritage, news and features

Gemma's pride

Coming from a family that owns no fewer than 25 vintage tractors, it was always going to be just a matter of time before 17-year-old Gemma Pulsford would restore one of her own – but the icing on the cake was taking first prize with her beautiful little Fordson Dexta in the ladies’ section at the recent Somerset Vintage & Classic Tractor Show at Shepton Mallet.

Although a bit knocked about, the 1962 tractor was in a fairly complete and restorable condition when it was bought from a local lady farmer after being in her family since it was just a year old.

It seemed the ideal machine for Gemma, so her granddad, well-respected West Country vintage tractor enthusiast David Scurlock, took her under his wing and guided her through the whole process.

The dirt, grease, rust and spannerwork held no fears for Gemma, who just donned her overalls and got on with the job, dismantling the engine cover, radiator, mudguards, seat pan, cab fittings and other parts before using power washer, needle gun and emery paper to get everything down to bare metal ready for painting. She watched carefully as David rebuilt the three-cylinder Perkins diesel engine, and did every job he asked of her, including cleaning up the pistons.

Gemma took a hand in applying the three coats of red primer, followed by the grey undercoats and blue Spirex top coats, and the same with the orange-painted wheels, before carefully painting the bolt heads with a small brush, and everything was recorded on camera to make up an information board for when the Dexta was first shown at Shepton Mallet in 2009. There, the Dexta took third prize after the hawk-eyed judges noticed a loose steering bearing, but it didn’t take long to put that one right.

The little tractor stood gleaming in the sunshine when I arrived at Gemma’s grandparents’ home in the sleepy village of Inglesbatch, near Bath, on the spring-
like afternoon of Monday 8 March, but the yard full of vintage tractors waiting to be restored promised a much deeper article than I’d expected.

The closer I looked at the Dexta, the more attention to detail I found, with all the hydraulic equipment at the back exactly as it should be. Looking over the newly cushioned seat, I could see that everything was immaculate at the dash as well.

With the internals of the three-cylinder diesel properly overhauled, the engine had been painted exactly as it should be on both the generator and injector sides – blue all over rather than unnaturally rubbing down and polishing alloy or bright metal components such as the Simms injector block, pipework and so on, which would certainly have cost points at any judging. With the electrics nicely sorted and a new set of tyres all round, the Dexta looked and sounded as good as new – a fitting tribute to all the hard work that has gone into it.

Ferguson

After the photos had been duly taken, David couldn’t wait to show me the rest of the tractors in the family’s collection – particularly another Shepton Mallet Show winner, his Ferguson FE35 grey/gold complete with a rare and interesting Ferguson Cult harrow of the type built locally by Horsman’s of Bath and demonstrated at Malmesbury, when Harry Ferguson himself was reputed to have gone along to watch.

Containing a mixture of alloy and steel components, the harrow is one of only three that David knows about, and after he acquired it in a badly seized state, a lot of work was required to get it functioning properly again.

As we were looking around the collection, Gemma’s dad Gary turned up to join the fun, and within minutes he’d brought out a beautifully restored 1964 International B414 belonging to Gemma’s brother Ashley, 20, who has also done the business with a lovely little Allis-Chalmers B and won cups for both tractors. Where do they all come from? “I travel around the country selling animal feeds to the farms,” said Gary, “and I keep my eyes open for old tractors everywhere I go.”  His finds have included a 1957 International B275 that had just one owner from new.

Standing proud in one of the sheds, with the headlights mounted high just in front of the steering wheel, was a fine ‘changeover’ model IH Farmall Super BMD that had been new to former Temple Cloud farmer Robert Gardner. Close by was a 1961 International B450 that’s been in the family for years, and which David duly restored for ploughing after his father parked it up.

Two other tractors of note among the many were a thoroughly restored 1944 International TD6 crawler, one of the last shipped from the USA during the war, which David has owned for over 20 years, and an equally well restored 1964 Massey-Ferguson 35X.

It was a pleasure to visit such a close-knit family, especially one that loves old tractors with a passion. Even Gemma’s mum Maria can quote the fine differences between one model and another, and she was just as eager as her daughter to get out the dusters and polish the little Dexta until it gleamed.

It’s great to see young ‘uns like Gemma, with all their lives before them, getting stuck in and showing such an interest in the humble, hard-working machines that we all admire so much.

Hopefully her efforts will help ensure that these servants of the land will be around for many future generations to enjoy.