County Tyrone man in appeal for rare tractor parts
Of all the over half a million Ferguson 20 tractors built in the United Kingdom from 1946 to 1956, the rarest are from the first year of production because only 315 were built in 1946.
Stevan Patterson from Castlederg owns one of the few surviving and sought after 1946 tractors and has appealed for help sourcing parts for the vehicle.
Said Stevan: "I am so privileged to own one of the few surviving and sought after 1946 tractors that I purchased on the 5th November, 2024. The tractor is even more special as it was once owned by John Malet Chambers and featured on many of the early demonstrations and advertisements.
"The tractor was stored in a barn since 1985, the previous owner had bought it earlier in 2024 and regularly dismantles Ferguson tractors. He had removed a number of parts including the manifold, the tractor was that close to being scrapped not realising how special it is.
"The tractor has not been started in 40 years, but the engine is free to turn by starting handle. A very historic tractor that thankfully has so many early surviving features and I hope to restore it using original Ferguson TE20 parts. Some interesting casting dates and components on the tractor include.
"The gearbox is cast Iron, they quickly changed to Elektron, a magnesium alloy after the first 1,000 or so tractors. It has a casting date of 26th March, 1946. The engine has casting dates from October and December, 1945. The fuel tank is hand fabricated. It has a long type air cleaner and an adjustable stay for the top of the radiator.
"These were only fitted to very early tractors. The bearings in the front hubs have 1945 dates re-stamped 1946. Many of the other parts have dates from 1945 and some of the parts are the same as fitted to the Ford-Ferguson tractors of that time, the two tractors being that similar. For example front axle parts and radius rods.
"As you can see it needs parts and this is where you can help in the quest to get it running and restored for the 80th anniversary of the Ferguson TE20 in 2026.
Stevan needs the following original parts for the Continental Z120 Engine:
Manifold.
Carburettor.
Air filter to carburettor pipe.
Governor rod and spring.
Ignition distributor.
Oil filter gauze housing in the sump.
Also for the tractor:
Rear rims with valve tube necks at the inside and riveted rims.
Dash charging light.
Hydraulic linkage levelling box and in particular the levelling adjustment handle and gear which are missing.
Seat.
Mudguards.
Early Ferguson brass badge.
If you can help please email Stevan on [email protected]
Stevan went on to outline the history of the rare tractor.
On the 6th July, 1946 the first production Ferguson TE20 (Tractor England, 20 HP) would be assembled. Manufactured by the Standard Motor Company at Coventry, England for Harry Ferguson Limited, it would be very closely based on the revolutionary Ford-Ferguson designed by Harry Ferguson and his engineers from Northern Ireland.
The Ford-Ferguson was built in the USA by the Ford Motor Company to a design in which Harry Ferguson had full control. Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson planned to also build the tractor in the British Isles.
Sadly because of the war that did not happen and production would be in the USA only from 1939 until 1947 when the Ford Motor Company terminated the agreement with Harry Ferguson after Henry Ford’s death on the 7th April. Over 306,000 Ford-Ferguson’s would be built and over 3,000 would be imported into Northern Ireland alone to help in the war effort.
The Ferguson TE20 had two important improvements over the Ford-Ferguson being, a new overhead valve engine made by the Continental Motors Company in the USA and an extra forward gear.
In October, 1945 Harry Ferguson signed an agreement with Sir John Black of the Standard Motor Company to build the tractor for European and world markets.
Harry Ferguson’s chief engineer in designing the tractor was another Northern Ireland man, John Malet Chambers. Ferguson had brought the blue prints of the improved Ford-Ferguson with him on his return from the USA. The Ferguson Company owned the intellectual rights to the Ford-Ferguson tractor and so was able to base the new tractor on it.
Five pre-production TE20s were used for testing and assembled during April – June, 1946. These later in the year being remanufactured with the production improvements and made up a total of only 315 production Ferguson TE20 tractors built in 1946.
This was due to technical difficulties in getting materials, casting difficulties, sourcing components, training up workers and obtaining engineering equipment to actually manufacture and assemble them. Many of the early tractors were built then disassembled and rebuilt a number of times to learn those assembling them the correct methods. This was also for the benefit of visiting VIPS and the press to see tractors assembled in “Staged” assembly as they didn’t have the parts to build tractors.
The first tractors being built on tables before the production line was ready. Production got fully going in 1947 with over 20,000 built during the year. Early tractors used the American built Continental Z120 spark ignition engines running on petrol only, Standard’s own engine of a similar specification was phased in during 1947.