Table of contents for Novemeber 2025 in Tractor & Machinery

With autumn upon us, the leaves turning and the dark evenings back again, for many it’s a time for hunkering-down, replenishing the log store and giving the grass one final cut before the cold, wet weather arrives. But the approach of winter for tractor enthusiasts brings with it exciting opportunities. The bad weather and short daylight hours mean that there’s less work to be done outside, and more time to crack-on with workshop-based activities. It’s a time for tackling those niggling mechanical jobs you’ve been delaying, for carrying out that long-promised tractor oil change or resurrecting a restoration project after the summer recess. But there’s also great potential at this time of year for those wanting to buy tractors. With another busy show season behind us, there will naturally be…

Now in its second year, the Vintage Tractor Weekend at Amberley Museum, West Sussex, is developing into at established and appealing event. With 50 or so tractors dotted around the museum’s extensive and interesting site, visitors to this year’s event in early September enjoyed seeing an assortment of Ferguson, Massey Ferguson, David Brown, Ford and Allis-Chalmers machinery set in period surroundings. Organised by Simon Wright and other members of the Friends of Ferguson Heritage club, the two-day event looks set to become a regular on the calendar and is well worth a visit. The museum, itself, is a friendly and very engaging, open-air attraction in its own right, but factor-in a sprinkling of vintage and classic tractors, and you have a winning formula. More details are available at: amberleymuseum.co.uk…

Frank Lythgoe, from Warburton, in Cheshire, sadly died in hospital on September 4th, at the age of 81. He was a very hard-working and clever farmer/engineer, a prominent lime contractor and merchant, and was involved in motor racing during the 1960s. He left motorsport in 1968 to concentrate on his showman’s steam engines and other vintage machinery. His steam collection always featured unusual machines, and his engines were regularly seen at shows for many years. He also held charity rallies on his farm and became a keen collector of tractors, cars and commercials. He even had a Decap fairground organ. Frank didn’t suffer fools gladly but, once you earned his trust, you were his friend for life. In later times it gave him great pleasure to see his ex-Pickfords Scammell,…

October 17th October Shrewsbury Plant & Machinery Sale Shrewsbury Auction Centre, Bowmen Way, Battlefield, SY14 3DR Halls tel: 01743 462620 17th-18th October Cambridge Machinery Sale The Saleground, Sutton, Cambs. CB6 2QT Cheffins tel: 01353 777767 19th-20th October 2025 Fall Harvest Auction Week Online bidding. 20114 IL Route 16, Nokomis, IL, USA Aumann Auctions aumannvintagepower.com 21st October Auction of the Stromberger Tractor Collection Imperial, NE, USA. Online bidding Aumann Auctions aumannvintagepower.com 21st October Auction of the Schnakenberg Photo & Postcard Collection. Online bidding. Nokomis, IL, USA Aumann Auctions aumannvintagepower.com 21st-28th October Timed Online Auction of Modern Farm Machinery. Cambridgeshire Cheffins cheffins.co.uk 22nd October 2025 Fall Harvest Private & Feature Collections Auction Online bidding. Nokomis, IL, USA Aumann Auctions aumannvintagepower.com 24th October Wessex Machinery Sale Southern Counties Auctioneers tel: 01722 321215 25th…

Cultivation of the soil is vital and, although the plough was the primary implement for such a task, it was also necessary for the ploughed land to be broken down further to provide a fine enough tilth into which a crop could be successfully drilled. Various types of cultivators and harrows gradually evolved from horse-drawn to tractor-drawn implements, using a range of sizes and shapes of tines to work in varying conditions. As tractors became the main source of power on the farm, these implements could get larger and heavier and, as a result, it wasn’t long before a new development made its way across the Atlantic; one that, instead of relying on tines to do its work, used discs. DISCS NOT TINES The use of metal discs instead of…

While manoeuvring this Zetor project around in my workshop the other day, I noticed how stiff and awkward to use the steering was. Given that part of this sort of trouble normally involves problems inside the steering box, I decided to investigate it further. Removing the track rod end was the first job, and a ball joint separator was an essential requirement for that job. So, with that attached and a good few blows from a 2lb hammer, it was only a matter of moments before I had the steering rod separated from the steering arm. This enabled me to start removing the arm itself and, to do that, it was necessary to extract the split pin. This was easy to do but then, with the nut removed, I found…

13TH SEPTEMBER, 2025 The huge number of both on-site and online bidders ensured that this mid-September sale was a popular and busy event. Bidding was hot for the commercial vehicles as well as the tractors, and a whole raft of new price records were set. The first notable tractor sale involved a 1957 Ferguson 35 grey and gold diesel that, after a lengthy period of bidding, eventually sold for an amazing £20,000 (plus VAT) – yes, you did read that correctly! This was followed by a top bid of £13,000 that secured a similar, 1956 example. Attention then turned to Massey Ferguson, with a 35X selling for £9,500. This was followed by a 1965 example that made £15,000 and then a 1963 model that sold for the same sum. As…

Summer reflections The 2025 summer tractor show season was one of the best we can remember, helped enormously by the fantastic summer weather enjoyed by most parts of the UK. Judging by the overall number of events, and the bumper crowds that attended almost all of them, it’s fair to conclude that the classic tractor hobby is enjoying rude health. This shouldn’t come as a great surprise, of course, given the family-friendly nature of the typical tractor rally, where visitors of all ages are able to mingle in a safe, relaxed and overwhelmingly happy environment. Given the doom and gloom that permeates progressively deeper into so many aspects of everyday life nowadays, it’s wonderful that the world of old tractors continues to offer an oasis of calm, simple pleasure for…

MATCH PLOUGHING NEWS James Witty, from East Lutton, near Malton, in North Yorkshire, won the world title and the Golden Plough trophy at the 70th World Ploughing Contest held near Prague, in the Czech Republic, on September 5th-6th, 2025. This, in fact, is James’ second world title, as he won the World Reversible Ploughing Championship in 2003. To win both titles is a rare and remarkable achievement in the contest’s seven-decade history, as there are just three people who have accomplished this. Amazingly, James follows in the footsteps of his late father, Graeme, who was also one of those people. Forty-eight competitors, representing 26 countries, found ploughing conditions challenging during practice, due to a long spell of dry weather. However, a little rain during the week improved conditions for the…

CHARITY FUND-RAISING Congratulations to Vanda Parcel and her team for raising £8,000 from collections and donations made at the 2025 National Vintage Tractor Road Run, which took place on April 20th. The successful event was supported by more than 345 tractors and their drivers, who all enjoyed an interesting route around Stowmarket, in Suffolk. The money has been split between two designated charities; SARS999 and St Nicholas Hospice. The NVTRR will be taking place in Cornwall next year, and we understand from the Cornish Tractor Club’s chairman, Martin Dymond, that arrangements are progressing well. If you’d like an entry form, call him on: 07799 666088.…

MF 165 family friend The story of an enthusiast’s beautifully restored Massey Ferguson 165 that’s been in the family since the 1960s Silage, the classic way We sample a silage-cutting day in Co. Down, in the company of great enthusiasts, classic tractors and fine implements Beast from the East! We spotlight a trail-blazing, equal-sized-wheel, 1960s tractor from Hungary that turned many heads – the Dutra DK4-B Features listed are provisional and may be altered prior to publication.…

STAR LETTER Happy harvest memories With regard to the recent article about the binder and threshing drum (Old-school harvesting, T&M August, 2025), I’m of an age when I was involved in the binder, thrashing days in North Devon, on the then family farm. My earliest memories are of preparing a field of corn, usually oats but often, in the late 1940s, some of the corn would consist of a mixture of barley, wheat and oats, and it was known to me as ‘dredge corn’. To begin with someone would mow around the hedgerow with a scythe, then bundle up the corn into sheaves. This was done with a length of the straw made into a bind, wrapped around the sheaf and knotted. Then the binder could start cutting, without any…

SEPTEMBER 20TH-21ST, 2025 As always, the invitation-only entry for this event was peppered with quality vintage and veteran tractors, crawlers and interesting implements, nearly all of which could be seen working on the fields. The site was slightly smaller this year, which affected the combining demonstrations, but it was good to see the Knight’s restored Gleaner Baldwin Allis-Chalmers combine doing some work. The ultra rare Marshall 625 prototype combine was also present, which the late Ron Knight rebuilt from a total wreck. Most of the combining was completed on Saturday by Somerset’s Mike Lawrence driving a very fine 1949 Fordson E27N Major Perkins P6. It featured some interesting and heavy cast wheels and a trailed combine that also looked superb. Dan Bartle’s wonderful, award-winning 1935 Case C took care of…

Part 1 of this story concluded with me having removed the old cylinder liners and being up to my elbows in cleaning the inside of the engine block. But it pays to be thorough at this cleaning stage as, in my experience, you can never do enough. I started by rubbing-down the flat sections with some wet and dry paper to get the finish as smooth as possible. During this process I noticed a couple of rust spots that needed to be removed, which I did gently with a screwdriver. The next stage was to slip the new figure-of-eight seal back into the cleaned area, after which the liner could be fitted. However, just before placing the liner, I made sure that the bottom section was clean. Of course, the…

4TH SEPTEMBER, 2025 Cheffins held the disposal sale of the Bunting brothers’ machinery on their 230-acre Broctons Farm at Debden, in Essex, early in September. This was one of 10 substantial autumn sales to be undertaken by Cheffins this season and the prices for the classic tractors were certainly hot! While none of the lots was very new, everything had been well kept, and that was reflected in the prices paid by bidders. The first machine under the hammer was a 2006 John Deere 6920S PowrQuad with 50kph ‘box and 10,952 recorded hours. It sold for £30,500. A JD 6920 Autopower of the same age, with 40kph ‘box and 5,714 hours then sold to an online bidder for £35,000. A venerable, 1984 JD 3140 Power Synchron 4WD, with air conditioning…

Three charities have benefited from more than £6,000 raised by this year’s successful Welsh National Tractor Road Run (WNTRR). On September 6th, representatives from the Wales Air Ambulance, Cardigan First Responders and Crymych First Responders gathered at Awenfryn, Glanrhyd, to receive £2,018 each, from the popular charity event. Held on June 15th, the 35-mile run attracted more than 260 tractors which started and finished at Awenfryn, Glanrhyd, by kind permission of the Evans family. The route took in the spectacular coastal scenery and beautiful countryside offered by the North Pembrokeshire area of the Preselis, and there was a lunch stop at Penralltddu (by kind permission of the Davies family). The WNTRR and the North Pembrokeshire Tractor Enthusiasts would like to thank all participants, marshals, helpers and sponsors for making the…

Building the Iron (Published by Shedgnome, Caerphilly, £19.64 + £3.85 p&p) is a fascinating book that’s a mixture of biography, diary and engineering manual! It follows the early life of Geoffrey B Lewis and his childhood years spent growing up in bomb-ravaged Swansea, as the city got to grips with the extensive damage inflicted by the Luftwaffe. In many respects it was a brilliant time to be a child with a mind as enquiring as Geoffrey’s, and he and his friends became increasingly fascinated by all the reconstruction work going on around them and, more particularly, the heavy equipment that was carrying it out. The young Geoffrey was captivated by the noisy, oily mechanical giants working to rebuild the city, and he’d spend countless hours touring Swansea and its then…

SCALE MODEL NEWS This new, impressively detailed, 1/32 scale model of the Claas Axion 930 Terra Trac is a limited edition piece that will be available buy from December 10th, 2026. The production run, which uses 100% new tooling, will be limited to 1,000 units so is sure to be popular with collectors. Key features include opening bonnet, cab doors and rear window while, beneath the bonnet there’s a very detailed and decorated engine. The cab features a fully detailed interior, foldable mirrors and rear warning signs, a clear sunroof panel, soft PVC antenna, separately-made door handles and a clear-lens warning beacon. Other exterior highlights are the superbly detailed tracks, engraved wheel hubs, painted wheel nuts and soft PVC tyres. All the outside buttons at the back of the tractor…

NOVEMBER 8TH-9TH, 2025 There are just weeks to go until Newark Showground is transformed into its annual celebration of vintage and heritage machinery with several exciting and special celebrations lined up for this year’s event. The Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show has earned a deserved reputation for attracting some of the finest machines and vehicles from across the country, bolstered by a strong social element which brings the collector community to life for the weekend. The organisers are again expecting more than 10,000 people to flood through the gates over the two days, to explore the exhibits which helped shape the landscape and the industry for generations. Discounted tickets remain on sale now at newarkvintagetractorshow.com, but for a limited time only. Show visitors will be able to browse more…

21ST & 22ND FEBRUARY 2026 THREE COUNTIES SHOWGROUND, MALVERN ADVANCE TICKETS ON SALE NOW SAVE UP TO 20%* • Huge vintage auction of over 100 tractors and 1000+ lots courtesy of HJ Pugh • Model tractors and engine displays • Hundreds of vintage and classic tractors • Classic commercials drive in day and vintage autojumble on Sunday • Over 100 trade stands plus a huge selection of vintage tractor parts TICKETS ADULT ADVANCE: £16 WEEKEND ADVANCE: £20 CHILDREN 15 AND UNDER GO FREE! FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO BUY TICKETS VISIT TRACTORWORLDSHOW.CO.UK OR CALL 01697 451882 Scan me * 20% saving applies to weekend advance ticket…

Looking back on sugar beet harvesting in the past is one of those things that really highlights just how much things have changed in agriculture over the past 40 years or so. Back in the early 1980s, a lot of farmers harvested their own sugar beet whereas, nowadays, it’s mostly contractors who do the job. What’s more they tackle the work with massive, self-propelled machines as opposed to the trailed harvesters that farmers used to use behind their own tractors. While many farmers in the early 1980s in my area of Suffolk were using two - and often three-stage Standen harvesting systems, the farm nearest my house as I was growing up made a move from such a system to a two-stage, six-row one. That was a big leap that…

AUGUST 21ST-24TH My last visit to this amazing biennial show was in 2011 and, although it was certainly great then, it’s much bigger and better now. The event is still held at the same, former USAF training base at Rantoul, in Illinois, with the showground measuring more than two miles from one side to the other, and utilising the old runways on the site. This year’s visit was part of an American tour I organised for a group of enthusiasts, and we reached Rantoul on the eighth day. Having left our hotel in Champaign, Illinois, on August 22nd, our visit to the show started with some time spent in the traffic queue approaching the showground. Although it was only 8am we were surrounded by pick-ups, most of them pulling trailers…

Two of the very last jobs to be done before the Marshall’s gearbox and winch unit could be top-coated, were the fitting of the toolbox and the straightening of the rear towing jaw. When I measured the gap between the two winch side plates that house the toolbox, I didn’t realise that they were slightly tapered. I’d only allowed 1/16in clearance and this proved to be too tight. If I’d made the box from softwood it may have slid in but, being oak, there was no chance of it fitting. So, after a good half an hour with a sanding block, I was covered in wood dust but the toolbox was fitted! STRAIGHTENING THE JAW Over time the tractor’s rear towing jaw had spread and it now required some remedial…

A magazine subscription is the perfect gift: • Personal, thoughtful and fuels their passion • Provides enjoyment all year round • And saves you money on the shop price! GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM £22.99 OVER 45 TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/XMAS25P OR CALL 01959 543 747 AND QUOTE ‘XMAS25P’ Lines are open Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate UK customers only. Offers end 31st January 2026…

A magazine subscription is the perfect gift: • Personal, thoughtful and fuels their passion • Provides enjoyment all year round • And saves you money on the shop price! GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM £19.99 OVER 29 TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM VISIT CLASSICMAGAZINES.CO.UK/XMAS2501 OR CALL 01507 529 529 AND QUOTE ‘XMAS2501’ Lines are open Mon-Fri 8.30am to 5pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate. UK customers only. Offers end 31st January 2026…

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The prices shown on the following pages are based on tractors sold at auction, on the internet, privately and from some overseas markets, too. Prices change as time progresses, and it’s not always an upward trend, but you will get a good indication of what’s currently happening in the market by referring to our guide. If you are thinking of buying a tractor, here are a few pointers to help you. Should you be looking for something specific, weigh up your options – particularly if you have a limited budget. If it’s a popular model, then it’s not always to your advantage to go for the first one you see. If a fault is highlighted, make sure you have a good idea of how much it will cost to repair,…

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