modifications to save critical materials). It
was Ferguson’s understanding that the Ford-
Ferguson would replace the Fordson on the
British assembly lines.
In 1945, with the end of World War II in
sight, the British War Agricultural Execu-
tive Committee laid down requirements for
a new farm tractor to replace the venerable
Fordson. Specifications were sent to British
tractor makers. Of course, British Ford was
interested, as there would undoubtedly be a
considerable market.
The new specification called for 3-plow ca-
pability, central PTO and higher crop clear-
ance (or row-crop configuration). British
Ford, having dealt with Harry Ferguson on
several occasions during the war years, was
more than a little fearful of a relationship
with Ferguson, and saw the 3-plow and row-
crop requirements as grounds for eliminat-
ing Harry Ferguson and the Ford-Ferguson
tractor from consideration.End of the handshake
agreement
Ferguson believed that, with the end of
the war, the Ford-Ferguson tractor would
replace the Fordson and not only that, but
there would be a seat for him on the British
Ford Motor Co. board of directors. In 1945,
Ferguson sent a letter to Henry Ford warning
that if this agreement was not fulfilled, he
would start building a competitive tractor in
England. Ford never responded to the letter.
In fact, he never saw it. An assistant filed it
without showing it to him, saying, “We’ve
got enough trouble around here without
this!”
In 1947, the great automobile pioneer and
magnate, Henry Ford, died at his Fair Lane
Estate. Ford’s grandson, Henry II, took over
the company. He soon recognized that the
handshake agreement was not, and never
had been, profitable for Ford. With that, he
notified Ferguson that 1947 would be the
last year that Ford would supply tractors un-
der the agreement.
Harry Ferguson went on to launch his ver-
sion of the Ford-Ferguson tractor, the Fer-
guson TE20, building it in an unused war-
time factory in Coventry, England. In 1947,
Ferguson also set up a Detroit factory to
manufacture his tractor for the U.S. market.
Ferguson’s company was later merged with
Massey-Harris to form Massey Ferguson.
Rise of the Perkins Diesel
With the end of World War II, British Ford undertook the
upgrade and modernization of the wartime Fordson Model
N to meet the requirements of the War Agricultural Execu-
tive Committee. The new model’s designation was E27N
Major. The “E” was for “English,” the “27” for the horse-
power of the high-compression (gasoline) version of the
existing Fordson engine and the “N” was for the heritage
of the Model N. The commonly used name was “Fordson
Major.” The E27N designator was not much used until it was
necessary to differentiate between the E27N and later, larger
Fordson tractors also called Majors, or “New” Majors.
In the summer of 1946, Henry Ford’s crack tractor design-
er, Harold Brock, was sent on a three-month assignment at
British Ford in Dagenham, England, to help with the design
of a new lighter-weight modern tractor to replace the vener-
able Fordson N. A full-scale wooden mock-up was built of
Brock’s design, but remaining restrictions on materials and
tooling prevented the implementation of a completely new
design at that time.
In the late 1940s, the British were far ahead of the U.S. in
the development and use of diesel engines for automotive
applications. In 1947, Frank Perkins of Perkins Diesel, Ltd.
converted a Fordson E27N for his own use to one of his
diesel engines. When Ford heard of it, they sent two more
Fordson E27Ns to Perkins for conversion.
The result was the 6-cylinder P6 (TA) Fordson Major. Some
23,000 were built before production ended in 1952. The
diesel, rated at 45 hp, made the E27N a great tractor. Perkins
also brought out a 4-cylinder L4 (TA) engine in 1953, along
with a conversion kit for regular E27Ns and older Fordson
N’s. With the advent of the diesel version, the rear axle was
strengthened. The transmission and clutch were adequate
for the increase in power.
Once the E27N was established in production, and war-
time shortages were overcome, British Ford launched the
“New Major” program in 1952. It was a larger, more power-
ful 4-cylinder tractor in the utility configuration. Three en-
gine fuel options (petrol, Tractor Vaporizing Oil [TVO] and
diesel) were offered using the same block and architecture.Introducing the Fordson Dexta
At the same time, there were serious considerations of
reviving Brock’s lighter tractor design. Perkins had come
out with a 3-cylinder P3 diesel engine with 32 hp. One had
been fitted to an 8N Ford tractor (1948 upgraded version
without Harry Ferguson) for evaluation. After a period of
satisfactory tests, an arrangement was made with Perkins to
use a slightly modified version of this engine (now called
the F3) in the new tractor, called the Dexta, based on Har-
old Brock’s design.
Interestingly, the Dexta, which had been designed to
compete with the Massey Ferguson Model 35, shared the
basic engine, gearbox and differential, as well as many
other parts. Both tractors featured the Perkins 3-cylinder
engine, with few differences. Early Dextas used a 144-cubic-
inch engine, whereas later Dextas and all MF 35’s had the
152-cubic-inch-displacement version.
The two tractors did have different fuel injector systems
and other differences despite their common platform. The
very rare gasoline version of the Dexta had the same Stan-
dard Vanguard car engine as the gasoline Ferguson Models
TEA and FE 35, one difference being that the starter was
relocated to the right side on the Dexta. Unlike the Fergu-
sons, the gasoline Dexta used the same gearbox as its diesel
version.
After 1964, the Fordson name was dropped and all Ford
tractors were simply badged as Fords in both the U.K. and
the U.S. FCAfter 36 years in the aircraft industry, Bob Pripps returned to
his first love and began writing about tractors. He has authored
some 30 books on the subject and several magazine articles.
Pripps has a maple syrup farm near Park Falls, Wisconsin.
In harvesting the maple sap, he relies on a Ford Jubilee and a
Massey Ferguson 85.http://www.FarmCollector.com November 2018 25