USE PAPER CODE

Contributor on 20 Oct 2017

In pictures: celebrating the 1967 Nuffield 10/60

It's 50 years since the last Nuffield 10/60 tractor rolled off the production line, yet the popularity of these tractors remains unwavering as Simon Henley discovered.

Contributor

20 October 2017

In pictures: celebrating the 1967 Nuffield 10/60

Leicestershire-native George Clarke is pictured at the wheel of his 1967 Nuffield 10/60, carrying a Claas drum mower. George purchased and then restored the tractor back in 2002.

The Nuffield 10/60 and the smaller 10/42 model were the first tractors to be manufactured at BMC's new truck, bus and tractor plant at Bathgate in Scotland.

This view from the drivers seat identifies the high-low shift lever (inset) on the tractor's 10-speed gearbox. Unfortunately, the nine-tooth pinion used in the 10/60 tractor was not as durable as its predecessor.

George Clarke, has been a fan of Nuffield tractors since he can remember. His introduction to the marque came as a child when he first saw his father driving a Nuffield tractor on the farm where he worked.

George Clarke, has been a fan of Nuffield tractors since he can remember.

His introduction to the marque came as a child when he first saw his father driving a Nuffield tractor on the farm where he worked.

This sowed the seed for a passion which has remained with George ever since.

George is the proud owner of a late-production Nuffield 10/60, registered in 1967, shortly before the launch of the new-look Nuffield 4/65 model.

According to George, the tractor was purchased from a farm at Coleshill near Birmingham back in 2002, where it is believed to have spent its entire working life.

“The tractor had been parked up in a shed and forgotten,” remembers HGV driver George.

“I enquired about buying it, and the farmer said I could have it for what he paid for it, so I bought it there and then. It was pretty worn-out when I got it, so the first thing I did was to have the engine rebuilt and completely restored it.”

Back in the 1960s, the Nuffield 10/60 was the tractor of choice for farmers around the globe.

Introduced in 1964, the Nuffield 10/60 (10-speed/60hp) replaced the Nuffield 4/60, introducing an all-new 10-speed transmission into what was the most powerful tractor platform produced in Britain at the time.

With five additional gears, the new transmission offered a wider range of working speeds, extending from 0.5mph up to 17.4mph at 2,000rpm. Subsequently the 10/60 quickly became a favourite with large arable and mixed farmers, where the additional gears enabled what was already a well-proven tractor to perform a broader range of tasks. But there was trouble ahead.

Change

Conceived during a period of change at the British Motor Corporation (BMC), the new tractor was built alongside the three-cylinder 10/42, at BMC’s brand-new truck, bus and tractor manufacturing facility at Bathgate in Scotland.

Unfortunately, although the Nuffield 10/60 was well-received by both dealers and farmers alike, aside from offering a new transmission, the design of the Nuffield tractor had remained virtually unchanged since 1948.

With the introduction of new ranges from Ford, Massey Ferguson and David Brown, suddenly the new ten-speed Nuffield appeared very out-dated.

To make matters worse, while the Nuffield 4/60 had developed a reputation for outstanding durability, it soon became evident that the 10/60 was not the stalwart its predecessor had proved to be. The introduction of the new 10-speed gearbox, had forced BMC engineers to redesign the tractor’s final drive, replacing the formidable 11-tooth pinion gear used in the 4/60, with a new nine-tooth design.

Unfortunately, the new pinion was not capable of reliably handling very heavy draft work, tarnishing the reputation of what was otherwise a versatile, economical and undeniably popular tractor – and one that remains a favourite with collectors and vintage tractor enthusiasts like George to this day.

It’s now been 15 years since he restored his Nuffield, and today it remains an exceptionally genuine example of a working 10/60, with natural patina on its orange paint and that familiar engine clatter which could only come from a BMC-powered Nuffield tractor.

“I use it most weekends,” confesses George.

“In the winter I go to local ploughing matches and in the summer I do some hay-making for local stable-owners.

"It’s a wonderful tractor to drive and it always starts first time, whatever the weather. The 10/60 was the last of the original Nuffields, and I personally think it was the best Nuffield tractor they built.”

In pictures: equal-wheel-drive mania

From tractors to helicopters on vintage charity run