Richard Jefferay always seems to have something different in his shed. He’s got a bit of a collection of various vehicles and surprisingly, this tractor is the one that he says he will never sell.
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It’s a 1950 Ferguson TEA-20 that he’s owned for about 10 years. He was buying a house out of town and the tractor with slasher was there too.
He knew he’d have a lot of grass to cut, so he haggled like a dog with a bone and didn’t let go until he’d bought it. By the time he’d done the deal the grass was literally growing under his feet and there was only time for a quick restoration – but quick still meant that the Fergie was looking pretty smart when it made its debut amid the long grass.
“The grass was well over the bonnet by the time I got to it,” Richard said.
So imagine his disappointment when the clutch stripped itself, leaving his shiny grey Fergie stranded in the long grass before he could repair it and get mowing again.
“Once I had it going again, every man and his dog in the neighbourhood wanted their grass cut so I reckon I spent the next two years mowing grass non-stop,” he said.
For a 60-year-old tractor, the Ferguson saw some pretty hard use, including two runs at the biannual Cobar to Louth Charity Fergie Tractor trek. Richard tells me that it had been using oil and fouling spark plugs for years and the 2016 trek was its final undoing.
He’d made it the 110 km from Cobar to Louth on the Friday and had given away all his brand new spark plugs to Rodney Barnes. When on the journey home to Cobar on the Sunday, it started running on two cylinders and everybody passed him.
Some people were heard to say “it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke” but eventually he made it home.
When he finally pulled the engine down he found a hole in one of the pistons and knew that it was time for major repairs.
Once again, for anybody who knows Richard Jefferay, there’s never any room for half measures.
Pulling the engine down meant for a complete restoration and as the photos show – every nut, bolt and part was prepared and painted, producing this immaculate finished result.
The project was completed in four months, just in time for the 2016 Central West Car Club Charity Show and Shine event where the Fergie was presented.
When I asked Richard about his future plans for the tractor, he was quick to respond “you’ve gotta use the thing”.
He’s going to keep on cutting grass of course!
