Valley Axe Man

There is no end to your talents there John, even in its early stages of build your getting details in place like the later type 8 stud front hubs she's going to be another one of your stunning builds

Had a rather nice surprise gift yesterday off my better half in the shape of a 10/42 & 10/60 power brochure that gives the torque figures and drawbar pull as well as shaft speeds and power curves for the Nuffield 10 speeds, was a bit of a shock (in a good way) but a welcomed addition to the collection just the 345/465 one to find now

I wonder John haha

Aye John its tomorrow.... ive a few bits to bob out and get later, best try and surprise Gemma a bit though now you mention Mothers Day, that falls the day after mums birthday this year.... thats going to be an expensive weekend.....

Nice selection there John, especially the JWD Ive a couple more in the shape of a set of Dutch Marshall spec sheets (missing the 302 and 502) and a Dutch dealer listings booklet again well spotted by John (JMD) Thanks John after asking a few questions about the silver striped 10 speed 4wds that were featured on one of my last brochures, looking possibly dealer converted using Carrero Axles there are some still surviving in New Zealand but apparently the 4wd box was prone to stress and gear failure, even a 2100- 10 speed got converted in france using the same axle, now that would have been a game changer for Leyand had they rubber mounted the cab and gone back to a full cast chassis design rather than plate chassis with rubber mounted engine, but that said, it must have been a worthwhile project as in 78 Leyland produced their own 4 cylinder Synchro 4wds using the Carrero Axle

i know your builds at present are stunning John and worthy of every comment and praise they earn..... but i must not let myself get sidetracked by the looming calender event, got to stay focused.....

Haha well maybe Smithy.... Yes it has to be said that I've a rather nice distraction in my life at present

I'm not that Dodgy Martin .... Thy shall not covet thy neighbours models..... Especially not the creator of these items of beauty

Stunning quartet there John

That would have been well worth sticking hold of John, by the looks of it you've always taken pride in keeping your machinery clean and tidy, being a 602 would have held its money abit better too as most went for the higher horse but no larger 702 for the small increase in purchase price, but they missed out on a livelier engine, a 602 with a slight change at the pump got you to a 702 but more responsive for a couple of hundred quid cheaper, nice to see your Marshall though

A right pair of beauties there John, gold by colour, gold by definition, two to be proud of the man with the magic scalpel strikes again

Cheers Smithy, though credit must go to John for spotting them for me, I guess the knowledge I have comes from just being interested in them for quite a while and asking questions when folk were in conversation at shows and around tractors, wouldn't say I know everything about them, buy know enough to get by and spot when something is a touch different to what it should be

Another handful delivered yesterday, thanks to the eagle-eyed ness of John (JMD) with a rarity or two amongst them, the two most intriguing ones are the Marshall 154 and the Dutch Leyland range, the first due to the fact that by the turn to Harvest gold on the leylands in 1980/81 the 154 was releaunched as the 302 to make it look more part the range with the more normal looking Leyland coffin bonnet, during the synchro drive of 78 a couple of these were protoyped as 184's in blue at Bathgate and also as the 235 in Turkey........so i'm unsure if this brochure is for a tractor that actually existed....and secondly the dutch range brichure features a silver stripe line up....76/77 era but yet shows a 462 and 472, these not released by Bathgate until the following year and the launch of the synchro gearbox.... the search is now on for 10 speed 4wd conversions.... the gravy begins to thicken Anyhows photos Harvest gold leyland and Marshall price lists Marshall 154 .....And the more normal for the era 302 Turkish re issue of the Leyland 154 10 speed 272 spec sheet that would go with the folder type brochures French-Canadian 342 brochure And the Dutch range brochure Thanks for keeping your eyes open John, Much appreciated

And secondly this week, surprisingly not all brown envelopes contain bills..... This one contained a 10/60 Bray brochure (admittedly not mint due to the hole punched side but a rare-ish brochure so couldnt really let it slip away, which just leaves a 470 brochure to find in English text to complete the 10/60, 4/65. 384 and 470 set but have discovered some foriegn text ones exist....which has just opened up another avenue to explore.......) as well as a 1965 price list and a A5 sized 4/25 sales at work leaflet

A couple of Envelopes this week firstly a white one from a fellow Leyland fan and Leyland tractor pulling fanatic featuring a few cab brochures (as part of the deal with the Leyland 245 bellhousing and tombstone for my Nuffield 345 BMC to Perkins conversion) and a small pull out advert with tear off send away slip to Bathgate for more information on the Leyland Tractor Range

Stunning Ted... thought you'd gone quite for a bit since the last update.... certainly pulled that out of the hat...

Nice Ben will be a beauty when she's finished there's a few pureists that say a 245 and it's predecessor The 253 weren't proper Leylands because they used a Perkins engine rather than a BMC/Leyland engine but looking back in the history, the early Universal Nuffields had the option of the P3 and L4 engines, I'll openly admit that I'm no Ferguson fan but in this case the 245 will outperform the Mf135 due to it being a heavier better gripping tractor.

Thats going to look another stunning build there John, very impressive is she destined to be a silver stripe or blue stripe decal 10 speed? real life the 245 was a fantastic loader tractor but if used heavily then it was recommeded by various dealers afterwards that the loader brackets were taken through to the axle trumpets to stiffen the whole job up, they had a tendancy to crack round the bellhousings as that took all the load unlike a full chassis like on the 4 cylinders...... Theres a similar spec 272 syncro not far from you for sale

Cheers Smithy trailer seems to be good it rides and follows well, had a single run with 8 big squares of silage on it at what was landlords 2nd cut but had brakes plugged into a spool as the 804 hasn't got trailer braking valve, can get a kit but can hold tractor back abit with more pressure available at the spool, would like a decent load on her this summer hopefully

Thanks Paul, keep her right and she'll always be tidy

Cheers Zac, sshe not been out much of late but still starts first turn, good old 4/98, if it turns it start not had much luck finding a good 2.8 for the 345, the ones I looked at are all been cracked, Richard Pocock has a good block but it's big coin that I'm reluctant to throw at her, though over Christmas I bought a bellhousing and tombstone off a 245 with the train of thoughts that I'll put a Perkins in her out of a 245. Much easier to find and not a bad little unit really... And as s bonus it uses all Leyland bits so even though she won't be standard, she be a useful and usable tractor without the fear of a cracked block syndrome of the BMC engines

A couple more arrived in the Valley this week from down-under.. a trio of Aussie spec brochures, a fold out complete range for the Blue-stripe 10 speed, circa 1975 and a 154 plus a 285/2100 silver stripes circa 1976-77 with spec sheets, highlight has to be the caption "They pull like a bull in springtime"

Not one for my own collection but tempary home until my next trip north out of lockdown and a RJN super 6 for big Dave Steele, to go with the blue and orange soft nose version he got at the end of last year this one in the later colours and sporting 14x30's as opposed to 11x36's

Couple of hours this morning for the landlord sorting the lights out on his bale trailer after somehow ripping the 7 core out from down the trailer, much better job than crawling about under milk tankers.......but re-wired and tested, and better still an excuse to get the 804 out

You can't beat a bit of gold looking great John, big question is can you get them to sound as well as they look?? joking apart, dont worry too much about the brush painting.... there wont be a single leyland or marshall in the country that hasnt got the odd brush mark on it somewhere, even those in original untouched clothes will have trace of the odd dab with a brush from the factories at Bathgate and Gainsborough