Casting codes

[Hesford]

Hello I am trying to register my fordson major mk 1 on a age plate but the serial number on the plate indicates it was built in 1956 but the gearbox casting indicates 1953 could this affect getting a age related plate because the age cannot be determinted?

[Dandy Dave]

Not an expert, but I would think that you need to go with the stamped serial number date like we do with automobiles here in the states. Your tractor should have the plate on the dash and that is the number I would use. Don't tell them anything else. Why add chicken to beef soup and give yourself a headach and belly ach with adding too much red pepper??? Dandy Dave!

[Brian]

You need Serial number from behind the starter, date codes from the axle, gearbox, hydraulics, rear axle and axle shafts. These will show that you have a tractor( I know!) and pictures of the tractor and its date codes and serial number.

I would not worry to much about the engine as that could have been a replacement and would not affect the dating if all the other parts date within a few months. The problems may come if it is a Fordson Major ASP, then it will be a bit of a problem to prove age and you may have to go to NVTEC or some other club who can verify it is what you say it is.

A 1953 tractor has the serial number behind the starter, this is the one I would use not one on the engine.

[Dandy Dave]

Geezzzz. They are tough on you Chaps over there. In my state we do not have to register a tractor to drive in on the road. For Antique cars, which I have delt with over here, you need a tracing of the stamped serial number, and a bill of sale showing what you paid for it so they can tax you on the value. Sometimes you need to get a document from a Notary of the Public for varification purposes. Nobody cares if the rearend is from a 1933 Ford and is under a 1939 Mercury. Bloody Lot of Nit Pickers you chaps have to deal with over there for a simple old farm tractor. Dandy Dave!

[Brian]

Dave,
The problem over here is that tractors are free to licence after a certain age. We then get a lot of "gentlemen" who use the registration numbers of tractors on cars and trucks to get free tax on them. We have had numerous cases of 1952 Massey 726 combines doing a ton on the motorways and TE20's parking on double yellow lines in central London.

So the idea of casting and serial numbers plus DVLA inspections or club ratification of detail is a good one. It is quite hard to prove you were not driving that Massey 726 combine at high speed if you are the last owner, or were not using the number plates illegally.

[Dandy Dave]

Dave,
The problem over here is that tractors are free to licence after a certain age. We then get a lot of "gentlemen" who use the registration numbers of tractors on cars and trucks to get free tax on them. We have had numerous cases of 1952 Massey 726 combines doing a ton on the motorways and TE20's parking on double yellow lines in central London.

So the idea of casting and serial numbers plus DVLA inspections or club ratification of detail is a good one. It is quite hard to prove you were not driving that Massey 726 combine at high speed if you are the last owner, or were not using the number plates illegally.

Those Bloody Blokes! The nerve of driving a combine though Piccadilly Circus @ 90 KPH and then leaving a half a dozen TO-20's parked around town half up on the curb. My 1915 Buick Roadster has Original 1915 plates and here you can register the car as such as the plates are Year of Manufacture of the vehicle. If I tried to use them on a newer vehicle, the police would see that they were wrong rather quickly. Dandy Dave!