A visit to Sam McMullan's shed to hear about his TED 20

by Willy Carson

Few tractors have had such an impact on world agriculture as Harry Ferguson’s most famous creation, the TE 20. It first appeared in 1946 powered originally by an American Continental Z120 petrol engine which was used as a ‘stop-gap’ unit the new Standard Motor Company engine, originally designed to power the Standard Vanguard saloon, became available. The version thus equipped was known as the TEA 20 and over the following years several other models, including the TED 20, appeared in the sales brochures. Launched in 1949, the TED 20 was designed to run on tractor vaporising oil (TVO), a cheaper fuel with a lower octane rating. Engine modifications included an increase in cylinder bore from 80mm to 85mm which took the capacity from 1850cc up to 2088cc while the compression ratio was lowered slightly from 5.7:1 to 5.1:1, all of which meant that the power was increased slightly from 24hp to 25.4hp. The price for a new TED 20 in 1949 was £335.

Many Ferguson TED 20s were sold to small, one tractor, family farms where they were much more than just a list of dimensions and statistics; they became part of the history of the farm and the focal point of many memories.

First registered in Shropshire in 1953, KAW 606 was brought to Northern Ireland by Hazletts of Moneydig, agricultural machinery dealers near the market town of Kilrea. Hazletts sold the tractor to Hugh McReynolds who had been farming since the era of Clydesdale horsepower. His first tractor was a Ford Ferguson and having adapted to this modern technology, he decided in 1956 to update his farm mechanisation with Ferguson’s tried and tested TED 20. His enterprise had grown to sixty acres on both the home farm and an out-lying property where the McMullan family rented the dwelling house. Sam McMullan remembers how this rural setting influenced his childhood, “I used to run about the farm when I was growing up. When I was five years old I was sitting on the mudguard while Hugh was lifting haycocks with a buckrake and carting them up to where the haystack was going to be built. He must have stopped the tractor on a slight mound because when he set the buckrake down, my foot was trapped between the top arm and the back axle housing. I spent the rest of that summer on crutches but Hugh promised me that I would be driving the tractor for the next haymaking so that eased my discomfort a bit. The next year Hugh brought in a man with a baler at hay time and I drove the tractor, towing the trailer while the bales were built on behind. After that I learned to cut hay, spread dung, plough, disc and other farm work. It seems strange to think about it now but Hugh had learned his farming behind a horse and if the top of the gearbox was mucky he would have to scrape off the dirt to read the gear positions and I suppose it was easier for a young chap to learn the new ways. I have many memories of that part of my life; it was a great time of learning for me.”

Sam left school and started work as a driver’s mate on a meal lorry. Eventually, in the 1970s he found himself behind the wheel of a delivery lorry, driving all over Northern Ireland until he retired. During that time

Hugh had passed away and his farm was sold to a local farmer in a deal which included all the machinery, but that wasn’t the end of Sam’s association with the old Ferguson. “I was driving past the farm one evening when I saw the bonnet of the tractor sticking out of a clump of nettles. I stopped and went in to ask about it and the man said, ‘It’s sitting there waiting for you, we always knew you would be back for it’, I did a deal for it that night and bought it home.”

Since old Hugh was a horse man at heart, Sam knew that tractor maintenance hadn’t been foremost in his mind; in fact he would be more likely to throw an old blanket over it on a cold night than think about giving it an oil change. This became evident when the engine was dismantled and it was discovered that the crank bearings had worn away completely and the valve springs were so weak that you could compress them with your thumbs and take out the collets! On a more positive note, the radiator was tested for flow and pressure and found to be in good condition. Sam asked a friend to do the extensive rebuild which included the refurbishment of as many of the original parts as possible. It was more important that Sam keep the history of the tractor intact rather than replace lots of worn parts with reproduction components. There were a few dents in the tinwork which Sam straightened out as well as he could. He even remembers how the grille bars were bent, “I was ploughing at Hugh’s and I stepped off to clean the boards. My foot slipped off the peg and my knee hit the gear stick and knocked the tractor into gear. The tractor then jumped forward and hit the ditch, driving over my leg in the process. It was probably because the tyres were so worn that I wasn’t badly injured.” When it was time to prepare the tinwork for painting, it was discovered that the ‘Ferguson’ bonnet badge was made of brass indicating that it was probably not the original badge but, as Sam points out, “We have no way of knowing what might have happened in the first four years of the tractor’s life before Hugh bought it. It could have had some accident damage and had an early bonnet fitted as part of repairs.”

Sam looks back over his association with this TED 20 and says, “I’ve known this tractor nearly all my life, I learned to drive on it, I worked on it and I’ve had as much fun restoring it as I had when it was a working tractor. I have another Ferguson which I take on road runs but I still like to take Hugh’s tractor to shows.” KAW 606 is just one of over half a million Grey Fergies which rolled out of the Banner Lane factory during the model’s ten year production run, but it is so much more than just a serial number; it’s an album of memories.