Vintage Scene JuneJuly 2022_Layout 1 29/06/2022 16:11 Page 8
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Is it a car? Is it a truck? Is it a train? No it’s John Steele’s Morris ‘cut-down’. by Willy Carson
B
ack in the 1920s and into the 1930s, tractors were a rarity on small farms in Britain and Ireland. For the more enterprising farmer, wishing to increase efficiency in his field operations, the growing number of expired motorcars offered an alternative. An old Morris ‘Bullnose’ Cowley may have come to the end of its life as transport for the local squire, but providing there was some life left in its mechanical components, it had the potential to become a tractor… of sorts…known among today’s vintage eccentrics as a cut-down; for obvious reasons. The first task in creating such a mechanical marvel was to remove the bodywork rearwards of the scuttle panel and, with the rear chassis exposed; the first modification could be made. For heavy draft use in an agricultural environment the typical British family saloon chassis would have experienced stresses beyond its design specification, but having been built for rougher roads in rural America, the Model T Ford, many of which were long passed their best days by the 1930s, had a stiffer chassis so a cut-and-shut operation was performed adding strength to the basis of this new contraption. The main design differences between early cars and tractors were a result of their required torque characteristics. The car only had to propel, from rest, its own weight and that of its passengers and their luggage. Once this initial task had been performed its power could then be used to accelerate the car to reckless speeds of 40mph and beyond.
8
July/August 2022
The tractor’s job, however, was to drag its own weight, the weight of its driver and his dinner bag, as well as a plough or cultivator as it fought against the resistance of the soil. The secret was to increase the torque available at the back wheels of the tractor by reducing their forward speed while allowing the engine to run at the upper end of its rev. range and so deliver a large proportion of its maximum power. To make this all happen the clever farmer would simply fit a second gearbox between the original ‘box and the rear axle, select a low ratio, fit some suitably agricultural tyres, bolt in the original seat, fix a clevis at the back, attach the old horse plough and then sell the horse.
call 01295 404099 to advertise or email advertising@vintagescene.co.uk
