Having a good look around Jack

Well now Jack’s back home it’s time to have a good look around him to see what I’ve got here. When we were bringing him home on the trailer Richard said he could see movement of the offside front wheel in the mirror which could be the king pin/spindle assembly of a wheel bearing and sure enough he was right. There was really an excessive amount of play in the offside wheel bearing when I shook the wheel and that was with the full weight of the tractor on the wheel. So I took the hub cap off and yuk what a sight…


…I put the hubcap back on, this is one of the first repairs I’ll need to do on Jack.
As Jack (or Freddie in his previous life) had been used for boat launching at Heacham on the Wash, I was un-surprised at the damage caused by the salt water to the rusty tin work. The parts that had suffered most were the tin work and the parts made from light gauge materials such as the pull off springs on the brakes and the brake cables. The engine has an oil leak but whilst I thought it was from the front crank seal from where the drips of oil landed on the floor, I now think it’s the leak from the fuel pump drive that’s the problem.

I also need to get Jack registered for the road so I’ve started the registration process, This is the third vehicle I’ve applied for an “age related” registration number but it’s the first time I’ve had any trouble. I went through the process of identifying my Fordson Major Diesel with the help of the Fordson pages forum and with a formal letter of identification from Grace Popplewell of the Ferguson Club, who was very efficient and who deals with all makes of vintage tractors. I submitted all the appropriate paperwork to the local office of the DVLA who were also very helpful, that was last Thursday. Saturday morning a letter with the DVLA frank on it dropped through the letterbox and I eagerly opened it to see what my registration number for the Fordson was. The letter told me that Jack had been previously registered on a “Q” plate and I would need to complete a form “V62” and return it to them, they would then attempt to contact the last known registered keeper to verify they no longer own the tractor before issuing me with a registration document, and that this could take up to 6-weeks. I was knocking on their door this morning with the completed form for them to check prior to me submitting it.