Ferguson tractor enthusiasts are a lucky bunch. For many people new to the old tractor hobby, deciding on the make and model to buy can be an involved and time-consuming process. There are so many tempting possibilities that making a final choice can be agonising. For the Ferguson fan, however, it’s plain sailing as, within the family fold, there sits perhaps the most influential and iconic tractor of all time.
The ‘little grey Fergie’ is the machine that’s widely regarded as being the one that changed agriculture around the world, forever. The brainchild of Harry Ferguson, this fantastically functional little tractor with its revolutionary three-point linkage – and the system of dedicated implements and support networks that he masterminded around it – probably did more for farmers across the globe than any other tractor you could think of.
The icon arrives
The TE-20, as the little grey Fergie was officially known at the start (T = Tractor, E = England, 20 = approximate engine power), was produced between 1946 and 1956, and more than 500,000 were built, mainly at the Ferguson factory in Banner Lane, Coventry. Harry Ferguson and Sir John Black, who was head of the Standard Motor Company, agreed a deal that would see the new model built at the existing Standard factory.
Ferguson had a very clear vision for the new tractor, and was determined to produce a lightweight model that would use as little fuel as possible, thereby maximising profits for farmers. However, as the new tractor’s Standard-produced engine wasn’t ready in time, it was decided to fit the first models with a unit produced in Michigan, USA, by the Continental Motors Corporation. The Continental Z-120 was a four-cylinder, 1,962cc, petrol-powered motor with an output of 23hp, however, its carburettor had to be adapted to cope with the poor-quality fuel being used in post-war Britain.
The engine was
