Once long ago, in a County far, far away, I fondly remember being in a tractor, a blue Ford 7610 tractor. Memories of sitting so high in such a colossal machine are ingrained in me to this day. While I didn’t get into vehicles until quite late in my life, tractors and farm machinery have always elicited a positive emotional response. And since my trip to the Kelsall Steam Fair back in July ’22, it’s a scratch I’ve needed to itch!
Childhood Ford 7610 Memories
Back in the eighties (and I shan’t share which end), family holidays used, to begin with, a long road trip down to Devon. I have recollections of flowing motorways and a largely empty A39. It always seemed that we flew down to the farm, never held up, and arrived ahead of schedule. Very different from today’s journeys.
The farm was, I think, predominantly dairy. We stayed in the main farmhouse, sharing rooms with the farm’s family and generally being welcomed into all farming activities. Being only little, getting up to help milk the cows never seemed arduous, even if the cows seemed to be the size of cars. The dogs with different coloured eyes. The gorgeous black horse. Fresh milk. So many cheerful memories.
I suspect it is these trips that attract me so much to farming. Simple days on a seemingly idyllic farm, surrounded by fields as far as the eye could see and an array of smells, from the cow pats to the haylage. And it was in this perfect oasis of youth that I became so captivated by the blue Ford tractors. Of course, the blue ovals weren’t the only tractor on the farm, but they are the ones I remember.
Falling in love with the Ford 7610
The first memory I have of being in a tractor, not merely a spectator, is the Ford 7610 in the picture below. Taken from the family photo album, I can still recall that mix of damp grass from the haylage crashed into the smell of what I suspect was hydraulic oil. It is pretty amazing what a profound impact smell has on memory recall.
While I’m a little older, maybe even wiser, my inner child is growing a desire to have my first blue oval on the drive. There’s no real reason for me to own a tractor, although I have friends with land that will happily facilitate my tractor-based self-entertainment. I suspect they’re in cahoots to keep me quiet and out of the way for a little while.
Perhaps more critically, I’ve held off making bold life changes over the years, never with a good reason. If the last few years have taught me anything, I must throw myself into these things and see what happens. With age, I’ve improved at getting myself out of self-made disasters. Unfortunately, I’m also rapidly accelerating through life and must be overdue for a “mid-life crisis”.
Drunk eBay Purchase
With my heart firmly set on having a 7610 of my own before the next Kelsall Rally, my eyes turned to eBay. Over a few months, many 7610’s came and went. Unfortunately, many were far too expensive for my purse or needed too much work to start using immediately. A lack of a perfect tractor was fine, though. I had most of a year and had planned for a marathon, not a sprint. That was, until one late evening.
I’d sent many eBay adverts to my long-suffering spouse for some time. The tractor above had popped up with a low reserve and a reasonable ‘buy-it-now’. The bidding was sufficiently low that my other half had quietly put a bid on. Surprising as I didn’t even know she had an eBay account. That explains a lot!
The perfect 7610?
The eBay advert was quite honest. A low number of hours for the age and general wear and tear matching. Previous owners had made a few styling changes, and the blue paint of the cabin had been recently resprayed. The exterior decals had all been replaced following the painting. Perhaps critically, this was an honest example of the tractor I dreamed of and had been shown a decent amount of love. It also had no working exterior lighting, so it was the sort of project that ticked a box for me!
A few hours before the end of the auction, the bidding was climbing towards the ‘buy-it-now’ price. To cut a long story short, with a little bit of alcoholic ginger beer and gentle heckling from my best mate and myself, my wife caved and became the proud owner of a tractor!
Arrival from South Wales
What happens next in the story is one of my favourite moments so far. This 2.8-tonne tractor is just a wee bit too heavy to drag behind the Freelander or, in fact, any ‘car’ that I have available. So delivery was going to be needed, and I elected to leave this job to the purchaser. Well, you can imagine how the conversations went between my wife and some very confused South Walians.
A long way down off the lorry!
After a month of back and forth with the seller and a local to them haulage company, a date for arrival was finally set. They asked that I would drive the tractor off the lorry when it arrived, and I optimistically had no issue with that. However, I probably should have considered the question more. It turns out the bed of the lorry, even with the hydraulics down, was about 3 feet from the road, and the ramps were about 10 feet long. That’s a ramp angle of around 70 degrees on a tractor I haven’t driven the likes of for over 15 years.
To suggest I was nervous would be a huge understatement. However, there was only one way the tractor was coming off, and once my big boy pants and reverse gear were found, I piloted my Ford 7610 off the lorry with little drama save for some confused faces from the locals! I’m glad the brakes are better on this than the Fergie!
First Impressions
Quite simply, the tractor is everything I had wished for. Not perfect, but pretty much complete, and very useable. More importantly, it is definitely hitting those emotional strings I hoped it would. Although I have greater mechanical knowledge, a bit more height and a lot more weight, I still feel like a child every time I climb in. The neighbours all seem amused too, it’s not something you usually see on the estate.
While the tractor wasn’t quite fully assembled, all the parts needed for completion were included. I’m not interested in some near-factor condition restoration, partly because I don’t believe any tractor stays as it was when it left the production line. With an extra switch here and a bit of a dent there, tractors quickly pick up modifications, character and personality. I wouldn’t want to remove these from a tractor, but I also have in my mind how a Ford 7610 should look. So within hours of the tractor arriving, it’s back to the factor exhaust and short stack air pre-filter.
A quick once over
Almost as soon as the Ford 7610 arrived, it started raining. Possibly for the best, or I might have just moved in. However, in between the showers, I did at least manage to give the tractor a once over and start understanding what I had let myself in for, and how much of a project this tractor might become..
Obvious issues
Beyond the lack of working lights, the tractor also has a few things that need to be worked on. The power steering is all over the place, and the hard metal pipes have been replaced with rubber, which has perished. Poor directional control is possibly not helped by the quarter-turn play in the drag-link steering. Predictably there are a few oil leaks, as would be expected on a tractor of this age, and I’ll tackle them over time.
Filters, levels and servicing
One priority task will be to get the tractor serviced. There is no paperwork with it, which, having worked on a few farms, is not a surprise, but it does mean I need a baseline to start from. It’s in my skill set to carry out a service, but I don’t have the experience to see unobvious faults, so it will go to a local place for repair. That said, oil levels and coolant are all topped up, and the air filter doesn’t look too bad.
Dirt and rust
With this Ford 7610 being nearly 40 years old, it is expected that it has a lot of surface rust. And while generally very clean, removing trim reveals a lot of build-up in hard-to-reach places. Some of the dirt, like in the picture above, is blocking cabin drain holes, so the worst of the filth is cleared out, and the rusty areas are quickly treated with Dinitrol RC900.
Cosmetics
All in all, though, the tractor is in really good condition. The cab needs a little welding around the left-hand door shut, but otherwise, my Ford 7610 seems in solid condition. The blue repaint on the outside seems really good. A nice, even blow over with excellent coverage. It’s a shame that the preparation wasn’t given more attention. There is a LOT of overspray, but I can work on that. I do want to tackle the roof too. While the fibreglass clamshell is in overall ok condition, it is very weathered and could do with a new epoxy top coat. Hopefully, I can restore the FORD lettering on the roof too.
What’s Next For My Ford 7610
My priority will be to get the tractor road legal. While it is TAX and MOT exempt, that doesn’t mean I can just run it. All exterior lights will need to be working before I can take the 7610 for a drive. I will also want to give it a good overall mechanical inspection, check things that should be tight, are, and check that grease and air are in the right places. Basic checks that any new equipment should have.
Once the Ford 7610 is ready for the road, it needs a short drive down to the farm. I plan for this tractor to live a working life, probably living outside with light duties on the farm, running a mower or providing hydraulic power. It won’t be a showpiece, but hopefully, it will get to some shows. And if I can find suitable land and a teacher, I would love to give ploughing a shot. Maybe even find some local contracting work!
M
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