Even Even more classic pics !!!!

[El arado]

I probably am mistaken, as I recall it was an ad in one of the farming mag's (probably not even in UK) and the swathe size looked so impressive. Much better than the 6ft cut bagger I was a slave on - 2cwt BSC sacks.....not funny.

 

[John 1594]

Well El arado I have to say I think you could be mistaken that a Fisher Humphires 24ft was ever on the drawing board, or could have been actually been built. I realise that it was claimed that the F H Victory combine was the largest combine in the world as was stated in marketing publications during the early years of manufacture in the late 60's and early 1970's,but working at the only factory making Fisher Humpries combines at Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire.your DREAM I afraid was not something I ever heard about. We only made a folding header in two sizes of 14ft and 18ft.To fold up header halves of 12ft would have required big changes, making machine overall height of around 14ft or even 15ft and to counter balance the extra header weight would have needed a lot more than just filling the rear axle with concrete as we did already.
If you have some more information I'll be very pleased to read about it.

Read in an aticle somewhere that on one occasion the biggest lely victory actually managed to harvest the quoted brouchure output of 16 tonnes an hour, without breaking down

@Selectamatic is the man on here to speak to about lely combines

 

[old vin ag]

Read in an aticle somewhere that on one occasion the biggest lely victory actually managed to harvest the quoted brouchure output of 16 tonnes an hour, without breaking down

@Selectamatic is the man on here to speak to about lely combines

You are quite right it was in an article in Clasisic Tractor written by Simon Henley. The statement was made by my good friend David Wilkins who I worked with at Fisher Humpries for several years. I think Selectamatic made some quite fair comments about the Victory in that article also. I was asked to contribute but was just too busy at the time. For those of us left after all these years, the memory still remains of a great challenge fought, but not one we could win.
Just to revert back to the main points in this thread, it's been stated more than once about combines from 40&50 years ago originating from outside Europe having Development work done to them to try and make them successful here and in Europe If you make a study of many Farm Machinery Companies and the many machines they import from around the world I think you will find this is just as true today as ever it was even with this high Tec age of computers, and cad design.etc.
A recent one was Deutz Fahr who have always made a very good range of very reliable and mechanic friendly Straw Walker machines decided to try the bigger sized machine market. Firstly around 2000 a machine called The 8 X L was marketed in the U K. I believe the machine had been developed in South Africa,some you may have worked on it or seen it at the time. Complete disaster and it was with drawn from the market after just a few sales here.Then just about 10 years later a Rotary Machine made in South America was trialled in Europe. The nearest I got to this machine was at I think,it was Agritechnia where the Rotary drum from a machine was on show with a plan to market the machine for the next season. It's not been mentioned recently, so DEUTZ dealers will just have to be content with straw walker machines for a some little while yet, and leave Claas and New Holland with a very large part of the Big Combine business here at home.

 

[two-cylinder]

I'm quite surprised to hear you still run Massey Combines, after the comments that as a company they let there customers down not only today but in the last 3 decades!
The comments about machines not being big enough at that time! Well this problem is an on going one amongst big arable growers at least the push for larger equipment is a historic one it ain't never big enough I guess ,but on my travels I have seen the extent of these big computerised marvels! Samples I would be embarrassed to have in me shed, and losses that I think would be quite unacceptable to us small time growers here in the paddocks of Somerset!! Kind regards jakeboy.

We've had our present Massey for 23 harvests and hope to for another.
I guess it's a case of better the devil you know!
But, I wouldn't buy another given the spares situation both in terms of little stock held in within these shores and the company's keenness to make parts obsolete.
Green or yellow parts are more readily available both new and used.

 

[farmer99]

@John 1594 have Mitchams still got a heap of old combines for bits near you at Burwell went there some time ago for a gearbox for a JD very helpfull he had severall Masseys then.We switched in 1962 from 780 to Giant Matador a revelation!

 

[John 1594]

@John 1594 have Mitchams still got a heap of old combines for bits near you at Burwell went there some time ago for a gearbox for a JD very helpfull he had severall Masseys then.We switched in 1962 from 780 to Giant Matador a revelation!

never been out that way tbh, i got a lot of spares from P&SM Johnson in holbeach when they was big into breaking combines, found ut they were going to stop breaking them so went over and stocked up on everything i could think of

 

[Selectamatic]

Read in an aticle somewhere that on one occasion the biggest lely victory actually managed to harvest the quoted brouchure output of 16 tonnes an hour, without breaking down

@Selectamatic is the man on here to speak to about lely combines

I have a brochure at home that quotes the Victory at 17t an hour, although I've never been in anyway scientific in measuring, I can imagine that this is correct

The problem with the early ones was keeping them going, the lager ones were better but by then they had the reputation.

I have seen them perform against their peers from the same age range, I would have no issues in putting ours up against any one of them in terms of cutting, throuput, or losses.

We used to run three of them, when around here the competition was Claas Matadors, NH Clayson, MF400's etc. We are not a big arable area, but we cut about 250 acres, one 120 acres, one 50 acres, the remainder were 3,5,7,10 size fields. It was about getting there, getting done, moving on. The Lely's output was great for this, the auger that was pushing it into the granary was often the limiting factor. Also, we could rarely use the machine to its potencial in little fields, standing on the headland to unload, negotiating trees etc, but the Lely was certainly a jump up from its predecessors.

 

[MF-ANDY]

@John 1594 have Mitchams still got a heap of old combines for bits near you at Burwell went there some time ago for a gearbox for a JD very helpfull he had severall Masseys then.We switched in 1962 from 780 to Giant Matador a revelation!

been there for bits many times. not sure whats left there now

 

[Henarar]

A friend of Clare's uses his old MF780 to combine 8 acres every year

 

[db9go]

A friend of Clare's uses his old MF780 to combine 8 acres every year

Do you no the history of that combine

 

[Henarar]

It use to be bagger the chap converted it
I think it has always been in the family
as has the 4000 on the grain trailer
He got caught for driving the 780 in London without paying the congestion charge and he lives in Warwickshire

 

[db9go]

It use to be bagger the chap converted it
I think it has always been in the family
as has the 4000 on the grain trailer
He got caught for driving the 780 in London without paying the congestion charge and he lives in Warwickshire

It is just the reg number ls a bucks reg and it looks fermiler

 

[Henarar]

It is just the reg number ls a bucks reg and it looks fermiler

I will ask Clare to ask him where it came from.

 

[Henarar]

Its a 1961
He bought it in 1970ish
it was a TVO but had the engine changed to a 4-270 from a 788

 

[John 1594]

Our 525 when she was a bit younger and belonging to her previous owner, with a very youthfull looking chap driving the 35!!!!!! Taken around 1998 i think???

 

[Flat 10]

been there for bits many times. not sure whats left there now

Not much I don't think. More JD from what I can see............