Muir hills putting down the power

[bravheart]

Our local pea group had a fleet of viners pulled mainly by county's but had one muir hill. Can remember watching the muir hill ploughing some steepish stiff stuff along the road, when it hit the stiffest bits it was rearing it's head lifting the front wheels off the ground.

 

[David.]

I was supposed to be going to work on a farm for a year when i left school, that had one of those, a few 5000s, that stayed hooked on each implement, and a couple of Clayson 1540s.
Senior management put the kibosh on that, lest I "got spoilt".
One of those "turn of the cards" moments in life..

 

[Oliveau]

It was the drop box, that took the power away,

Can’t say that I ever noticed a lack of power. Bear in mind that the Mk1 MH only had eight speed gearboxes (like the 5000’s of the day) and only had a power advantage over the Force 5000 of 25hp or so.
Look how many HP is deemed necessary these days to pull a 4 furrow reversible. My original 101 would toy with a 5 furrow 14” conventional Kverneland - 5th gear all day long.

 

[soapsud]

Can’t say that I ever noticed a lack of power. Bear in mind that the Mk1 MH only had eight speed gearboxes (like the 5000’s of the day) and only had a power advantage over the Force 5000 of 25hp or so.
Look how many HP is deemed necessary these days to pull a 4 furrow reversible. My original 101 would toy with a 5 furrow 14” conventional Kverneland - 5th gear all day long.

I tried googling the difference between sychromesh and CVT and found nothing telling about effiicency.

When I was a trainee mechanic in the 80s, I was told auto gearboxes had a lot of slippage. Even so, in stop-start traffic they won hands down for fuel economy compared standard but if you were out on the open road than manual will always win. Obviously modern CVT and powershift are way more efficient than back then but it's interesting what some say here.

 

[DrDunc]

A few pics, Shuttleworth farm 1977View attachment 1090276View attachment 1090280View attachment 1090277

Never mind the Muir hill......

Two wheel drive on the silage cart! those were the days when driving was a skill

I didn't much enjoy buckraking the pit with a wee fergy 135 though

 

[grainboy]

Ford 5000 with Farmhand F11 on the pit,

 

[bravheart]

Yep 135 on the pit and a 2wd 590 pulling a chopper and a trailer, leaning out the back pulling and turning handles to fill trailer full, dropping off when full and hitching up an empty. Those were the days 10acre was a really big day.

 

[Courier]

Ford 5000 with Farmhand F11 on the pit, View attachment 1090380
View attachment 1090381

Had a top grab like that on a 7ft fork on a Sambron J24S - Slow as hell but could shift a trailer load of grass in 2 to 3 grabfulls .

 

[yorkie]

Our local pea group had a fleet of viners pulled mainly by county's but had one muir hill. Can remember watching the muir hill ploughing some steepish stiff stuff along the road, when it hit the stiffest bits it was rearing it's head lifting the front wheels off the ground.

them where the days used to drive one of them many moons ago , going through Kelso used to make them bounce , with m not knowing the area to start with every one used to try to loose me on the road for a laugh

 

[bravheart]

That'll be the ones would think uneven cobbles would make them bounce a bit, certainly long before cab/axle suspension. Sure one was faster than the rest was it the muir hill?

 

[Oliveau]

Ford 5000 with Farmhand F11 on the pit, View attachment 1090380
View attachment 1090381

That steel Framed pit in the background is the thing that NIAE built in 1970. It was designed so that it had some sort of conveyor to fill the pit, and then I think the idea was to reverse the convyor to get silage out again. Srangely enough the idea never caught on....!

 

[Oliveau]

That'll be the ones would think uneven cobbles would make them bounce a bit, certainly long before cab/axle suspension. Sure one was faster than the rest was it the muir hill?

The MH when flat out on the road always used to 'Noddy' - that is the front end would bounce up and down!

 

[yorkie]

That'll be the ones would think uneven cobbles would make them bounce a bit, certainly long before cab/axle suspension. Sure one was faster than the rest was it the muir hill?

one of the cuntys was the fastest , to long ago to remember

 

[spinkles]

The MH when flat out on the road always used to 'Noddy' - that is the front end would bounce up and down!

ours on a17 mile corn lead was known as the w*****g machine!

 

[Oliveau]

one of the cuntys was the fastest , to long ago to remember

Yes, that’s what I used to call them too……….

 

[nick...]

I used a muir hill 121 s3 in 79 on Diss pea group. Was a great tractor and would easily turn well inside a county turning circle.was very bouncy on the road but gripped really well ploughing.bought myself one about 18 years ago to restore but the chap who started doing it died and the next person let me down so it got sold.woukd be worth a good bit today
nick...

 

[Lowland1]

We had a 101 that we used with a five furrow international semi mounted plough and in the summer it went pea vining. My Dad reckoned it wasn’t half the tractor that the Doe 130 it replaced was. (Obviously it was 30 hp less) I used it as a ten year old sitting on cushions to see over the bonnet with a 12 ft Sabre chisel plough sixth gear flat out. We then got a 121 but truthfully a Ford 8210 would pull just as well.

 

[David.]

You have to see these machines in the light of what was available at the time.
I'd say a 141 was perhaps the pick? all the weight was in the right place for draft work, and by heck you were the boy if you had one of them when they were new.

 

[Lowland1]

You have to see these machines in the light of what was available at the time.
I'd say a 141 was perhaps the pick? all the weight was in the right place for draft work, and by heck you were the boy if you had one of them when they were new.

I reckon that’s right especially with bigger the158hp engine.

 

[Bramble]

Used to have a 121 up until the early 90’s. Pulling a trailed forager, 4f reversible plough were it’s main jobs. Horrible on the road or for any carting.

Leyland 270 pulling lorry conversion trailers weighing 12t fully loaded off steep banks was scary when silage making.