Classic Massey Magazine No.50 Timewarp MF 399 Back Issue

My favourite time of year is upon us – the clocks have changed, the sun is out and the summer creeps ever closer. I have done my first cut of silage (actually just mown the lawn… but you could have got an impressive crop!) and have been trying to decide what to do on the FBHVC’s Drive it Day on April 27; taking a tractor through the lanes to a quiet spot and
watch the Stilton Cheese Run classic car event go past seems to be current favourite. I recently had occasion to read a number of back issues of Truck magazine – not at first glance relevant to the world of
CM&Fe, but I soon found myself absorbed in following the story of Massey Ferguson’s purchase of Rolls-Royce Diesels. It was amusing to read the story of the sale from the first ‘rumours’ through to confirmation. It was 1984, just a few years after MF experienced severe financial problems. After the initial, ‘Massey Ferguson to buy Rolls Royce Diesel division’ headline it became clear that RR Diesels would become part of Perkins Engines, themselves then owned by MF. Perkins wanted the Rolls business to boost the spread of their power units, the deal giving the firm a range of products from 30 hp up to 1,200 hp, and from 1.8 litre to 32.7 litre capacity. Quite a line up! Apologies to those of you looking forward to our feature on East Anglian collector and character, Allan Harris. In order to give Peter Love’s feature the best space I have held it over for a month; don’t worry, it will be worth the wait. On page 24 you can read about my visit to the recent, highly impressive, Discover
AGCO event at the NEC. Virtually all the current MF range was represented but it was pleasing to see the firm’s heritage being shouted about, via digital displays, and supported via the spare parts and remanufacturing schemes.