Ground-up tractor restorations

• Published date: 27 March 2024
• Publication title: Central Rural Life

Tractor collector Gordon Handy has put countless hours into a ground-up restoration after stripping the Newman AN4 down

The retired John Deere (JD) dealership owner was contacted by a retired farmer, who told him he had a trio of unusual tractors for sale.

They were a pair of AN4s made by Newman Industries in England’s Lincolnshire — one of them had to be untangled from a tree — and a 1948 small three-wheeler Gunsmith garden tractor.

Intrigued, as he had never heard of Newman or Gunsmith tractors, he went to have a look.

‘‘I thought it was too far gone as it was rusted out, the tyres were perished and the engine was completely seized and it had been sitting around for years not far from the coast by Washdyke. It just looked like a bucket of rust with chooks flying around, while the other one had a tree growing up in the middle of it. Anyway, I went down with a chainsaw and a tractor and they came home with me.’’

New valves had to be made as no parts could be found.

The petrol-driven Newman is air-cooled with a fan on the flywheel and has a two-cylinder Coventry Victory engine.

He’s been told it was used for mowing grass strips on the side of roads by the Ministry of Works.

When it was built, the British government was encouraging companies to switch from making guns and ammunition to producing tractors for small holdings so they could grow more food.

The company produced tractors for four or five years and only about 300 ever made.

‘‘To my best knowledge, and I stand to be corrected, there’s probably only five in New Zealand of that type. This one has a reasonably early serial number. I enjoyed the project and it was more enjoyable by not knowing what you were working with until you got into it as I didn’t know the tractor at all. When you finally wound up the crank handle and away it went it was quite special.’’

Unlike the standard green and yellow John Deere livery, Newman buyers could order any colour they wanted. Sandblasting revealed a red and lemony yellow combination, so this was retained and its original badging is still on the frame.

Along with the restored Newman came the tree-bound tractor in much the same condition and the jury is still out whether this will be restored.

Initially, the yellow Gunsmith appealed to him more as he could imagine children driving it at a rally and he was told it was going before its nose was half-parked in a shed.

Built in England post-WW2, the Gunsmith has a five horsepower, single-cylinder JAP engine. A two-speed...