Across the Irish Sea, Cheffins’ Harrogate Vintage Sale will celebrate its 20th year with a “stand-out” auction on Saturday, August 19, at the Great Yorkshire Showground.
Claimed to be one of the biggest events in the vintage and classic machinery calendar – in Ireland or the UK – the auction will offer a series of “historic and rare items” ranging from steam engines and classic tractors to spares and bygones.
Of the over 100 tractors entered, the top lots include a 1988 Massey Ferguson 360 (main picture) which has only 816 hours on the clock. It’s practically a ‘barn find’; it’s still on its original Kleber tyres. Cheffins reckons it could make make £18,000.
There is also a 1966 Massey Ferguson 135 and a 1965 Massey Ferguson 130 up for grabs. These are estimated to make £6,000 and £5,000 respectively.
Three Roadless and County tractors, from a single UK farmer, are also expected to generate interest. All are in “good condition”.
First up is a 1959 Roadless Power Major with an estimate of between £6,000 and £8,000. A 1965 654 Super 4 is pegged at an estimate of between £8,000 and £10,000. A County Super Major Super 4 is “likely” to realise between £7,000 and £9,000.
Also on offer is a Marshall Model M, dating back to the 1940s. It, says Cheffins, could fetch up to £18,000.
Another item set to generate interest is a rare Ferguson Brown Type A – from the brief collaboration between Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson in the late 1930s. It is expected to achieve anywhere from £8,000 to £10,000.
In the bygones section, there will be a selection of stationary engines, implements, ploughs and spares.
Bill King, Chairman of Cheffins, commented: “The Harrogate sale has always been a key date in the vintage and classic calendar and attracts enthusiasts from all over Europe. In the past 20 years we have sold over 1,500 tractors at the Great Yorkshire Showground and offered 12,000 lots in total.
“The sale has grown every year and, since 1997, we have increased our offering from approximately 20 tractors to in excess of 100. The sale attracts collectors’ items from Ireland, north Wales and Scotland, as well as the surrounding regions.
“Our 20th anniversary year is no different and we expect people to be particularly interested in the three Ford [tractor] variants on offer, which are becoming increasingly collectible. We have seen a number of Ford collectors looking to diversify their collections in both Roadless and County versions, so we would expect to see some strong bidding on these.”
