“I first heard about No 33 in mid-2017 from an orchardist friend in Gisborne.”
His friend said he would sell it on for a reasonable price due to the fact large amounts of coolant were leaking into the engine sump.
“In light of this the previous owner was running No 33 short distances with no water in the radiator.”
A few months later he came to Gisborne to inspect the tractor.
“It looked OK — worn front and rear tyres, very little rust in the panels, extra hydraulic valves fitted being some of my main observations, but overall, not too bad.”
He wasn’t worried about the engine as he had done up many of these when working as a mechanic for Case IH.
Mr Meacheam now operates his own small business in the Manawatu area.
“When it was finally trucked back to my home, I set to work on No 33.”
After the cylinder head and sump were removed, he withdrew the cylinder liners as he suspected there was a very large hole in the No.2 liner.
“I obtained aftermarket liners and piston rings, and using good second-hand pistons assembled these parts back into the engine block.”
Due to corrosion caused by the lack of coolant additive, sealant needed to be used on the cylinder liner O rings.
A valve grind and three new exhaust valves were fitted, then the head was surfaced to get correct valve heights, which was important in these IH Neuss engines, he said.
No 33 fitted the bill very wellAfter new front tyres and rebushing and repairs to the steering were completed, the old workhorse started and ran well.
“The next problem was the hydraulic filter blocking every three hours or so for a time due to dirty and water-contaminated transmission oil.
“Just in time for haymaking, No 33 was used in my new venture of conventional hay-baling.
“I already had a John Deere 24T hay-baler Centrac Invader Rak and a four-disc Vicon mower, but could never find a suitable tractor in my price range to operate these machines.
“No 33 fitted the bill very well and proved comfortable and reliable over 60 or 70 engine hours of operation.”
Mr Meacheam is keen to find out what No 33 was used for during its time with Wattie’s.
“I am almost sure No 33 would have been sold new by ABC Motors — the Gisborne area International Harvester dealers at that time.”
Mr Meacheam was born on a small dairy farm near Dannevirke and has good memories of Gisborne. He often visited the area and stayed with friend Don McLean from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Mr McLean worked for the Massey Ferguson dealership at this time.
He met Mr McLean as the tractor mechanic who repaired his father’s Farmall FC tractor.
Some time around 1968, Mr McLean and wife Shirley moved to Birrell Street.
“I would travel from Dannevirke to Gisborne to stay for up to two weeks or so,” said Mr Meacheam.
“Generally I took the train. Don would take me around in his Commer and later Toyota service van to repair and service Massey Ferguson tractors.
He remembers quite a few people from that time; mostly farmers and contractors.
The Ferkins were one family he recalled.
“I remember an incident when David Ferkins was driving a fairly large Massey Ferguson tractor along the road. Something broke in the steering mechanism and the tractor ran off the road, knocking down a section of fence, which would have been unavoidable as even then the big tractors were quite fast.”
Ernie White was another local contractor he remembered.
“I remember him having an International Harvester 403 with a four-row maize front combine harvester. I used to see Mr White harvesting fields of maize quite often.
“I believe ABC Motors imported this combine harvester around 1965 for Mr White and it was the only one of its kind at that time in New Zealand. The cost was approximately 7500 pounds.
“Don told me it would harvest about six acres per hour. It makes me chuckle as there’s no comparison to the Big Claas, John Deere or Case IH machines that would be used for this operation now.”
A service call to a local Chinese market gardener with a Ferguson TEA 20 tractor was another memory.
“It had a broken valve spring. We removed the fuel tank, rocker cover etc to gain access to the broken spring. I held a bent screwdriver up through the spark plug hole, Don tied a length of brown string around the valve stem, just in case the valve dropped, and carefully replaced the spring. We reset the tappets, replaced the valve cover and fuel tank etc. The tractor was up and running and working again as we left the market garden.
“This is a far cry from some of the electronic faults and parts required from the UK — stories you sometimes hear from the tractor servicemen nowadays concerning the very latest equipment.”
He fondly remembers the juicy, sweet fruit and tasty vegetables.
“The sight of the endless fields of maize, the nice people, the attractive city, the smell of the freshly-turned soil of the sheltered Waipaoa valley makes my emotions rise and my spirits lift as I enter the Gisborne area these days.”
If anyone can help with information about No 33, email Mr Meacheam at Ling-682005@hotmail.com
