John,

Nice looking stuff you have come across! Any Idea what the lettering or numbers are or read on the left side of the frame just ahead of the hand hole cover? Possibly registration numbers??

You and Malcolm have been doing a great job of keeping me entertained lately! Very neat and interesting stuff you've been digging up! Keep up the good work.. I just wish more people would participate as I am sure we haven't seen the tip of the iceberg as to what is out there in the wild yet waiting to be discovered...

Keep up the good work,

Joe

Joe,

They could possibly be what we used to have on all commercial vehicles "tare number".  This was the weight quoted in tons, quarters and hundredweights.  This type of number was on my wide front Challenger but I stuipdly painted over it many years ago.........

John

John / Joe and Lyn,

For the ten years or so when your wide front green  GH was part of my collection, I stupidly never took a photo of that lettering before it came back to your collection, but my recollection was the top line was the speed and the bottom line the weight as you describe.

That tractor went up to Alnwick in Northumberland in 1986 with  several others from my collection for "The First ever Massey Harris gathering in UK" it was a remarkable event of which John Moffitt was one of the instigators along with Eddie Brown a well known collector and member of the Local Club. I must dig out the old photo's as your wide front was displayed at the side of the ex John Moffitt single front Green Challenger, they both caused a lot of interest over the weekend. 

Thanks Lyn for the excellent photo's too, looking at them I am sure its the same driver and possibly the same tractor as the photo I posted from the Vigzol oil brochure.

Malcolm.

Here is another period photograph of a styled red Wide Front Challenger at work in Scotland. Again this tractor is fitted with French and Hecht round spoke rear and British cast front wheels, plus the optional mudguards.
This tractor did manage to escape the scrap drives after sitting for many years in a scrap yard, eventually rescued and worked it's way into preservation in Scotland.

Malcolm.

I can't recall seeing any advertising for the N American wide front Challengers - red or green.  Has anyone anything stored away?

Also I don't recollect there being anything in the parts books???

Who out there knows of these things??

John

John,

I checked all my Challenger brochures last night, from North America and no mention of either styles of Wide Front Challenger, hope someone else can come up with something from across there.

While we have the photo's in my previous post of the red styled version here is the British brochure, note the dealers name on the front cover, Gibbs of Bedfont who we have just been talking about in the "Rare 12-20" thread.

Malcolm.

Here we have the British brochure advertising the earlier green wide front Challenger, the pictures below are from the 1937 edition and its still the same in the 1938 brochure.

I think its again the very same tractor with different driver and implement as we have seen in previous posts in this thread.

Malcolm.

Here is a wide front challenger that I picked up about 1 1/2 years ago from Fortuna, California. The previous owner had it for 25 years. The engine is loose hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will finally get it pulled in the shop and running. I found a set of front wheels in California at a salvage yard to match the rears that are Wilson and Nutwell. The serial number is 132712. Here are a couple of pictures.

Well done a very nice find Damond, hope you soon have it up and running, is it a repaint restoration job or are you keeping the original patina?

 

Keep us posted of your progression and thank you for adding to this interesting debate.


Malcolm. 

Damond,

Interesting that your CH has Wilson and Nuttal wheels.  I have them on my red orchard Pacemaker that I bought out of the "junk yard" at the Larry Weber Dome valley sale.  They seem to have been quite widely used down in that SE corner of the USA???  Heavy and strurdy wheels.

John