Stan Lincoln was brought up on a farm but became a diesel mechanic by trade as his father didn’t want him farming!
This led to a career as a machine operator in the earthmoving and forestry industries.
Stan and his wife Sue bought an eight acre block near Hamurana 29 years ago and built a house and developed the land.
The eight acres works hard for them, and they produce their own hay and silage, rear calves and run a few sheep, despite the land around them closing in with smaller lifestyle blocks.
It also offers the space for Stan to have a well-equipped shed and storage for his tractors and projects.
He is a member of the Rotorua Tractor and Machinery Club.
“I needed something with a bit more horsepower for tractor trekking with the club, and my dad’s old Ferguson 35 and my Farmall were too small,” says Stan.
Stan decided that his four cylinder Nuffield 10/60 that he used for haymaking could be modified to take a bigger engine.
He bought another 10/60 and using both tractors’ chassis and his engineering skills, made a new chassis that was eight inches wider with room for a six cylinder engine.
“I advertised for an engine and found a BMC Morris diesel truck engine. I had to pull it out of the truck myself and was pretty annoyed to find out that it had no oil pressure and didn’t run too well at all!”
The project sat in the shed for two years untouched until Stan got over his grump and tackled it again.
“As a mechanic I knew about Nuffields, and I am very lucky to have contacts in the industry so I know people who can make almost anything or have the right machinery for me to use.”
He had to source Nuffield parts from all over, including England where he reckons you can “get
just about anything if you’re prepared to pay triple the price of the part in freight!”
Stan put 10/85 stickers on the new hybrid Nuffield as the new six cylinder engine offers around 85hp. It is used for making hay and trekking. Sue joins in by following the trekkers with hot drinks and a picnic lunch.
Stan has five working tractors which he has done up, or as Sue describes the situation, “a dedicated tractor for each piece of machinery we own and use around the property!”
He also has a lot of spare Nuffield parts for sale after his build.