A 1927 Farmall Regular tractor is up and running again after a group of students and Marno Ferreira, the son of the tractor’s owner, worked on it for more than 300 hours since January 2014. The tractor was originally used to pull a hammer mill for milling wheat and maize on a farm near Bethlehem, and it now belongs to Jannie Ferreira who owns the Ferreira museum outside Bloemfontein.

The group of students started the restoration project after the head of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Dries Bothma, thought it would be a good experience for the students. The tractor was entered in a tractor restoration competition where the students achieved third place at the Nampo festival held earlier in the semester. The first two places was awarded to twin brothers from Klerksdorp. “What makes the students’ achievement exceptional is that they manufactured 70 parts for the tractor from scratch in the CUT’s Product Development and Technology Station (PDTS) which also sponsored the material and work-hours for the restoration of the tractor” said Bothma. 

From left, with the final product, is Sasha, the dog, Marno Ferreira, Eric Newby, André Heydenrych and Allan Kinnear. Photo: Francois Heydenrych