THE County name is synonymous with equal wheeled, high horsepower, four-wheel drive tractors. Established in Fleet, Hampshire, England in 1929, the firm initially converted lorries, before moving to crawler tractors and ultimately equal wheel four-wheel drive tractors.
These tractors started life as Ford skid units which were built upon by County who honed in on the market niche for their specialist four-wheel drive machines, with a large amount of tractors exported overseas.
Four-wheel drive was County’s speciality, with very few manufacturers offering the drive system as a factory option until the late 70s. County’s niche was – which to this day still is – equal wheel specialist tractors. Many people associate the County name with their impressive 1184TW or 1884TW.
However, the concept and design of these tractors can be traced right back to 1960. While County produced crawler tractors in the 1950s, the Ford Super Major derived ‘Super Four’.
County were no stranger to Ford tractors, converting many Power Majors to crawler tractors. County took the Super Major skid unit as the basis for their first mass produced equal wheel four-wheel drive tractor.
Each front wheel received power from the rear half axle which had its own drive shaft that travelled along either side of the engine to the massive front wheel hubs on a new heavily engineered front axle.
This allowed for exceptional traction thanks to the driven front wheels as well as a full front axle differential lock.
Furthermore, the extra weight of the hubs, front axle, and rims added significant weight to the front of the tractor which also aided traction. However, it did compromise the turning circle and manoeuvrability of the tractor. On the business side, the tractor is powered by a 3.6l Ford engine, producing 52hp. Power is transmitted to the wheels via a 6F/2R gearbox through a 12” clutch.
Keen to put their own stamp on the Ford skid unit, the front tombstone of the tractor was cast with ‘Super-4’, which was painted orange to match the rims and had a purposeful look. While the ‘Super Major’ emblem and badge was retained on the nose and bonnet, the County name was also riveted to the bonnet. The colour scheme of the tractor did evolve from the navy and orange of the Super Major to a silver and blue colour with the release of the New Performance Super Major.
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