MARSHALL tractors appear to have had a short production run of their ‘Golden Harvest’-coloured tractors after taking over the Leyland tractor company.
In fact, Marshall had been making agricultural equipment for over 130 years prior to the takeover and built their first tractor, ‘The Dreadnought’ in 1908.
Other tractors included the 1530, the famous green ‘Field Marshall’ and of course the popular TM ‘Track
Marshall’.
Although Leyland tractors were sold to Marshall tractors in 1982, Leyland had actually revised their colour scheme to ‘Golden Harvest’ and black in 1980. A new range was launched in 1980 to coincide with the new paintwork with almost two-year Leyland production run – which was continued on by
Marshall.
The 282 and 482 (4wd) were upgraded to the 802 and 804 (4wd) respectively which, amoungst other upgrades, saw the fitting of the Danish-built Sekura deluxe cab dubbed the ‘Explorer’ cab, which coincidently was also fitted to Case International’s ‘90’ series tractors.
The acquisition of Leyland tractors by Marshall in 1982 resulted in the relocation of the production of the tractors from Bathgate, Scotland to Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in England.
Keen to maintain their Leyland customers, the Marshall marketing team’s slogan was that Leyland tractors were simply ‘made better by Marshall’.
Power for the 802 comes from the a turbocharged 3.8l, four-cylinder engine producing 82hp, continued on from Leyland. Again inherited from Leyland (known then as Synchro), the tractor features a 9F/3R with gear levers right and left of the seat – the right selecting gears one to three, as well as reverse, the left selecting the three ranges.
Worthy of note is the later XL models which featured a creeper gear option, expanding the gear range to 15F/5R as well as an eight-inch spacer to provide a longer wheel base.
The 802 also boasts oil-immersed disc brakes, a two speed PTO as well as 68l/min hydraulic flow. The CATII linkage can lift over 2.5 tons off the ground when fitted with an assistor ram. The 802’s ‘Explorer’ cab has a bright workspace finished in sand colour and features curved glass and sunroof.
The dash console is also well laid out, with built in ventilation vents, however the two-spoke steering wheel is a little unusual.
By 1985, Marshall tractors were in financial difficulties and unfortunately went into receivership the following year, making the Gainsborough-built ‘Golden Harvest’ tractors somewhat of a rarity.
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