The Shropshire countryside has been treated to the sight of a 60 year old Claas SF combine in a field alongside its modern counterpart, the Lexion 8700TT.
The SF, sold new by Morris Corfield in 1962, was the first self-propelled combine to be sold by the dealership and is thought to be one of very few working examples in the country. It was shadowed in the field by the 8700TT, the latest deal between Morris Corfield and the Forester family, now trading as Barrow Farm.
John Corfield, one of the founders of the company, sold the classic combine to Lord Forester at Willey Hall in Broseley in 1962, and in 1965 it was sold on to John Rowson of Home Farm Cleobury North, then on to George Green in Burwarton before it completed it’s Shropshire tour and was bought back by Morris Corfield in 1989. The original log book is still residing in managing director, Norman Duppa’s, office.
Mr Duppa commented: “We wanted to celebrate the SF combine’s 60th Anniversary in style, she has been stored in a shed at our depot since June 1988 when we purchased it from Mr Green, last making an appearance at our open day in Benthall in 2013. After a quick wash down, it’s Ford engine fired up first time.
“It required some minor remedial work to get it working in the field this harvest including a cutter bar and header guard refurb and some replacement belts but this was easily completed thanks to the vast spare parts held at the at our depot.”
The SF combine was presented by August Claas in 1952 and had a ten year production run from 1953 to 1963. 19,456 units were built and this particular machine was sold to Lord Forester costing in the region of £1,600. The SF was offered with either a bagging platform or grain tank, 1.25m threshing drum, 10ft header, and 60hp Ford engine. The reel height can be hydraulically adjusted and threshing drum and travel speed are infinitely variable whilst on the move. In comparison Barrow Farm’s 8700TT Lexion is complete with the latest Cemos controls including 3D, 4D, Auto Stop, Auto Slope and the latest 1080 35ft Convio cutter bar.
The special scene kick started an exciting series of events and plans for 2024 across the company’s four depots to celebrate the firm’s 65 year anniversary as a Claas dealer;
