Vintage Ferguson tractor set to break records raising funds for charity
© Pete Burdass A tractor enthusiast from Perthshire in Scotland is set to embark on a mammoth fundraising effort, driving his 1949 Ferguson TED20 tractor from John O’ Groats to Lands End.
Owner Pete Burdass will begin the epic 1,200-mile journey on 4 June to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, after his mother sadly passed away following a short but devastating battle with the disease.
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So far, “The little grey Fergie challenge” has raised more than £13,000, and Mr Burdass hopes to complete the journey, which has never been attempted on a Ferguson tractor before, in just 12 days.
“If I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,” said Mr Burdass. “I’m 52 in a week’s time.
“It’s never been done before in a petrol paraffin Fergie, so it’s going to be quite spectacular to achieve such a goal.”
© Pete Burdass
Mr Burdass has fully restored the tractor himself, so he has full faith that the Fergie will complete the journey without any hiccups.
“I bought it about three years ago. When I got it back home, it was leaking more oil than it was holding,” he said.
“Coming from a farming and agricultural engineering background, I stripped it back to the bare bones and it’s been rebuilt from scratch. It’s sitting like a brand new tractor now.”
Mr Burdass has planned a route that involves stopping in several locations across the UK, including driving through the centre of Edinburgh.