Lanz Success Leads To Field Marshal

As before, we had a good clean exhaust under idle, and this time it was great to have a seat to sit on. We selected a gear and headed off up the yard, the first time in 12 months under its own power.

We telephoned Norman that evening and informed him that we had finished restoring his old workhorse, and he was eager to know how it turned out.

'Well, you had better come and drive it in the grand parade at our show next week.'

'Really? Yes, of course I'll be there,' Norman said.

The next week it was bright and sunny as I departed down the road to the local showground. It was then I discovered the limitations of a 6 mph top gear, especially when I got rounded up by Oliver 70's and similar hot rods.

Upon arriving at the grounds, I could see that we had a good selection of Marshalls from all over the state, 12-20's through to Series 3. It was then that I saw one gentleman admiring my new arrival more excitedly than anyone else, pointing it out to all the people around him. Looking more carefully, I saw it was Norman, complete with family, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

'Yes, that one's mine!' he exclaimed, pointing at the one original British Firestone tyre on the rear .

We exchanged greetings and discussed aspects of the restoration. He was in fact surprised we had gone to all the trouble of making and upholstering a seat, but he was even more surprised at us cranking the engine by hand. Again the engine started easily, and we invited Norman to go for a drive.

I was sure that he had a tear in his eye as he stepped off. After having his photo taken on the Marshall with his great-grandson, his sense of humour came to the fore again, as Dad arrived on the scene and asked Norman what he thought of his restored tractor.

'Very nice, but I thought you were going to paint it!' was his reply as he laughed, remembering our first meeting on that gravel road.

Norman's Marshall is now proudly parked in our museum opposite its German nemesis, the Lanz Bulldog, two single cylinder two-strokes together. I guess another would be nice ... !