Some of the finest combine harvesters!
Posted by Chris Graham on 2nd December 2022
Massey Ferguson’s Kilmarnock factory made some of the world’s finest combine harvesters. We celebrate a few of them here.
![finest combine harvesters](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/RX369-2.jpg)
Powered by the Perkins A4.300 direct-injection, four-cylinder engine, the MF 410 featured six straw walkers and was available with table sizes of 8½ft, 10ft and 12ft. Front tyres were 15-26 and rears were 6.50-16. List price in December 1967 for the smallest model was £2,855, while a hydraulically-folding discharge auger added £35.
![finest combine harvesters](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/RX386-5.jpg)
Massey Ferguson’s medium-acreage model of its so-called ‘Big Four’ combines was marketed with the strapline ‘upper bracket performance – middle bracket price tag’ and, with the model starting at £3,100 (June 1968), it certainly offered a lot for your money. With increased straw-walker area over its predecessor, and MF’s exclusive ‘Double Action Separation’ system, this machine certainly delivered on all fronts.
![finest combine harvesters](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/NX459.jpg)
The MF 510 initially came in Standard and De-Luxe forms – but, by July 1970, this had been condensed to a single variant with the choice of four tables, from 10-16ft. With three forward gears and one reverse, operated by a steering column-mounted lever, the 510 had a list price of £4,075 – with automatic table height control (10ft table), plus road and field lights as standard.
![](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/RX372-5.jpg)
Largest of the ‘Big Four’, the MF 515 was capable of an output of 10 tons per hour. Features included 45in (1,140mm)-wide and 22in (560mm)-diameter cylinder, fully-adjustable concave, six straw walkers with an overload warning and a variable-speed fanning mill. List price (July 1970) for one of these combines with a 16ft table was £4,425.
![](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/MF-525-Super-II.jpg)
Fitted with a 104hp Perkins A6.354 engine, the MF 525 Super II had a list price of £23,365 in June 1980, when equipped with a 10ft table. The optional Power-Flow tables ranged from £1,950-£2,100. The combine featured six straw walkers and grain tank capacity of 3,020 litres (83 bushels).
![](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/RX444-1.jpg)
This shot purportedly shows the MF 515 on display at the 1968 Royal Smithfield Show.
This feature comes from the latest issue of Tractor & Machinery, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE
![Amazingly original 1963 Austin FG-series fire appliance](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/004_amd-240x160.jpg)
Previous Post
Amazingly original 1963 Austin FG-series fire appliance
![Lakeshore Railroad celebrates 50th anniversary](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/No-02f-Mountaineer-and-Adiela-stand-on-shed_amd-240x160.jpg)
Next Post
Lakeshore Railroad celebrates 50th anniversary
![Subscribe](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TRY-3-ISSUES-FOR-JUST-5-2.jpg)
![Subscribe](https://heritagemachines.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/320-x-50px-PPC-Banners-560-×-200px-1.png)