It is 30 years since the husband and wife team of Nick and Nicki Ewbank founded Lynx Engineering in 1992, and to mark the occasion the company has fully refurbished this nearly 30-year-old John Deere 6800 tractor, a product we have been following in 2022 and will have the final parts in upcoming issues of the magazine.
The choice of the Deere for the project was quickly decided. Launched at the Royal Smithfield show in 1994, by the time UK received their first 6000 series tractors, Lynx had a Zuidberg front linkage and pto kit ready to fit them.
After taking delivery of the 6800 late 2021, the project overcome numerous challenges, such as the Covid pandemic, problems associated with Brexit and extended lead times on parts delivery.
The John Deere tractor looked in reasonable condition for its age and hours. However, stripping it down to the chassis revealed numerous underlying problems, including an engine that only ran on five cylinders, a turbo requiring a full rebuild and a gearbox that was virtually completely replaced with new parts. Work was also needed on front and rear axles and there was much more cleaning, blasting and painting than originally planned for.
The original Zuidberg front linkage could not be saved so a new up to date system was specified with the addition of a front pto. The original Dromone rear pick-up hitch was overhauled and the original viscous fan was swapped for a new Flexxaire reversing cooling/cleaning fan.
Two of the Lynx team assigned to the project, Greg Allan (left) and Sam Ewbank. They worked on the tractor alongside their main jobs with Mark Purves.
The end result demonstrates how an old, tired and well used tractor can be restored and re-equipped with new components to give it a new lease of life, and one of the last jobs will be to equip the tractor with the latest Stoll ProfiLine front loader. You will be able to see the finished tractor at LAMMA.
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