FITCH FOUR DRIVE TRACTOR COMPANY
BIG RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery Museum's Model D 20-35
This Fitch Four Drive Model D 20-35 tractor is on display at the Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery Museum at Brayshaw Park in Blenheim, New Zealand. The tractor was originally purchased by Blenheim agricultural contractors the McCallum Brothers, Robert and Roy of Riverlands, a small town near Blenheim. The tractor is now owned by the Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery Society who operates the museum.
The tractor was one of two Four Drive Tractors owned by the McCallum Brothers, costing 650 pounds at the time of purchase. The Tractor spent its working life driving threshing mills and other farm equipment. Soon after purchasing the tractor, the McCallum Brothers changed the radiator because the original became clogged up with chaff from the grain husks after separating it from the seed. Since the new radiator was taller than the original, the brothers fashioned a new hood to go from the top of the radiator to the gas tank. As a result, the make-shift hood appeared slanted. At some point early in its life, the Climax engine gave out and was replaced by a Dorman engine.
McCallum Bros. Fitch pulling a Case mill in 1927. Note the slanted hood.
Ron H. McCallum refueling the tractor in 1927.
​Fitch tractor in 1976 owned by Ian Giltrap.
The tractor lay derelict during the World War II years and then passed into the hands of a sawmiller who used it for a short time on the North Island. He then sold it to Ian Giltrap, a collector in Christchurch, NZ. He offered the tractor to the Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery Society in 1985.
Fitch tractor before restoration in 1985.
The Society purchased the tractor for $500 in September 1985 and began to restore it in 1986. Society members Ian LeGrice and Bob Thoms (whose late older brother Harry operated the tractor when it was owned by the McCallum Bros.) had completely restored the tractor by 1988. A new hood and panel was handmade by Rob to fully enclose the sides of the engine and the gas tank. The tractor has had many modifications but is a good example of an early Fitch Four Drive Tractor. The tractor is fully operation and is used on most of the Society's Field Days at the Museum and at local tractor rallies.
Fitch tractor on display at MVFM Museum.
photos courtesy of Richard Robinson and Bob Thoms
Donald and Grant McCallum, son and grandson of the original owner, stand next to the former McCallum Bros. Fitch Four Drive Tractor at the Christchurch, New Zealand tractor centennial rally in 1990.
Brayshaw Heritage Park occupies several acres of attractive parkland near Blenheim's south-west boundary. Established in 1968, the Park is home to a number of organizations including:
- Marlborough Historical Society
- Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery
- The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Marlborough Branch
- Marlborough Associated Modellers
A number of other Marlborough Clubs and Societies are also based at the Park, including the local Rock Mineral Club, Riverside Railway, Creative Fibre Guild, Genealogy Society, Woodworkers Guild, Havelock Lodge 104, Marlborough Choral Society, Marlborough Poultry and Pigeon and Cage Bird Club. All these groups hold regular meetings and events to which visitors are always welcome.
The Vintage Farm Museum museum houses one of the largest displays of vintage farm machinery in the Southern Hemisphere. Over 80 different tractors are on display including a 1910 Blackstone, the only known one in existance in the world.
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