Unique auction to offer private collection of over 80 Ford tractors

Image: Kivells

The complete dispersal of Phillip Warren’s vintage Ford collection of 83 tractors, plus diggers, handlers, trailers and farm machinery, is set to take place in Devon next month.

An avid collector, restorer and tinkerer, 77-year-old Phillip began buying and retaining tractors in 1989. He confesses to having “an extreme hobby gone out of control”.

His first purchase was a Ford 5000 Select-O-Speed from a Kivells auction and, being impressed with the Ford Selecta, he focused on and acquired many more Ford tractors, with his collection now totalling more than 80 vehicles.

Phillip commented: “I have enormously enjoyed collecting, restoring and tinkering [with] my tractors and hope the buyers at the sale will benefit in the same way I have for so many years. They still carry plenty of scope for improvement and further restoration.

“I would like to take this opportunity in thanking my family for their support and help towards the sale together with Alistair Bailey, Pete Grabham, Clint Allen and grandson Rich Colwill for all their hard work towards the preparation of the sale.”

Kivells says the sale is unique as all 83 tractors were manufactured by Ford and there are only a limited number of models, namely 35 Ford 4000s, 31 Ford 3000s, 10 Ford 5000s plus Ford 7810 4wd (4,500hrs), Ford 655 Special (full spec, only 1,806hrs) and four Ford 5000 tractors in kit form.

Kivells director, David Kivell, who has known Phillip all of his 35-year working career, commented: “I have had the honour of serving one of the most loyal customers being Phil, who has stuck with me through thick and thin, good and bad trades and for that I will be eternally grateful as I was when he asked me to carry out the dispersal of his collection of Ford tractors and associated parts.

“When preparing for the sale back in June I attended Middlecott Farm to photograph the individual tractors and witness his grandson turning up from London and making the observation ‘Grandpa, I knew you had a passion but didn’t realise it was an obsession!’

“Many of you will know Phillip from attending so many of our machinery sales over the years both on farm and monthly in Holsworthy […]. His passion for this hobby has made him extremely knowledgeable on this range of tractor.”

The sale will take place at Middlecott Farm in Beaworthy, Devon on the 4th of September 2021 from 10.30am.

For more information about this live and online sale, which also includes a quantity of Ford tractor spares together with a range of general purpose farm machinery, click here.