"It is a common mistake to refer to the engine as a Perkins. This is not really correct. Perkins were developing a P3 engine which did not meet Fords requirements. This was the P3.144. The engine fitted to the Dexta was an F3.144. The Super Dexta engine was the F3.152. Ford required an inline injection pump and other changes which Perkins agreed to carry out and the deal was struck. All the major castings were made at the Ford factory at Dagenham; Perkins only made the smaller items like manifolds and assembled the engine. Engines were built as required and transferred from the Perkins Factory each day. Lorries took engines from Peterborough to Dagenham and returned to Peterborough with the machined castings for the next days assembly. No stocks of the engine were held at either company. When Ford discontinued the Dexta the engine was then sold as a Perkins P3.144 to companies like Massey Ferguson to fit in the MF 35 etc. Perkins books from the factory have no mention of the P3.144 until after Dexta production ceased."

"It seems that a lot of people have not understood the tie-up between Ford and Perkins. Would you give full control of your little tractor engine to your rival? Massey Ferguson bought Perkins and Ford needed to retain control of its power unit."

"The P3.144 engine was a replacement for P3 engines and was rated at 35hp at 2000 rpm. This engine used the CAV in line pump rather than the Simms pump and was eventually fitted with the CAV DPA pump when the bore size was increased to 152. Perkins assembled the F3 engines and designed some of the parts but Ford had a far higher input than they were given credit for. Perkins assembled 154,322 F3.144 engines and 64,496 F3.152 between August 1957 and October 1964."

• The 1957/1958 standard model (F3.144 engine, diesel), blue/orange, with horizontal (underswept) exhaust.
• The 1957/1958 standard model (F3.144 engine,diesel), blue/orange, with vertical exhaust.
• The 1958 industrial model (F3.144 engine,diesel), blue/orange, with horizontal (underswept) exhaust; this Dexta was finished by County Commercial Cars at their Fleet factory. It had a hydraulic braking system, front-wheel fenders, rear-view mirrors and came standard with lighting and a speedometer (which were optional at the time on the agricultural Dextas). These adaptations permitted the tractor to operate on public roads on non-agricultural licenses.
• The 1958/1959 petrol Dexta, blue/orange, with vertical exhaust (see below for further details).
• The 1960 restyle (F3.144 engine,diesel), blue/orange, with vertical exhaust; this Dexta had the headlights incorporated into the grille. Also, the side Fordson Dexta decals on the bonnet first appeared (before then, only the nose decal was used). All tractors came with vertical exhausts from now on. From April 1962 onwards, Simms Minimec fuel pumps were used.
• The 1962 Super Dexta (F3.152 engine, diesel), blue/orange; the Super Dexta emerged with a different nose bonnet and had more power due to its bored-out engine.
• The 1963 standard model (F3.144 engine, diesel), blue/grey; the first Dextas with the blue/grey colour scheme.
• The 1963 new performance Super Dexta (F3.152 engine, diesel), blue/grey; these had their output power increased to 44.5 HP due to increased engine revolutions up to 3,000 rpm. They were only made from June 1963 until September 1964.
• The Diesel 2000 for US export - this is the name given to the Super Dexta in the USA.
• The 1963 Dexta Special (Germany only); this Dexta was specially made for the German market. It featured broad rear-wheel fenders with a seat, direction-indicators, horizontal (underswept) exhausts and decals reading Fordson Dexta Special. There were also a number Super Dextas made for the German market with the same characteristics.
• The Manuel/Roadless 4WD Dexta; see below for details or click link.
• The Narrow Dexta; this one had a minimum width of only 52" and a maximum of 76".

• Petrol Dextas are longer than diesel Dextas due to the extended hood and the longer clutch housing.
• The location of the exhaust manifold (on the right side of the hood).
• Petrol Dextas have an extra fuel tank located where the battery is on the diesel versions; the battery has been moved to the footplate near the rear axle.
• The dashboard is quite different (see picture, 53 KB, opens in new window):
  • the choke knob is located where the engine-stop cable is positioned on the diesel version; the petrol version has no engine-stop cable;
  • the proofmeter turns clockwise, instead of counter-clockwise on the diesel version;
  • the starter-button is located where the heating-filament button is positioned on the diesel version, and the starter-lever as used on the diesel version is absent.

See Petrol Dexta specifications for technical data.

No official sales brochures of the petrol Dexta seems to exist anymore. Power ratings and other specifications have to be obtained from the few surviving tractors. There are still a few of them around (see also Mark Pugh's Petrol Dexta). The exact number produced is unknown, though an estimate of 1,200 units is frequently reported. Other sources claim only 50 units were made world-wide! Compared to the diesel versions, this is a very small number indeed! During a recent trip to Denmark I saw one standing by the roadside for days on end, unattended. This was a really special one as it did not have the extra fuel tank! Also, it had headlights incorporated into the grille (as opposed to attached to the hood as was standard on petrol Dextas). See the pictures below (click to enlarge).

There's a lot of controversy about the production dates and serial numbers of the petrol Dexta. The "common view" (as documented in a number of books) is that petrol Dextas were made during 1958 and 1959 and were sold only in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand. The serial number prefix was thought to be 959E (the same format as the 957E prefix used for the diesel Dextas that were made before November, 1961). Check out Serial Numbers and Production Dates for an overview.

This "common view" is contradicted by a multitude of reports from petrol Dexta owners around the world (including countries where the tractor wasn't even sold according to the "common view"). They posted their information on the Fordson Bulletin Board. The evidence presented by them makes it clear that petrol Dextas were also produced after 1959 and differed from the earlier ones in appearance and serial number prefix:

• People from Canada claim to own Petrol Dextas, but according to the "common view" the '58/'59 batch was never exported to the US and Canada.
• My fellow Dutchman Bart Lansink has owned 2 Petrol Dextas, one with the 959E prefix and one with the 09C prefix. The former one has a very low engine number. Both were post-1959, because the 959E tractor had its headlights incorporated into the front grill (a change made in 1960) while the 09C tractor was identical to the 959E in terms of construction but had the blue/grey colour scheme.
• I myself took the two pictures shown above of a Danish Petrol Dexta that is clearly a post-1959 tractor: headlights into front grille, no nose decal, and colour differences on the bonnet where the lost side decals used to be.

So, either production of the Petrol did not stop in '59, or if it did stop there must have been later, additional production runs that were never documented in the various books on Fordson history. The low engine number of Bart's 1960 Petrol with the 959E prefix suggests a second production run.

Based on all this, I put forward the hypothesis that there are 4 different kinds of Petrol Dextas out there:

1. The 1958 - 1959 version: blue/orange, vertical exhaust, a single nose decal, external headlights, 959E prefix.
2. The 1960 - November, 1961 version: blue/orange, vertical exhaust, no nose decal, two side decals, internal headlights, 959E prefix. Bart Lansink owned one of these.
3. The November, 1961 - June, 1963 version: identical to the previous tractor except for the prefix, which changed to either 09A, 09B or 09C (depending on the year).
4. The June, 1963 - September, 1964 version: blue/grey, vertical exhaust, no nose decal, two side decals, internal headlights, 09C or 09D prefix. Bart Lansink also owned one of these.

The tractor I photographed falls into category 2 or 3. Donald Provost emailed me 4 images of his petrol Dexta that is currently being lovingly restored. Donald is from Canada, a country where the petrol Dexta wasn't even sold according to the "common view". This tractor belongs to category 4 (note that Donald has removed the second fuel tank and put the battery back under the hood):

Rear axle

Engine (left)

Front

Engine (right)

Most people who deny the "common view" insist that there were no petrol Dextas made during 1958 and 1959; instead, they claim production didn't start until 1960. I disagree with them: the book Classic Tractor Special: Fordson Dexta 957E 1957-1964 presents pictures of a petrol Dexta that clearly show a tractor of category 1.

The debate continues; as soon as new information comes available you'll find it first on the Fordson Bulletin Board and then here.