WHEN you need to pull out the gearbox of a WA-made Chamberlain C6100 tractor, call a German backpacker.
That was the case last week when Torque visited Carl, Neil and Dion Letter at their Tambellup property to discuss their new AMAZONE ZA-TS spreader (See story pages 30-31).
During the interview, a couple of grunts from underneath the nearby Chamberlain led Torque to discover German backpacker Nils Koch pulling out the gearbox to put in a new thrust bearing.
Nils was supposed to be on the job on a Victorian farm but after his stint with the Letters at seeding, he was stranded by the COVID-19 travel ban.
He remains gainfully employed at the Letters and fixing the Chamberlain gearbox was among many of his new duties.
His first thoughts about the Chamberlain was to replace the gearbox with a Vario transmission and 'chip' the engine.
Nice thought Nils but it got a 'nil' response from the Letter brothers.