Tractors

jeepinmatt

jeepinmatt

Old, fat, and grumpy.
Moderator
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Location
Stanley, NC
Who else is in to tractors?
Ive always had a fascination with them, from the big ones to the little ones. Nothing was as fun as playing with Tonka trucks in the dirt.
This leads me to now.
I've been using dad's 1953 8N Ford for about 10 years now.
2 months ago, I bought a 1961 Massey Ferguson 35. There were several reasons I wanted this particular tractor.
1. It had the right look. This was necessary to keep the wife happy.
2. It was 35hp, compared with the slightly underpowered 27hp of dad's 8N.
3. Live PTO. This was really #1. That means when you push in the clutch, the PTO keeps working.
4. Live lift.
5. High and low transmission.
6. Reasonably compact size.
7. Parts availability. You can still get anything for this tractor.
It was to be a long term project that would lead to a restoration of sorts. I was expecting to work on it gradually, and get it where I wanted in a year or two. It needed new front tires, a new seat, and some brake work in order to be a good working tractor. Long term plans included a new wheel and a good painting.
Here it is when I bought it:
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As with anything I do, I got the urge to make it better. Started off with a new seat. Then got new tires. As I was pulling the tires, I discovered the spindles were worn slap out on both sides (the actual spindles, not just the bushings). Next thing you know, its sitting on jackstands. I replaced the spindles and bushings, and checked the wheel bearings, and put new tires and a new wheel on the front. And then I thought, hmm, I might as well pull the rear wheels while its up and fix the left brake, and then I figured I might as well paint the underbelly while the wheels are off.
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I even put the wife to work:
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Next thing you know, I had painted everything, put a new seat, tires, and spindles on it. I fixed the left brake with a wire brush, and now its back to work. Ive got about 4 weekends in it and I am extremely pleased with the result. Should last another 50 years!
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I grew up on a farm so tractors is a way of for me...tractor looks great also. There is money to be made in doing that also.....
Do you ever go to Denten around the 4th of July for the tractor show. I go every year and its a lot of fun
 
Night and Day Difference..!!

Very Nice Job...let me bring an ol' Farmall over for you to wrench on...:beer:
 
nice, i have a 9N from my great grandpa that i plan on fully restoring when i get out of school, its in pretty good shape for being used regularly for the last 70 years, runs great, but the body needs a good bit of work,

also have an 8N that gets regular use, a I6 International Harvester (unsure of the year or model off the top of my head), Farmall Cub with woods mower, and a John Deere 2840 and 4020
 
Holy shit, that's a great looking tractor! And I must say the first time I've ever seen one on jackstands as well. I've got a friend who's got the same one and it's been in his family for decades...still running strong with little to no maintenance.
Do you have a good use for it or just wanted a tractor?
 
Again thanks for the compliments. I do have plenty of use for it. 900ft of gravel driveway, a cleared acre, and 17 acres of woods. I use the bulldozer (70's model Komatsu D21) to push down trees and stumps, and the tractor to drag logs and brush, as well as for cutting weeds and scraping the driveway.
 
braxton357 said:
And I must say the first time I've ever seen one on jackstands as well.
Click to expand...

hmm...how do you think we work on them?
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I remember the back breaking days before jack stands...:lol:
 
That's nice. My dad restored a Massey 35 a couple years ago because it was like the one he had as a kid. He also has a 65, diesel. Does your 35 have p/s? He actually bought 2 tractors so he could get all of the goodies he wanted, including some kind of funky sicle-bar mower. BTW, you can also order the complete sticker kit, down to the one for the oil-bath air cleaner!!
 
looks great,i started out with a 1971 OLIVER 1550,6cyl gas .the family nicknamed it "CRAWL" .what a machine it was.i took a HD boxblade and ripped it into two pieces pulling out stumps in the yard.
sold "crawl" and purchased a new holland 785 skid steer,"i tore the yard up so many times i figured i better get rid of it before i found china"LOL
so i recently purchased a massey 1528 compact tractor with a loader and love it.its been very usefull building my buggy and moving the rockwells around....again nice choice and looks good...
 
I can remember sittin on my grandads lap and driving his old Oliver while we ran the cows up to the barn.

My G/Fs dad has an 8n he goofs off with.

I was headed southbound on 601 going into yadkinville and saw 3 Massey's and a Ford for sale.
 
d420fazer said:
That's nice. My dad restored a Massey 35 a couple years ago because it was like the one he had as a kid. He also has a 65, diesel. Does your 35 have p/s? He actually bought 2 tractors so he could get all of the goodies he wanted, including some kind of funky sicle-bar mower. BTW, you can also order the complete sticker kit, down to the one for the oil-bath air cleaner!!
Click to expand...
No power steering. Finding one with power steering was not in my price range.
Where do you get the complete sticker kits at?
 
I helped my dad restore a Farmall Super A,it was a 52 model,he got the owners manual,and all the paper work on the tractor from the original owner,my dad was the second owner,he sold when he moved into a restricted neighborhood:flipoff2:I miss that tractor,my mom actually cried,when it was loaded on the trailer,felt like we had lost a member of the family ......
 
jeepinmatt said:
No power steering. Finding one with power steering was not in my price range.
Where do you get the complete sticker kits at?
Click to expand...
Also at the thrasher convention there is two huge semis there stocked full of old tractor parts (new stuff for old) complete sticker kits for just about everything, but it is in July
 
going up to see my dad next week, I'll find out about the stickers and snap some pics for you.
 
I have a 48ish Farmall H. It was my fathers. It basically sits. I used to rasie a garden, but not enough time because of work now. I have a disk Harrow, set of rippers, post hole digger, planters(only good for a layoff plow now) straight blade, box blade, boom pole. If anyone is interested in getting into this give me a shout, it could all be yours!

I still crank it with a hand crank!


Sorry to Hi-jack
 
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