New (to me) Tractor

[simple.serf]

Just picked up a Massey Harris Ferguson model 50 Hi-Crop gas today to replace the Fe-35 with. I'm tired of a diesel that only starts about 40% of the time and to which an engine kit is 3 months salary (English Standard Diesel...Anyone?) This new unit has spent it's whole life within 1.5 miles of my house and was used in active farming on the farm that I can see from my front picture window.

Anyhow, despite Massey tractors being common around here, you just don't see them at equipment shows or being talked about much. This unit has the Continental z134 in it. Does anyone have any experience with these? Any common problems? Are parts still available from the Teledyne distributors, or do I need to go through the Massey Dealers?

Pics will follow when there is enough light to take them.

 

[Danno77]

Well, it's light out. Where the heck are these pictures?!?!?!

 

[Jags]

What year is this tractor? The old continentals still have good parts sources and were as trustworthy as anything made.

 

[simple.serf]

Ok, So now there is sunlight out and I am awake..(2pm... gotta love nightshift). Year is currently unknown... tractor is missing the data plate on the dash. I am going to try to go off of the engine serial, which I have heard you can do on the z134. The MH 50 and the Ferguson 40 are exact copies of each other. I am guessing it is a '55, '56 or '57. Cleaning up the rear axle casting numbers should help as well. Seller (whose father in law bought the tractor new) remembers an engine rebuild in the 80's sometime.

The best part? No more cans of Ether. Just push the start button and she fires right up! Perfect for when you stall out in the woods and realize the starting fluid is 2 miles back on the truck tailgate.

 

[Danno77]

new we're talking!

 

[Jags]

Hey, thats a good looking old Massey. Does that have a live PTO?

 

[simple.serf]

Hey, thats a good looking old Massey. Does that have a live PTO?

Oh yeah, there's a live PTO. I have spent enough time on tractors without one that even i won't bother buying one (unless to restore ...Ferguson TEA-20...mmmm...). I see alot of people who go and move to the country and get a tractor cheap without one, and don't know to go and get a overrunning clutch, and then go though their neighbor's fence the first time out mowing with it.

Or there are those who go out and buy a brand new $29k CUT and get angry the first time my 60+yo utility tractor outpulls them or has to pull them out when they get stuck. (one of my former bosses... he just couldn't understand why my 35 could skid a whole oak tree and his little CUT wouldn't ("But it's got 4wd!!") 6000 lbs of tractor vs. 2000. Simple math!)

 

[Jags]

he just couldn't understand why my 35 could skid a whole oak tree and his little CUT wouldn't ("But it's got 4wd!!") 6000 lbs of tractor vs. 2000. Simple math!)

Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

50's. Isn't that about the time Massey Harris bought out Ferguson?

 

[Lewiston]

Very nice! Used to own a 135 until all the local dealerships disappeared.

 

[feelingasi]

i have a massey 50 with a z134. hr mtr quit at 5600 hrs, its a '54 and has never been touched. live pto is via a two stage clutch. i love it. stiener tracter is a good place for parts, theve always treated me good!

 

[simple.serf]

50's. Isn't that about the time Massey Harris bought out Ferguson?

Yeah. The Continental tag is labelled "Built for Massey Harris Ferguson" and all of the castings have MHF cast into them. The merger formally occured in '53. Interestingly, my FE-35 which is really a Ferguson (and even has a Ferguson badge on the front) also has the MHF castings (it's a '58, well after the merger, but Ferguson was still having them built at the Standard Motors plant, hence the engine in it). There was some weird stuff going on within the company (like having a totally separate dealer network for MH and Ferguson) until Harry Ferguson left. The rest is history, with M-F becoming one of the largest farm machinery companies in the world.

Feelingasi, That's the kind of Info I was hoping to hear! My hr meter stopped at 3k something. The drive cable is missing. A project for a winter day. I know there are lots of these tractors around here, because the local equipment auctions always have tons of M-F's, most of which just came off of the farm. I can count on one hand the number i see at the local tractor shows though. Tons of IH and Deere.

If it ever quits raining here I am planning to hitch my 2-14's on it and see how she pulls.

 

[MasterMech]

Or there are those who go out and buy a brand new $29k CUT and get angry the first time my 60+yo utility tractor outpulls them or has to pull them out when they get stuck. (one of my former bosses... he just couldn't understand why my 35 could skid a whole oak tree and his little CUT wouldn't ("But it's got 4wd!!") 6000 lbs of tractor vs. 2000. Simple math!)

Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.

Bring ballast.

 

[feelingasi]

get yourself a ""poor mans backhoe"" its basically a skidder pan for the 3pt. ive hauled whole oaks,maples and cherry's from my wood lot useing nothing but the breaks to steer was at the fair again this year and was again surprised by the lack of masseys under the tent.. guess they're all still workin. i grew up on an H, untill the uncle bought the 574 that is.. real tractors are red. crops are green!! couldnt pass up the deal on the 50 though, $700 w/ 6'woods, trip loader, 12 auger, and chains. and NO i dont feel guilty again congrats on your find. i know it will serve you well.