1965 Massey Ferguson 135

Well finally the job is finished. It took a lot longer than planned but this was mainly due to circumstances beyond our control and indeed several other projects were completed at the same time. The end result is very pleasing - easy starting hot or cold weather, no oil or fuel leaks, smooth engine, clutch and gearbox and overall a treat to drive. Those who have driven or ever worked with this model will appreciate its robustness and versalitity but it's only when you get into it's inner workings that you really appreciate the quality of it's engineering and components. A really fantastic tractor.

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

Apologies for slow progress to date. Other projects kept getting in the way. However paint work is now complete and we are well into the rebuild. This takes time, patience and a lot of fiddly fussy work. The bonnet fitted very well and the prefit certainly was worthwhile. That said it took most of two days to assemble all the parts, add the emblems and complete the dash and headlight electrics. We challange anyone to do it quicker. Hopefully the next update will show the fully assembled tractor.

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

Coming to a close now. Decided to prefit primed bonnet and panels as they need a little persuasion and its better to do it on unpainted surfaces. They all fit well and Mollie looks pleased. Now back to the paintshop.

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

The restoration has moved on a bit but rather slowly because of other tractor work, vintage tractor events and holidays. New Good Year tyres, a new seat, a refurbished steering wheel and some red paint all help the appearance and the engine runs like new. New mud wings with original cast handgrips are being worked on along with the remainder of the tinwork

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

After some delays and distractions (people keep bringing me tractors to fix) we are starting to put things together again. Mollie looks a bit impatient and would like to see progress on the painted engine gearbox and rear transmission. Once again Eugene Dixon at Maine Surface Finishing has done a super job. The paint finish is really good and should last another lifetime. Believe it or not putting it all together again is very time consuming but hopefully things will move on from now. We have a target date for completion but we will keep that under wraps in the meantime!

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

A really badly worn set of balls on the lower links is an indication of a lifetime’s workload. We decided to retain the original arms and get the balls replaced. Ashgrove Engineering cut out the old balls, made new balls and new seats to match, fitted them and finished the job with a nice tidy weld at each end.

1965 Massey Ferguson 135

The picture shows some of the preparation of the main train of the tractor for blasting prior to painting. This requires great care and attention to detail because blasting shot really is not very kind to threads, engines, transmissions, clutches and hydraulics. These must all be protected. By leaving nothing to chance we are certain that there will be no contact with these areas. A combination of tapered rubber bungs, purpose cut wooden covers sealed with polyurethane based sealer (doesn’t react with the paint) and duct tape are used too ensure good seals. Threaded holes simply get a bolt inserted and exposed bolts are easily covered with piece of pipe secured with a nut. The shot blast operator at Maine Surface Finishing is very sensitive to vulnerable parts of the job and will treat them with caution. Again preparation is the key and nothing is left to chance.