Who Restores their Tractors ?

US built and marketed 135's had a red dash. The 150 was only sold in North American markets. Here's a little "informal history" of the 150.

The 150 was the result of an experiment by Massey Harris engineers that started about the time of the Ferguson/Massey Harris merger. Harry Ferguson was opposed to building a bigger tractor. He was convinced the market would continue to support tractors from the TO-20/TO-30/TO-35 lineage. Massey Harris design engineers wanted bigger and higher horsepower models to go head to head with their primary competition, Ford. MH engineers were responsible for the MF65 about to be released. There was an MF75 on the drawing board that never saw production, then the MF85/90 series. When the two companies first began to merge, MH saw a need for a true row crop version of the venerable 20/30/35 series. With some of the design basics of the 65 being used, they took the engine and transmission of the 35 and went to work.

At first, shortly after the merger, the two names stayed seperated. There were still Massey Harris dealers and Ferguson dealers, at times even competing directly against each other. Their product lines were somewhat different but beginning to blend.

Massey Harris dealers coveted the successful 20/30/35 series. What they got was the Massey Harris 50. That took the 35 drivetrain and added the front axle and axle bolster, sheet metal, cooling system, fuel tank, steering system, dash (along with its better instrumentation) and engine air filter location of the yet to be released MF65 and morphed a "new" tractor. Ferguson dealers, not to be left out, got a very simular version, the Ferguson F-40. The only differences, besides badging, was a slightly different grill and hood. The biggest difference between the 35 and the 40/50 line-up was the 40/50 was available in a high clearance row crop version known as the "high arch". It was essentially the same tractor with 38" rear wheels instead of the 24" or 28" wheels on the "standard". High Arch models were available in wide front, or narrow front with single or double wheels. The heavier front axle and bolster gave the 40/50 a longer wheel base than the 35. (Approx. 9") That made the new tractor handle heavy rear mounted implements better. The bolster added a solid mounting point for front end loaders as well as mid-mounted cultivators. The longer wheelbase made the tractor respond to wider wheel track settings, providing a more stable tractor. With the heavier straight axle of the 40/50, gone were the radius rods of the swept back axle of the 20/30/35.

MH50's were in production for 2 years. (late 1955, 1956, and early 1957) F-40's were built for less than 2 years. (early 1956 to mid 1957) With the change in brand name in 1957, to Massey Ferguson, the MF 50 was released. Sometime in 1958, the 50's powerplant, the Continental Z134 4-cylinder gas engine got a partner, the legendary Perkins AD3-152 3-cylinder diesel came on board. Gas models were rated at 32 hp. Diesels were now 38 hp.

By the time the MF35/50/65/85 models hit the fields, Massey Ferguson was beginning to develope their first "in house" designed models. The DX series. Later designated as the 100 Series, these were the tractors that put Massey Ferguson on the map. The 35 became the legendary 135. The 50 went on to become the 150. Hydraulic systems, especially the draft control system was upgraded. Bigger cooling system was added, a new dry air filter replaced the old oil bath filter. All new sheet metal covered the tractor. The 150 came standard with flat-top fenders and full instrumentation that were options on the 135. A deluxe seat was added, along with PAVT (Power adjustable variable tread) rear wheels were standard. In Univ. of Nebraska testing in 1965, the MF150 diesel became the most fuel efficient tractor tested to date. It held that honor for almost 10 years. Through the end of production, the Perkins diesel was still factory rated at 38 hp. The very same engine stayed in production for various models for nearly 50 years. In some configurations, the same engine was rated as high as 53 hp (engine) (My 150 was "turned up" (fuel screw on the injector pump) to 47 hp pto when it was about 2 years old. It still dyno's 47 hp. )

By the release of the 100 series in late 1964, US markets were clamoring for MORE HORSEPOWER. The 135 was a big seller, but when farmers wanted bigger, they went much bigger. 150 sales never matched the demand that the earlier model 50 saw. Sales of the 150 were good in certain regions though. Kentucky and Tennessee were it's hotbed of sales. In 1967, Massey Ferguson blended serial number records together for the 135, 150, 165, 175, and 180. There is no way of knowing exactly how many 150's were produced. It is estimated that there were well over a million 135's built, but 150's were less than 100,000 in number.

I bought one of them!

In late 1975, Massey Ferguson released the 200 series to US markets. There was no comparable model to the 40/50/150 in the 200 series line-up.


Ooooops! Have you ever said or typed something, then later on thought about what you said and realized you made a mistake? No? Well, I just did. I typed the above history of the MF150 in a hurry. I made a grievous error. And sometime about an hour ago, I realized what I did.

There weren't "a million 135's" . There were roughly a million 100 series tractors produced worldwide from 1964 through the late 1970's when production of the 100 series ceased worldwide. Less than 10% of U.S. production of 100 series tractors were 150's from 1964 to 1975. (Estimated to be around 14,000 units + or -) BRAIN:fart2: on my part.

Sorry for the confusion.

Bill
 

Grrrr

Member
Wow, that was a huge amount of typing FWJ. Thanks for the lesson.

As you say, the 150 never came to the UK. I suppose people were just happy with the 165. There are a lot of them around.
 

HeyBob

Member
Wow, that was a huge amount of typing FWJ. Thanks for the lesson.

As you say, the 150 never came to the UK. I suppose people were just happy with the 165. There are a lot of them around.


You typed that? I figured something that long was a cut and paste...... :applause:
 
You typed that? I figured something that long was a cut and paste...... :applause:

All of my own doing.:D There is very little formal history of the Ferguson/Massey Ferguson merger, company, or product line from the '50's and 60's, in spite of the fact they were a major world power in the AG product world at that time. Throughout the early 60's, Massey Ferguson was #1 in combine sales in America. (The model 300 held that honor almost single handedly) The 135 had the distiction of being the leader in individual model sales worldwide throughout its run. Yet they go almost unmentioned in most accounts of AG history in the US.

And if you think I TYPE longwinded, you aughtta get me on my soapbox face to face:Tip-Hat2: :badidea:
 

GLAWALL

New member
Massey Harris / Fergusen combines

I was brought up on a farm in western New York, and we used primarily Massey Fergusen equipment. I now operate a Mahindra dealership in Batavia, NY. In Batavia on Harvester ave, there is a very very large old building (most of it not used today) that used to be the Massey Harris plant. I understand that they used to build combines there. Just an interesting fact.

Galen LaWall
Your Mahindra Tractor Dealer
Batavia, NY 14020
585-343-0770
 
I rebuild and paint old equipment. Last two projects was my AC tractor and an old swather. My current is my Yanmar tractor. Had been pretty much abandoned sitting outside for 8 long years. A friend of mine gave it to me for hauling it away. Spent the last month working on it. Drove it 2 miles, up to my neighbor and back yesterday.
Here is a photo of my AC 7020 that I did. Its a 1980's model.
my-tracter-web1.jpg


Have also attached a photo of the swather I did.

I like taking stuff that other folks dont want and making it as close to new as I can.
 

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Grrrr

Member
That allis looks really nice. Don't think we have any allis like that in the UK. You only ever seem to see older ones except for ones that have been recently imported.
 
Here's another one I painted. 1979 Deere 2440. Also owned since new. 61 HP and a fuel hog of sorts, but a good tractor none the less. It's just hitting 4500 hours. It's now going to be the smallest of the full-timers on the mowing fleet.
 

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Jake W

Member
This tractor got rebuilt and also recieved a homemade FEL back in 2002. Ihad it all pulled apart and spread all over the shop for weeks while I fixed up the broken pieces, then I prepped and painted untill everything turned orange including me.
The front end loader has a quick attach system to allow the log grapple to be used when the time came.
 

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EastTexFrank

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
Darn but you guys do good work.

It's something that I always wanted to try but never have got around to. I do have a good candidate in mind though. We have a JD 820, 3-cylinder diesel at the farm that my in-laws bought new in 1969, I think. My M-I-L still has the original owner's manual and invoice. Over the years it became "her" tractor and she drove it and mowed with it until she was 86 years old. I'd love to get my hands on it as it was the first tractor that I ever drove and we still work it occasionally. As much as it means to me, it means a lot more to her so it's not going anywhere in the forseeable future. After I use it these days, she still comes outside to check that I've cleaned it off. You gotta love her ... 91 years old and still a tough ol' bird. :respect:
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Nice work Jake. That loader looks wicked. I bet it would get the job done. :thumb:

ETF, that sounds like a good project. Good for her, 91 and still going strong. :D At first I thought you had a 91 year old tractor. :eek:
What was the price of the tractor new back in 1969? Probably way off, but I'll guess $1800.
 

EastTexFrank

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
ETF, that sounds like a good project. Good for her, 91 and still going strong. :D At first I thought you had a 91 year old tractor. :eek:
What was the price of the tractor new back in 1969? Probably way off, but I'll guess $1800.

I haven't seen the invoice for a long time but I think it was closer to $4,000 if I remember correctly. That was with ROP and steel canopy, brush guard and tool box but I'm pretty sure that didn't included the 5' bush hog which was/is a FMC Sidewinder. Even back then JD was proud of that green and yellow paint.
 
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