Massey Ferguson 135 or 150

[VAKiotiCK]

Hello Massey WV I live just outside of Roanoke I spoke to a man this week here that has a 135 gasser for sale it has mutli power. he is selling it with a 6' scarper blade he said it was a strong little tractor. I grew up in MI and we had a TO-30 and a massey 50 with mutli power. I have his contact info it you want let me know. I can get photo's for you I think he said he was asking 4500 for it. Ed.

 

[MasseyWV]

Would be nice to have somewhere to put your feet

Good catch, I didn't notice that it didn't have running boards.

It may have been an honest mistake but the ad listed it as a 1982 model which couldn't be right because the Massey 135 was only produced in the U.S. until 1974 or so. I also thought the price was a little too steep but that's just my opinion. It just goes to show that one has to look very closely at everything when evaluating an older tractor for purchase.

 

[MasseyWV]

Hello Massey WV I live just outside of Roanoke I spoke to a man this week here that has a 135 gasser for sale it has mutli power. he is selling it with a 6' scarper blade he said it was a strong little tractor. I grew up in MI and we had a TO-30 and a massey 50 with mutli power. I have his contact info it you want let me know. I can get photo's for you I think he said he was asking 4500 for it. Ed.

It will be a month or two before I'm ready to purchase one because I'm still saving the last bit of cash I think I'll have to pay for one. In the mean time I'm doing my homework and if the right one comes along, I'm more than willing to try and work with a seller if they are willing to wait a couple of months.

Honestly, $4500 is a little more than I was hoping to have to pay, unless the condition was exceptional, and I would like to find one that doesn't have multipower because most of my land is sloped and I would like to avoid the possibility of freewheeling downhill.

 

[whistlepig]

I owned a MF135 diesel for 25 years. Although a little on the heavy side it is a very good mowing tractor. Both with a rotary cutter and a finish mower. They are the best tractor for mowing steep hills that I have ever operated. A MF150 is pretty serious size tractor. You are getting into a tractor size designed for ground engagement implements (plows, discs, etc.) with a MF150. As far as diesel verses gas I would for sure go diesel. A 40HP gas engine isn't even close to a 40HP diesel engine when the tractor motors are doing hard work.

 

[Mike476]

Really depends on what you require for the earth moving projects you list as a requirement I guess. When I built our home I started with a wooded lot, cleared around two acres, had an excavator come in and stump / root rake when I was done knocking everything down, had four large burn piles that pretty much took me the first winter to burn. After that, all the spreading of earth / topsoil and class B / class A for the driveway was done with my 135. Saved me a ton of money not having to hire a landscaper to do the job. Also used it to brow up the trees and manage large brush piles as I was clearing, she'll roll herself over before stalling so I never wanted for more torque, especially in low gear. Ground engaging equipment, as Whistlepig and many others have said, diesel is likely the way to go. I've never used mine for that type of work so I can't honestly say how it would perform.

 

[Code54]

Another thing to watch when shopping for older machines is the brakes. One buddy that test drove an older tractor almost learned that the hard way. He jumped on for the test drive, headed out only to learn the brakes were not adjusted when he went to pull back in the guys garage and stop. Could have been ugly. Sometime sellers "forget" to tell you things......

 

[rScotty]

While looking at Massey tractor ads online, I came across this one on Craigslist. Can you spot whats wrong?
135 Massey Ferguson

Weird looking tractor. The hood looks like an MF135, but from the side, rear and overall configuration looks more like a Massey Harris 50.

MF and MH joined together somewhere along about that time, and so it might have even been a hybrid. The running boards were not integral. I've seen some tractors of that era came with foot pegs instead of integral running boards. And some had a removable metal running board that fit onto the foot pegs front and rear.

I'd bet if we had the tractor in front of us we could figure it out pretty quickly.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

With only 3 acres, I'd go with the gasser. Although there is more to go wrong with a gasser, they are a lot easier to fix.

And for simply moving dirt, I'd go with a good quality three point scraper/bucket. Some especially nice ones will work in forward or reverse and will pickup and carry an astonishing amount of dirt/rocks/anything. Most every old implement place has one or more three point scraper buckets or belly buckets as they aren't popular anymore with the profusion of front end loaders. But they are still a handy tool and a few hundred bucks will buy a dandy. My buddy used one for years that was a reversible type on a tubular frame, nice cutting edge on the bucket, and connections for various dumping methods. But it doesn't even have to be so nice. Most anything will work. I've even seen f front end loader bucket used in that manner by backing in reverse. That one had the mounting points installed to hook it to a standard 3pt hitch. And it dumped by raising the 3 pt lift arms.
rScotty

 

[VAKiotiCK]

It will be a month or two before I'm ready to purchase one because I'm still saving the last bit of cash I think I'll have to pay for one. In the mean time I'm doing my homework and if the right one comes along, I'm more than willing to try and work with a seller if they are willing to wait a couple of months.

Honestly, $4500 is a little more than I was hoping to have to pay, unless the condition was exceptional, and I would like to find one that doesn't have multipower because most of my land is sloped and I would like to avoid the possibility of freewheeling downhill.

He has been known to work with anyone on price he has been selling used equipment for years. I have a couple friends that have brought from him.

 

[MasseyWV]

Really depends on what you require for the earth moving projects you list as a requirement

Most of my earth moving projects are relatively light duty. Parts of my property consist of undulating areas that I would like to make smoother for a better appearance and to promote better drainage. The long term usage will primarily be to plow a small garden plot and to maintain my gravel driveway which is in serious need of repair and proper maintainence. I do have a few chores like digging stumps that will require a backhoe which I will rent or hire out when the time comes because I've had my fill of digging stumps out by hand. Aside from that, most of the heavy duty work such as clearing land was done several years ago by a D6 dozer.

Another thing to watch when shopping for older machines is the brakes.

That's a very good point and it's something I plan to ask the seller before attempting to test drive any tractor.

And for simply moving dirt, I'd go with a good quality three point scraper/bucket. Some especially nice ones will work in forward or reverse and will pickup and carry an astonishing amount of dirt/rocks/anything.

A 3pt dirt bucket is definitely one of several implements I plan to purchase, although I'm not certain which type would be best. Other implements I plan to get are a scraper blade, box blade, 2 bottom plow, disc harrow, and possibly a ripper. Otherwise, I'm not certain what implements I might need, but I do find the idea of running things off the PTO intriguing. My understanding is that most people use the PTO for brushogging but I have no need for one.