Refurbishing my Z145 135

[MasseyLady]

Kid, hubby and I have enjoyed not just MasseyVW restore job but have enjoyed your thread too. And Mike476 I really like your custom MF135. Us newbie Massey owners are very appreciative to these threads and are learning much needed info as we over the long haul try to put some new life into our newly aquired classic tractors.......thank-you guys.

--MasseyLady

[The kid]

G,Day Mr Kid .
Nice. She looks as Flash as a Rat with a Gold Tooth,Keep up the good work .
Regards from Down Under.
Hutch.

G,Day Hutch. many thanks for the flowers. "Ole Sally" shall ride again soon. -robert

[The kid]

Kid, hubby and I have enjoyed not just MasseyVW restore job but have enjoyed your thread too. And Mike476 I really like your custom MF135. Us newbie Massey owners are very appreciative to these threads and are learning much needed info as we over the long haul try to put some new life into our newly aquired classic tractors.......thank-you guys.

--MasseyLady

MasseyWV and I have similar tractors. I'm doing more of a refurbish than a total restore. Why redo something that's not broke. I don't have a media blaster, so like you I remove the paint the old fashion way. I do use a grinder/sander though which shortens the time. You where discussing paint. You can use an enamel tractor paint with a hardener added to it do make it more durable.

I see nothing wrong with rattle can paint jobs if you know what your doing and keep shaking the can between sprays. The problem you would run into is the occasional spitting of paint on that shiny part you just laid down. For small pieces it's ideal. Sometimes a problem can be color matching spray can. I'm using an enamel thinned a bit with added hardener or my larger pieces. I use a touchup gun which doesn't hold much paint, but just enough for the pieces I'm doing.

I can't justify putting a fancy paint job on Ole Sally then running it through a briar patch. Instead of keeping mine historically accurate, I'm going the practical route. I've added a alternator and a voltmeter, 12v accessory jack and such. Now I'm contemplating putting on a buggy shade top.

I like Mike's custom colored tractor as well. I bought a seat like his.

Stay tunes. More to come. Take care -robert (that is my real name)

[MasseyLady]

Thanks a bunch Kid Robert! Yes a refurbish is another great way to redo these ole' gals. I like your mind set KR, don't fix something that's not broke. Thanks for the info on the rattle cans we appreciate it. We plan to use our tractors for the intent they were made, to work and make life a bit more easier here at our place. We may just use the combo package of what you, MasseyWV and Mike have done. They should all be a big improvement for sure. I posted a picture of my tractor and hubbys baby. Well yes, I've claimed this little classic 135 while hubby has the MF150 Diesel w/fel. (the gentleman in the pic is the previous owner making the delivery of the 135) Like I said in another post "His and Hers".........and hey Mike I'm still waiting on that phone number deal about talking to your wife about the His and Hers concept.......lol!

--MasseyLady

[Mike476]

I agree with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" philosophy, subscribe to it myself. There's merit though, if you're going to keep the tractor for some time, to tearing it down like Massey is doing, I'll do mine soon. I bought mine while building our house, one of those "I'll clear the land with it, do all the rough landscaping, save a bunch of money then sell it and get my money back" deals. That was 12 years ago, kind of feels like part of the family now. And most every day I'm on it doing something or other, couldn't live without it.
With all the hard work you're putting into making yours just the way you want it Kid, be careful, these old tractors have a way of getting under your skin.
MasseyLady, trying to think of a way to break the news of an unexpected Lady caller to my wife, don't want to lose any hope of a second tractor before the conversation even starts

[MasseyLady]

I agree with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" philosophy, subscribe to it myself. There's merit though, if you're going to keep the tractor for some time, to tearing it down like Massey is doing, I'll do mine soon. I bought mine while building our house, one of those "I'll clear the land with it, do all the rough landscaping, save a bunch of money then sell it and get my money back" deals. That was 12 years ago, kind of feels like part of the family now. And most every day I'm on it doing something or other, couldn't live without it.
With all the hard work you're putting into making yours just the way you want it Kid, be careful, these old tractors have a way of getting under your skin.
MasseyLady, trying to think of a way to break the news of an unexpected Lady caller to my wife, don't want to lose any hope of a second tractor before the conversation even starts

Mike, I totally agree with you, there is much merit and satisfaction to tearing down anything and doing a total restore, weather it be a tractor, car or even a house. I watched and helped as my parents remodeled an old farm house as a kid and teenager. It took them 13 years to do it, doing the work themselves and doing it as they could afford it. As a kid I was excited to help my grandfather in a small way when he asked me to repaint the raised letters on the rear fenders of his little Ford 9N tractor. He is gone now, but his son, my uncle, owns both the 9N and the Farmal M and still uses them on Grandpa's farm today.

Mike as you said, these old tractors do get under your skin. We have farm families on both sides of the family, and we have great memories of these old tractors. We have a yearly tractor and steam show in our local area that includes a parade of some of the neatest refurbished and restores of older tractors I have ever seen. I'm like a little kid again, especially for the little Fords and Farmals. My uncle usually drives one or the other of my Grandfathers tractors in the parade. After the parade is over, just like a child, I just have to climb up on Grandpa's tractors and take a ride again.

And Mike, no worries, just joking with you, I grew up with all brothers, so it comes easy for me to joke around......lol! I would no way cause you any trouble or stand in the way of any hope of you getting a second tractor

And Kid, thanks again too for all your hard work!

--MasseyLady

[The kid]

One of the things I've learned while working on my 135 is finding the little things that need to be repaired or upgraded.

Here's one that if not working properly can give you headaches.

It's the neutral safety switch. I noticed mine didn't have a rubber boot on it. The neutral safety switch is located on top of the transmission under the instrument console. It's job is to keep the tractor from starting when in gear.

My wires was not secure and snug and could be easily pulled out. That's not good. There are wire spring clips that hold the wire in and where missing. The switch doesn't cost much so I ordered one with some other items I needed from a AGCO dealer.

I'm also into RC planes and had some solder on banana ends used to connect LiPo batteries to speed controllers. Some of these controllers can carry 100 amps. A #10 could fit into the connector if needed. Originally the NSS came off the amp gauge, (now a volt gauge) so quite a bit of load is moving thru it. The banana ends will work perfectly. They can be purchased at any RC hobby shop.

I also aquired the rubber boot that protects those wires on the NSS. These are hard to get. The NSS wire ends showed a bit of corrosion and would cause an ignition failure somewhere down the line. Since I'm rewiring the tractor from end to end the NSS will get new wire. -robert

[The kid]

I score another needed missing part. It's called the pre-cleaner.



These are out of production and can only be found thru salvage yards. This is the top to my verticle mounted air filter. The operators manual says this type was an option. It was ordered by the buyer if they needed an air breather for high dusty conditions. You can't buy these at your local dealership new. Most owners I'm told throw them away. The vertical mounted air filter only lasted a few years. Seems they allow dirt to fall into the base when removing the filter element inside which gets sucked into the carburetor. My advice to anyone that has this configuration is to totally remove the filter housing and blow it out to make sure it's clear.
The dust valve that attaches to the bottom of the air filter had become hard and was gapped open. I replaced that as well. I'm going to use vintage type double wire hose clamps to mount the air pipe to the carb.

[Mike476]

I was surprised the first time I spun the cap off mine to see how much dirt and debris was in there, and mine is a horizontal mount. After an hour or two dragging a riding arena I'll take it apart to blow the the dirt out of everything.

[The kid]

I was surprised the first time I spun the cap off mine to see how much dirt and debris was in there, and mine is a horizontal mount. After an hour of two dragging a riding arena I'll take it apart to blow the the dirt out of everything.

Mike, I experienced the same thing when I removed the filter shortly after getting it home. That's when I removed the screws and removed the filter container and bliew it out good. That's when I noticed the dust valve was hard and non pliable and was put on my replace list.