a new lease on life for an old MF50

[Danbo56]

I inherited a 1964 MF50. Although it ran fine... it looked really tired. So, I figured anything that is almost as old as me and still works deserves a some TLC... :laughing: It amazing what some new parts, fresh paint and some elbow grease can do. well one thing leads to another... I didn't want my spiffy tractor to be associated with a old rusty Bush Hog, so It got freshened too! Now they look like a team. :thumbsup:

 

[Green Power]

Looks Great!

 

[Danbo56]

thanks.... I feel like I just got a brand new tractor !

 

[smstonypoint]

Good work!!!

Any idea how many hours of your time went into the rehab?

Steve

 

[Danbo56]

I didn't do the paint work, so any estimate of my time would be way off. I did do a good amount of prep work ( ~20hrs cleaning, scraping, and identifying things that needed to be replaced) before he disassembled it. He did not split it or disassemble the engine. I had my mechanic give it the once over to be sure the engine/trans was sound before I spent $$. Since It came back, I put the tail lights son, put in the new gauges, fixed some minor mechanical stuff and finished painting all the little odds and ends that would have cost a lot more to paint. That was another 2-3 days of my time. I also did a fair amount of parts research to save some money. My guy would call me tell me what he needed and I'd find the parts. That save billable hours. Some parts took a few hours to find and order. (Did you know that late 1964 model MF50's actually have an MF65 radiator? Neither did I, so that was trial and error).

I did redo the bush hog... sanded, primed, painted, new blades, fresh hardware... that's closer to my skill level

 

[Wnc3]

That really looks good. Well done!

 

[groundcover]

Outstanding! She is ready for the calendar phot shoot !

 

[Wagtail]

She's a beaut Mate. Good stuff.

 

[KubotaToy]

Nice, it looks good. Brings back memories of spending many a summer day cleaning up my grandfathers pastures, he had a late 50's MF50.

 

[Danbo56]

Thanks fellas.. Every time I looked at it I felt bad. Turn the key it started up on the first try and ran well. I just could not let it die of neglect. I feel like rescued an old dog from the pond. I'm glad I spent the money.