ISUMassey
New member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2014
- Messages
- 9
- Location
- Knoxville, IA
- Tractor
- 1963 Massey 65 Industrial, 2011 John Deere X740
Hello friends, I enjoyed reading everybody else's purchasing stories so wanted to share my own.
Background: I bought 11 acres in south central Iowa over a year ago. It consists of 1/2 acre for buildings, five acres of grass, alfalfa, and clover on fairly level ground (currently round baled by a neighbor farmer), and about 5 1/2 acres of timber with some pasture patches on more sloped ground. The plan is to cut some of the trees and open up the woods a bit, and then fence in the 5 1/2 acres of timber. I will graze a few goats and cows in the timber, and split the round bales with a farmer to feed those animals out in the winter.
I wanted a tractor able to move round bales (and be capable of square baling), do some loader work, pull/push stumps, clear driveway of snow, help clear fencerows, brush mow, and make me smile.
My friends dad had a 1963 Massey Ferguson 65 with loader for sale. It is the continental gas industrial model with a 200 series loader. The original owner was the Veterans Affairs campus in Knoxville, IA. They used it for twenty years for snow removal and sold it when the power steering needed fixed. The second owner was my friends dad. The tractor has been mostly shedded it's whole life and meticulously maintained. Now I am the proud owner of the tractor now with 3200 hours on it. I bought it for $3000 dollars and I also got the seller to throw in a JD 606 brush mower.
My favorite things about this tractor is that it has an industrial loader that is very stout and fast. The loader has a separate fluid reservoir and pumps about 20 gpm and can lift 3300 lbs to full height. I also like that you set the engine idle speed with the normal throttle lever but the tractor also has a gas pedal if you temporarily need a little more power. Lastly it has a shuttle shift to change from forward to reverse. I also find the floor shifters a little clunky to change gears but the shuttle shift is really tight and quick to change from forward to reverse. It also has a ROPs and canopy which is pretty unusual for this model.
I also got many parts, owner, and service manuals for this tractor.
I have three questions.
1. Do you think it would be a good idea to run a can of seafoam thru the tank for good measure. The tractor hasn't been used much in the last ten years.
2. The right brake pedal has no resistance whereas the left one works well. What things would you inspect first? Adjustments/ linkages?
3. The owners manual talks about a setting a choke to start, but I don't see a choke anywhere. The tractor fires up instantly as is.
Background: I bought 11 acres in south central Iowa over a year ago. It consists of 1/2 acre for buildings, five acres of grass, alfalfa, and clover on fairly level ground (currently round baled by a neighbor farmer), and about 5 1/2 acres of timber with some pasture patches on more sloped ground. The plan is to cut some of the trees and open up the woods a bit, and then fence in the 5 1/2 acres of timber. I will graze a few goats and cows in the timber, and split the round bales with a farmer to feed those animals out in the winter.
I wanted a tractor able to move round bales (and be capable of square baling), do some loader work, pull/push stumps, clear driveway of snow, help clear fencerows, brush mow, and make me smile.
My friends dad had a 1963 Massey Ferguson 65 with loader for sale. It is the continental gas industrial model with a 200 series loader. The original owner was the Veterans Affairs campus in Knoxville, IA. They used it for twenty years for snow removal and sold it when the power steering needed fixed. The second owner was my friends dad. The tractor has been mostly shedded it's whole life and meticulously maintained. Now I am the proud owner of the tractor now with 3200 hours on it. I bought it for $3000 dollars and I also got the seller to throw in a JD 606 brush mower.
My favorite things about this tractor is that it has an industrial loader that is very stout and fast. The loader has a separate fluid reservoir and pumps about 20 gpm and can lift 3300 lbs to full height. I also like that you set the engine idle speed with the normal throttle lever but the tractor also has a gas pedal if you temporarily need a little more power. Lastly it has a shuttle shift to change from forward to reverse. I also find the floor shifters a little clunky to change gears but the shuttle shift is really tight and quick to change from forward to reverse. It also has a ROPs and canopy which is pretty unusual for this model.
I also got many parts, owner, and service manuals for this tractor.
I have three questions.
1. Do you think it would be a good idea to run a can of seafoam thru the tank for good measure. The tractor hasn't been used much in the last ten years.
2. The right brake pedal has no resistance whereas the left one works well. What things would you inspect first? Adjustments/ linkages?
3. The owners manual talks about a setting a choke to start, but I don't see a choke anywhere. The tractor fires up instantly as is.
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