Exactly what IS "restored"

[RobS]

Afternoon Bill,
Well partner Im in semi retirement these days but Ill give you an inside view of my office 3 days a week !

BTW, theres nothin like the smell of diesel in the mornin !

Oh yea, almost forgot to mention, Ive got dual chrome stacks on my rig !

Sure beats lookin at 4 walls !

Looks like a lot of fun Scotty, but I think you got some more 'splainin' to do. A new venture for you? Kind of the other end of "restored", eh?

 

[Wayne County Hose]

My "refurbished" 1964 MF-135 has shiny paint on the dash and the duller "factory" paint on the fenders and hood.

How did I manage this?

Ans: a cheap $40 HVLP spray gun from Harbor Freight, fairly cheap paint from Tractor Supply (supposed to be from Valspar) thinned with VM&P naptha, and, most important, my severe limitations as a spray painter.

Actually easier with a flattening agent, but it's trial and error to get it right. Unless you are a real pro, which I am far from.

 

[wolc123]

Tractor restoration is a hobby many enjoy, but personally I would never buy a "restored" tractor. I like them most when they still wear the factory paint. The best one I ever found was an 8n that a neighbor purchased new in 1951. He kept it inside and only used it to work up his 1/2 acre garden each year. I bought it from his widow with 1200 hours (barely broken in) for $1500 about 15 years ago. Included in that deal were a 1951 ford 2-bottom plow and 6.5 ft disk. I made no attempt to haggle the price with her, gladly paying what she asked. If I cant find one like that, which I would certainly never devalue by attempting to paint, then I would go for a virtual wreck that can be had for nothing or scrap price. I have found a few of these over the years and they are fun to paint up and bring back to life, but I certainly dont value any of them nearly as much as that old "cherry" 8n.

 

[RobS]

Tractor restoration is a hobby many enjoy, but personally I would never buy a "restored" tractor. I like them most when they still wear the factory paint. The best one I ever found was an 8n that a neighbor purchased new in 1951. He kept it inside and only used it to work up his 1/2 acre garden each year. I bought it from his widow with 1200 hours (barely broken in) for $1500 about 15 years ago. Included in that deal were a 1951 ford 2-bottom plow and 6.5 ft disk. I made no attempt to haggle the price with her, gladly paying what she asked. If I cant find one like that, which I would certainly never devalue by attempting to paint, then I would go for a virtual wreck that can be had for nothing or scrap price. I have found a few of these over the years and they are fun to paint up and bring back to life, but I certainly dont value any of them nearly as much as that old "cherry" 8n.

Pictures? That seems like quite the find. Do you still have it?

 

[wolc123]

I am not sure how to post pictures. I still have it but it is not in quite the condition it was when I got it. I have put almost as many hours on it since I had it as it had when I bought it. I had to do a valve job a few years ago as those old, soft factory valves do not hold up to unleaded fuel (even using lead substitute), and also replaced the proofmeter cable so it is no longer all original. It still starts like a champ on a 6 volt battery, even in sub-zero temperatures, and has those original hard-to-find rear rims full of 55 year old calcium solution. These days it is on "light duty" and I use it mostly to haul firewood in the winter and on a 2-row corn planter in the spring and summer. Somewhere I have the original sales paperwork and I think the price I paid was almost exactly what my nieghbor paid to the dealer back in 51 including the implements. Sadly, our local Ford dealer who sold it closed up around 5 years ago and all we got left in town is a "green" one so thats mostly what I run these days. I like this tractor a lot and it is also my wife's favorite. If I had to put a price on it, it would be around $10,000, so I will probably still have it when I join the original purchaser.

 

[RobS]

Posting pics is relatively easy. Click on a reply or new post button and be sure to click "go advanced" after you click reply. Once there, scroll down and you'll find a box for attaching files. Click the "manage attachments" button and it's relatively self explainatory. You may have to resize your images if they are large files. Shoot me a PM if you need more help.

Still sounds like a great tractor. My wife's family has a '53 Golden Jubilee but it's pretty beat. I haven't seen it in years and it probably hasn't run in at least that long.

 

[wolc123]

The jubilee brought some advancements, like overhead valves and live hydraulics but I prefer the 51 and 52 8n's which were better on fuel, a lot lighter, only a little less hp (they are both 2-plow machines), and had more durable hydraulics. I spent many hours pulling wagons with another neighbor's jubilee which always ran well, but the hydraulics gave out back around 1960. As far as the pictures go, I would have to start by getting a digital camera. I can probably get another old "junk" tractor cheaper so that probably wont happen too soon.

 

[mjarrels]

I added a SMV trangle to the back of my 1949 Farmall! Did I ruin the restoration? Gees... the new regulator is black too... I'm dead now!

mark

 

[Soundguy]

Lots of people ( dealers included ).. liked the updated look of the blue paint on the 63+ models and it was common to repaint hte older models to match the current scheme. same was true of the 9n/2n that were painte dup as redbellies instead of battleship grey all over.. etc..

soundguy

stop making fun of my tractors

I replaced a few feed bags on the cushion of the MF 135 and some day I will replace that old worn out thing with a new, correct cushion.

Something else I just thought about, my Ford 640 is suppose to be gray and red. However, the farm who owned the tractor since new repainted it around 5 years ago a nice blue and white like Ford tractors should be. That tractor looks so much nicer in blue and white I can never see repainting it the Gray and red if I did a full restore on it.

 

[Soundguy]

The jubilee brought some advancements, like overhead valves and live hydraulics but I prefer the 51 and 52 8n's which were better on fuel, a lot lighter, only a little less hp (they are both 2-plow machines), and had more durable hydraulics. I spent many hours pulling wagons with another neighbor's jubilee which always ran well, but the hydraulics gave out back around 1960. As far as the pictures go, I would have to start by getting a digital camera. I can probably get another old "junk" tractor cheaper so that probably wont happen too soon.

The square vane pumps the jubes started out with were hopeless junk.. and now very $pendy to rebuild.. now that parts are once again available. Of course the NAA 2.85gpm piston pump ain't cheap to rebuild either.. though is much cheape rthan the vane. The 'will-fit' 4gpm piston pump of the hundred series is the best of the bunch.. though if installed on an NAA will cause erattic ( oversensitive ) draft operation due to the increased volume and issues with the exhaust valve.. etc..