Minneapolis Moline BF

[flusher]

From the photo, it doesn't look like the Avery/MM BF 3-point hitch/swinging drawbar. It looks like someone fabricated that one. The hydraulic pump, reservoir, cylinder, and controls look original, but the rest doesn't.

I have my father's Avery R he bought new in 1950 that was converted to a MM/BF with the MM factory upgrade kit that was installed on many dealer inventory Avery R tractors after MM purchased B. F. Avery. My father and I installed the kit on his Avery R in the mid-50s. The 3-point hitch has adjustable lift arms (hand crank to adjust on the right side) and an adjustable lift arm stabilizer bar. It was all bolt-on, no welding required.


Bill

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I'll have to research this issue more. Don't have any photos showing the Avery/MM BF 3pt and swingbar setup. I'll keep looking.

 

[Retired Iron Peddler]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I'll have to research this issue more. Don't have any photos showing the Avery/MM BF 3pt and swingbar setup. I'll keep looking.

When I get some time, I'll take a few photos and post them so you can see what it looks like.

Bill

 

[johndeerefan1176]

I too have a BF MM or Avery R. My grandfather purchased it as a dealer repo in the early 50's. It has the Pesco style hydraulic system (box on right front with push style rod) and narrow front end (two wheels). I also have another one that is a wide front. It has the hydraulic system like the one shown in this thread. I have 1 set of Avery 2 row cultivators, 1 set of MM 2 row cultivators, 2 MM mowing machines, 2 plows, mowing machine owner's manual, cultivator manual, and Avery owner's manual. I still plow with the narrow front tractor and it does a great job. i also use one of the mowing machines to clip under fences. The wide front tractor was bought for parts, but I plan on restoring it also.

I have been researching to find what year my BFs actually are. I noticed on the forums the serial # is stamped into the frame on the right side. When I get the numbers I will post my findings.

Rumor has it, the narrow front end repo tractor was originally red and the dealer painted in prairie gold before my grandfather bought it. I have black and white photos that clearly show it having the BF MM decals.

First question I have is where do you buy reproduction parts. I need to overhaul both tractors. The narrow front runs decent, but smokes a little. The wide front, well lets say it needs a total overhaul. I will be needing things like shifter boots, gauges, throttle cable, gauge cluster plate, and engine rebuild kits.

I will post pictures of them when I get home this weekend. I will start a new forum post to keep from hijacking this one.

Any help you can give is much appreciated.

 

[flusher]

I too have a BF MM or Avery R. My grandfather purchased it as a dealer repo in the early 50's. It has the Pesco style hydraulic system (box on right front with push style rod) and narrow front end (two wheels). I also have another one that is a wide front. It has the hydraulic system like the one shown in this thread. I have 1 set of Avery 2 row cultivators, 1 set of MM 2 row cultivators, 2 MM mowing machines, 2 plows, mowing machine owner's manual, cultivator manual, and Avery owner's manual. I still plow with the narrow front tractor and it does a great job. i also use one of the mowing machines to clip under fences. The wide front tractor was bought for parts, but I plan on restoring it also.

I have been researching to find what year my BFs actually are. I noticed on the forums the serial # is stamped into the frame on the right side. When I get the numbers I will post my findings.

Rumor has it, the narrow front end repo tractor was originally red and the dealer painted in prairie gold before my grandfather bought it. I have black and white photos that clearly show it having the BF MM decals.

First question I have is where do you buy reproduction parts. I need to overhaul both tractors. The narrow front runs decent, but smokes a little. The wide front, well lets say it needs a total overhaul. I will be needing things like shifter boots, gauges, throttle cable, gauge cluster plate, and engine rebuild kits.

I will post pictures of them when I get home this weekend. I will start a new forum post to keep from hijacking this one.

Any help you can give is much appreciated.

Hi there. Welcome to TBN.

I'd start by looking at the MM, Avery, Cockshutt forum on

http://antiquetractorsforum.com/

Many of your questions are answered there.

My BF is definitely a 1951 model (serial number is R4230).
The decal on the hood is interesting. It's definitely a hybrid of an MM and Avery design.

The decal contains the name "Avery" which is unusual.

I think this is another indication that this particular tractor is a transition model.
The paint job looks like a mix of Avery red and MM prairie gold. The underside of some of the parts look like the paint there is prairie gold.

I have it pretty well disassembled.

It has the adjustable wide-front axle. One of the sliding sections came apart easily. The other one is rusted tight. Have it soaking in WD-40 now. Took 5 gallons of WD-40 to cover the part in the soaking trough. Fortunately that stuff is reusable.

Hope to pull the engine early next week. Busy with other stuff this week.

 

[johndeerefan1176]

I didn't have any luck finding a number stamped into the frame, nor did I find a serial # plate. All I could find was the engine plate. Any other casting numbers that could determine the year?

 

[flusher]

I didn't have any luck finding a number stamped into the frame, nor did I find a serial # plate. All I could find was the engine plate. Any other casting numbers that could determine the year?

Here's the serial # of my BF

You're looking at the top side of the rear end of the right frame channel near where it attaches to the transmission.

And here's the tag on the right side of the Hercules 1XB3SL engine below the removal cover for the push rods

Hope this helps.

 

[johndeerefan1176]

Thanks for the help on locating the serial number. The number was filled in by layers of paint. It is serial #R2424 for the narrow front end one. I have not checked the wide front tractor yet.

One interesting note, my father took my grandfather's tractor and a donor tractor to make one that all the mechanicals were in good shape. In doing that, he used my grandfather's engine and the donor tractors frame, transmission, and rearend. So, the serial #'s are not totally matching. Luckily, we think we still have the old frame rails. Will go looking this weekend to see if they turn up. If we find them, we are going to switch the frame rails. Then, the pesco hydraulic system #s should match with the frame and engine #s. The only thing not original will then be the rearend and transmission. What a mess!

Are you going to paint your 51 prairie gold with MM decals or red with Avery decals? Let me know if you can find a decal that matches the one you currently have using Avery instead of Modern Machinery.

And the big question is....Is a 51 model a BF MM or an Avery R? Since MM bought Avery in 51, then I would assume it could be either, but I would tend to lean toward the MM. Your thoughts???

 

[flusher]

Thanks for the help on locating the serial number. The number was filled in by layers of paint. It is serial #R2424 for the narrow front end one. I have not checked the wide front tractor yet.

One interesting note, my father took my grandfather's tractor and a donor tractor to make one that all the mechanicals were in good shape. In doing that, he used my grandfather's engine and the donor tractors frame, transmission, and rearend. So, the serial #'s are not totally matching. Luckily, we think we still have the old frame rails. Will go looking this weekend to see if they turn up. If we find them, we are going to switch the frame rails. Then, the pesco hydraulic system #s should match with the frame and engine #s. The only thing not original will then be the rearend and transmission. What a mess!

Are you going to paint your 51 prairie gold with MM decals or red with Avery decals? Let me know if you can find a decal that matches the one you currently have using Avery instead of Modern Machinery.

And the big question is....Is a 51 model a BF MM or an Avery R? Since MM bought Avery in 51, then I would assume it could be either, but I would tend to lean toward the MM. Your thoughts???

Good question. Glad you found your s/n. Looks like your BF is an early 1951 unit.

I'm leaning toward MM colors. However, The hood, radiator frame and fenders on my BF are red, not PG. And the wheels are painted red. The only PG color on my BF is on the pto housing

and on the HKG hydraulics unit

I don't see any other indication of PG paint and I've torn the tractor down to the engine, transmission and rear end so far

And there's this funky pale yellow color on the main frame rails and on the engine. Don't know what original color this is supposed to be. Need to do more research on this issue.

 

[johndeerefan1176]

Looks like you are making progress. It's amazing how fast you can tear one down, but going back together is a different story. Could the light yellow paint be a rust inhibitor primer?

I took pictures of mine last night, but did not have time to upload them. They aren't very good, since it was wedged between the hammer mill and the corn picker. I also checked the wide front BF and it's serial # is R5355. Makes it a 52 model.

On the BF Avery website, there is a 51 model R with cultivators for sale. Looks really nice for $2800. His serial number is R2405. Probably made the same day mine was.

I am in desperate need of parts vendors. I am currently restoring my John Deere A, finding parts is not a problem at all. But, the BF is a different beast. Do you know of any other BF MM vendors besides Steiner Tractor Parts? I really have it in for them. Talked to them at the farm machinery show in Louisville, not friendly at all. He gave the guy in front of me a free shipping ticket, but did not offer one to me when I told him what parts I was needing. He just kinda shrugged me off. Since then, I have ordered about $700 worth of parts from other vendors. Guess that is just their loss.


We plan on restoring the 51 model in the fall. We bought new rear rims and rear tires for it the other day. Just buying a few parts here and there for now.

 

[flusher]

Looks like you are making progress. It's amazing how fast you can tear one down, but going back together is a different story. Could the light yellow paint be a rust inhibitor primer?

I took pictures of mine last night, but did not have time to upload them. They aren't very good, since it was wedged between the hammer mill and the corn picker. I also checked the wide front BF and it's serial # is R5355. Makes it a 52 model.

On the BF Avery website, there is a 51 model R with cultivators for sale. Looks really nice for $2800. His serial number is R2405. Probably made the same day mine was.

I am in desperate need of parts vendors. I am currently restoring my John Deere A, finding parts is not a problem at all. But, the BF is a different beast. Do you know of any other BF MM vendors besides Steiner Tractor Parts? I really have it in for them. Talked to them at the farm machinery show in Louisville, not friendly at all. He gave the guy in front of me a free shipping ticket, but did not offer one to me when I told him what parts I was needing. He just kinda shrugged me off. Since then, I have ordered about $700 worth of parts from other vendors. Guess that is just their loss.


We plan on restoring the 51 model in the fall. We bought new rear rims and rear tires for it the other day. Just buying a few parts here and there for now.

Try Zimmerman and mandmsurplus for engine parts

ZIMMERMAN OLIVER-CLETRAC, Parts Source for Cletrac Crawlers

mandmsurplus.com - Home

Apparently some Avery and Oliver/Cletrac parts are interchangeable.

Also try molineparts for seals

Index - MolineParts.com

I haven't ordered BF parts from any supplier yet. Still tearing down the tractor and don't know what parts I'll need to finish the restoration.

Good luck.