Gypsyman
Silver Member
Short back story. I purchased property in Florida and have been finding all kinds of stuff on it. The previous owner said that there were two tractors on the property that he would leave if I thought that I could get them running.
When I finally moved to the property I found the Massey 1533 right away. Messed with it some and unfortunately it appears that it lost a lobe on the cam. Not sure if it's worth putting a used engine in it or if I should just part it out. Couldn't find the other tractor.
I was walking the gun range and saw a pathway punched through the bank on one side. It was quite overgrown but a machete gained me access pretty quickly. Once I got through the brush I found a large open area with high walls that had been excavated out. Looks like it was intended to be a 360° pistol range. The brush was about head high but I could see an old tattered silver tarp with a bush hog sticking out and a flash of Kubota orange showing. Drug the tarp off and sure enough, there sat a cabbed B3030 with an LA403 loader and a Land Prided RCR1860.
Tractor was in rough shape but complete and a quick inspection showed just 159 hours on the meter. It was covered in lichens from sitting under the tarp in the Florida humidity, cab roof was busted up pretty good, broken lights, dented side panels, yada yada. For just 159 hours she's had a hard life. Fast forward to today.
After a lot of tinkering and about $4000 in parts I have a nice running, low hour B3030HSDC. The silly plastic roof was about $2000 of that cost (which is absurd) but they are showing as discontinued so I was glad that I was able to still get one.
So, after all was said and done, I only have one remaining issue which is with the LA403 loader control. The joystick curl and dump function works smoothly and returns to center just fine. The lift and lower is another story. Very stiff when moving the joystick and a hard shove accompanied buy a loud snap is required to get into the float position. Under normal use the joystick has to be pulled or pushed back into the neutral/center position. I've lubed the control cable to no end with no change. I'm assuming that the problem lies in the detent portion of the valve. So, I need a little expertise here. After looking at the parts manual I assume that the detent is contained in the portion of the valve that I have circled in the below picture. Since I don't have a shop to work in yet can this be pulled and cleaned/lubed in the field or will the guts try to come out on me?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. It's the last item to repair to have a 100% functional tractor.
Extra photos for your viewing pleasure. I have no idea what the intended purpose of the large hooks welded to the bucket is.
When I finally moved to the property I found the Massey 1533 right away. Messed with it some and unfortunately it appears that it lost a lobe on the cam. Not sure if it's worth putting a used engine in it or if I should just part it out. Couldn't find the other tractor.
I was walking the gun range and saw a pathway punched through the bank on one side. It was quite overgrown but a machete gained me access pretty quickly. Once I got through the brush I found a large open area with high walls that had been excavated out. Looks like it was intended to be a 360° pistol range. The brush was about head high but I could see an old tattered silver tarp with a bush hog sticking out and a flash of Kubota orange showing. Drug the tarp off and sure enough, there sat a cabbed B3030 with an LA403 loader and a Land Prided RCR1860.
Tractor was in rough shape but complete and a quick inspection showed just 159 hours on the meter. It was covered in lichens from sitting under the tarp in the Florida humidity, cab roof was busted up pretty good, broken lights, dented side panels, yada yada. For just 159 hours she's had a hard life. Fast forward to today.
After a lot of tinkering and about $4000 in parts I have a nice running, low hour B3030HSDC. The silly plastic roof was about $2000 of that cost (which is absurd) but they are showing as discontinued so I was glad that I was able to still get one.
So, after all was said and done, I only have one remaining issue which is with the LA403 loader control. The joystick curl and dump function works smoothly and returns to center just fine. The lift and lower is another story. Very stiff when moving the joystick and a hard shove accompanied buy a loud snap is required to get into the float position. Under normal use the joystick has to be pulled or pushed back into the neutral/center position. I've lubed the control cable to no end with no change. I'm assuming that the problem lies in the detent portion of the valve. So, I need a little expertise here. After looking at the parts manual I assume that the detent is contained in the portion of the valve that I have circled in the below picture. Since I don't have a shop to work in yet can this be pulled and cleaned/lubed in the field or will the guts try to come out on me?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. It's the last item to repair to have a 100% functional tractor.
Extra photos for your viewing pleasure. I have no idea what the intended purpose of the large hooks welded to the bucket is.
