Vintage tandem disc-latest find

[flusher]

Bought a nice pull-type tandem disc yesterday.

It's a Ferguson Model 60 BO-21, serial #63881. Harry Ferguson Company, Detroit, Michigan. About 7-ft wide. Gangs rotate fine.

Will go nice with my 1964 MF-135 diesel.

Probably late 40s, early 50s vintage.

Surface rust. No corrosion. Blades look in fairly good shape. Has blade scrapers.

Has a funny looking hitch. Don't know if there's a part missing here. Probably will have to rig up an adapter to the 135 drawbar.

Probably will weld gussets to stiffen the frame.

Only had to remove four cotter pins to separate the front and rear sections for transporting on my 5x10-ft trailer.

 

[Soundguy]

Nice find. I wouldn't do any welding unless you see breaks.. see how she pulls first unless you know of some structural damage.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Flusher, can you get a closer shot of that hitch? I have a thought involving how it hitch's and what, if anything, may be missing.

Those things get loose as a goose after time. The rivets and bolts get loose. That actually plays to your advantage once you start using it. They flex and float with irregularities in the ground. A pull type disc will do and EXTREMELY good job. If it weren't for their lack of transport mobility, they would have never been replaced.

That disc may have SOME collectors value, albiet not an extremely valuable model. You might want to post on either the Massey Ferguson or the Harry Ferguson boards on YT to get feedback from the Ferguson collectors. True FERGUSON implements, other than plows and 3-point disc's are kind of rare.

That model is no longer in the Ferguson line up by 1954, so '48 at the earliest to '53 at the latest. (I have a Ferguson implement line brochure from 1954)

 

[art]

I recommend to operate it first. The hitch adjusts the gang angle!

 

[flusher]

Flusher, can you get a closer shot of that hitch? I have a thought involving how it hitch's and what, if anything, may be missing.

Those things get loose as a goose after time. The rivets and bolts get loose. That actually plays to your advantage once you start using it. They flex and float with irregularities in the ground. A pull type disc will do and EXTREMELY good job. If it weren't for their lack of transport mobility, they would have never been replaced.

That disc may have SOME collectors value, albiet not an extremely valuable model. You might want to post on either the Massey Ferguson or the Harry Ferguson boards on YT to get feedback from the Ferguson collectors. True FERGUSON implements, other than plows and 3-point disc's are kind of rare.

That model is no longer in the Ferguson line up by 1954, so '48 at the earliest to '53 at the latest. (I have a Ferguson implement line brochure from 1954)

FWJ:
Here they are:

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Yep! Parts missing....I'll try to get a picture of the complete hitch, or at the very least, a good description of the missing parts.

 

[Hank AB AB]

This is what's missing - made one for a friend. Hope these pics come through.

There is a pic on page 88 of "Ford Tractor Implements" by Peterson & Beemer.

That is all I had to go by. It works very well.

Hank

 

[flusher]

This is what's missing - made one for a friend. Hope these pics come through.

There is a pic on page 88 of "Ford Tractor Implements" by Peterson & Beemer.

That is all I had to go by. It works very well.

Hank

Thanks for the info.

My guess is that the hitch on my Ferguson disc is supposed to connect somehow to the drawbar rather than the 3pt hitch.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Thanks for the info.

My guess is that the hitch on my Ferguson disc is supposed to connect somehow to the drawbar rather than the 3pt hitch.

When the Ferguson tractor first made its debut, there was no "fixed drawbar" under the rear end. Harry Ferguson's logic was such that he wanted ONLY 3-point equipment used on his tractors. That disc was produced and sold during the time period when the "drawbarless" Fergies were built. If you wanted a Ferguson tractor and a Ferguson drawn disc, you EITHER used that hitch pictured above, OR the 7-hole drawbar that goes on the 3-point lower links. Ferguson also realized he would sell a few of his pull-type disc's to owners of other brands of tractors. There was a clevis style hitch available, as well as the original version of the fabricated hitch shown above. I've looked through my stash of old Ferguson sales literature and still haven't found the picture I'm searching for. That's the shot of the most basic hitch, the clevis style.

 

[flusher]

When the Ferguson tractor first made its debut, there was no "fixed drawbar" under the rear end. Harry Ferguson's logic was such that he wanted ONLY 3-point equipment used on his tractors. That disc was produced and sold during the time period when the "drawbarless" Fergies were built. If you wanted a Ferguson tractor and a Ferguson drawn disc, you EITHER used that hitch pictured above, OR the 7-hole drawbar that goes on the 3-point lower links. Ferguson also realized he would sell a few of his pull-type disc's to owners of other brands of tractors. There was a clevis style hitch available, as well as the original version of the fabricated hitch shown above. I've looked through my stash of old Ferguson sales literature and still haven't found the picture I'm searching for. That's the shot of the most basic hitch, the clevis style.

FWJ: thanks for the info.

I'm confused. Is that hitch on the Ferguson disc I have supposed to mate with the 3pt adapter Hank shows or does it mate with the drawbar?

So far I haven't figured out how the hitch on the disc I have connects to that 3pt rig. I would prefer to pull it with the drawbar rather than the 3pt.