Massey 135

I had a guy take a look at my tractor the other day and after four years since it came home from the shop got it going again. It still has an electrical problem (he's coming back in the next week or two) but I know it will run now.

It was a combination of stupid stuff that caused it not to work (eg not knowing how to set the points properly and screwing up the distributor timing and a few other minor things). Also the power steering line blew out but hey, it moved! Sometimes it pays to get an extra set of eyes to look at the problem.

Anyways, here is my question - once I get Two-Ton fully functional I want to finally take it to the auto hobby shop on base and give her a repaint job. What is the best method to repaint it? How much of the tractor should I actually dismantle and then go in and repaint?

I'm looking at getting the Martin Seynor or the PPG paint. I want to do this correctly so the expense is justfied. Where do I get the supplied air system and can I rent it? I saw something that Harbor Freight carries them but I didn't see one when I went in.

I've read how to repaint your tractor...that new book at TSC and I'm confident given the right amount of prep I can do this. I do have an old industrial paint gun my grandfather picked up working at the steel mill.

Thanks,

Christos

Talk about a loaded question....

I'd remove all the sheet metal (inc grill), seat, and pull the wheels, then shoot the flint grey metallic. Paint sheet metal (red) while off the tractor, then re-assemble. Grill & rear rims get silver mist. Paint them last, then re-install. That's how I do it anyway.

I guess what I'm curious about is how much of the the 3 point linkage should I dismantle...swinging drawbar, air cleaner battery tray deck, axle, etc.


I guess, read into that as what are smallest pieces that a good restoration should be broken down into?

And, MFPoor, when you restored your 150 do you have any photos of the process?

Christos

At one point, I had hundreds of pictures. Then my old computer went KA BOOM. All that I could recover was one picture the day after I rolled it out of the shop.

I removed a few things like the alternator, battery cables, battery, fan belt, shifter boots, shifter knobs, top link, drawbar, and the wiring harness. If you want a museum quality resto, you can go farther, but for a tractor that'll eventually be used, that's plenty far enough. The trick is to spend as much time as possible cleaning and prepping, then do a REALLY good job on the sheet metal. I did dismantle the seat suspension down to the last part.

This was 5 years ago. The paint has held up really well. I've put just under 900 hours on it since, mostly bush hogging and hayin'.

I want a factoryish paint job. The tractor originally had 179.9 hours before the engine (or whomever went in there) screwed things up (Cracked/poorly welded block) plus 14 hours on the rebuild.

Basically the ole girl is going to work and be shown off.

Looks like ya drove that 150 out of the showroom and snapped that picture. First class job!

I would question the hours on your MF 135. I would bet that the hour meter has been replaced 179 hours ago. The last MF 135s where made in 1975. Thirty-five years ago.
The real problem I would be more concerned about is the "cracked poorly welded block". You need to have your mechanical problems all solved/figured out, BEFORE you go painting. I see too many people jump in and paint a tractor and then have to tear up the paint job to "fix" the problems.
I just looked at a JD 4320. It has one of the best paint jobs I have ever seen on it. Young man fresh out of Auto body school did the paint work. He is wanting to get a restoration business going. He might not get another chance after this tractor. Now that the owner has the tractor back, and has ran it awhile, the problems are showing up. It has several major oil leaks that don't leak much until it is at operating temperature. By the time we get these leaks fixed the super paint job is going to look tough.

(quoted from post at 14:28:43 06/27/10) This was 5 years ago. The paint has held up really well. I've put just under 900 hours on it since, mostly bush hogging and hayin'.

Click to expand...

Most beautiful tractor EVER made. Love it!

You misunderstood me. The tractor is fixed mechanically - I had it rebuilt five years ago. I've been dealing with electrical issues since it came home.

Basically the story with that tractor is the following. THe barn burned before I was born (1983) and dad bought the 135. At somepoint shortly before he died (179.9 hrs on the tach) in '93 the block cracked and the Massey Dealer/sub contractor botched up the repair and the welds distorted the cylinders and we never used the tractor again until I got interested in tractors back in '04.

Why that block cracked back then I dont know. I remember dad having to have the radiator repaired and I suspect this all happened when he was bushhogging one day and damaged the radiator. (It's also the reason why I have a brush guard on the front of the tractor now.)

Back in 2005 I sent the tractor to be rebuilt - mechanically it's fine now. Electrically there is a kink in the wirning harness and a few timing issues with the distributor.

While I can't physically prove it anymore , that tach had 179.9 hours on it (I wish I had taken pictures of the whole rebuild process)- at any rate it's irrelevant, it's got 14 hours on the new tach.

The question I had asked was if I should go ahead and repaint it since I know I can get it to run by jumping the starter or if I should finish solving the electricals and then repainting it since I have to remove the harness to repaint the tractor.

- Christos

I now understand better. Christo, I would get it ready to paint like it is. Then I would replace the wiring harness after it is painted. The mechanical things are what need fixing before paint. Sound like you have that under control.
This web site is a gentalman that make very good harnesses. I have used several on John Deere 4020s and like his better the the John Deere ones.
http://www.wiringharnesses.com/
His site says to call for pricing on the MF 135. I bet it is because there are two very different harnesses on them depending on the year.
So get that tractor done and post some pictures. I like to see them restored. Plus this one is one that you have a "history" with.