Back in the stone barn

See previous post - link below.
Got all the lights working again after about 20 years of darkness - all re-wired, cabling all 'ducted' this time, and grounds no longer dependent on tin work for connections - all wired back to bolts on the frame.
Got the brackets for the MF40 loader back from the 'powder coaters' today - well, 5 out of 6 pieces any way. The 6th piece, the right hand side 'column' needs a bracket fabricated and welded on, to locate the spool valves somewhere convenient for my right hand, before it too can be painted.
Needed the trolley jack to bring the 'belly piece' up to the bolt holes (weighs about 60kg) - seem to remember fitting this without a jack last time round, must have been a lot younger and stronger then! Getting there slowly!

Merry Christmas to you all from Scotland,

Jim
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Previous post

Very nice work. Is that a license plate on the front?

Looks like a very professional job. Keep us posted with your progress.
Loren

Yep, that's a licence plate - the final 'G' shows it was first registered in 1968 (built 1967). The 'SE' part shows it was registered in the county of Banffshire, Scotland. Been 'off the road' since 1983, so I will have to have it re-registered when I'm finished the restoration. No annual licence fee to pay for a vehicle of that age/type, though. Jim

Ya know, makes the heart feel all warm and mushy inside to see such nice care and work being put into a classic like that. Beautiful work! Please post a pic when fully completed.

Thanks, it's coming on well.
However, I'M not a professional, certainly not in the paintwork department!. The real professional work has been done by the guys who did the shot-blasting and powder coating of the tin work, the wheels and now the loader brackets. Not expensive, and way better finish than I could achieve, even in my dreams! Sure, I can do the 'mechanic's' part of the job, but that just comes from having been a life-long MF owner operator. Will keep you posted! Jim

Your tractor looks really great! I have fond memories of running a 135 MF with a loader, as a teenager working out at a neighbors dairy farm. Do you have to buy a license every year? And do your tractors have to pass a mechanical fitness test?

Looks great. I have its older brother, a TO35 1956 model. Merry Christmas to all.

Hi Bruce. Here, maybe in other places too?, the question of licensing and taxing tractors is a can of worms - ask 6 people the same question you get 6 different answers. As for this tractor, technically it's currently 'unregistered', having been last taxed before 1998, and therefore having dropped off the database of registered vehicles. Looks like I could leave it that way, but NO public road use would be permitted. If I re-register it, I then have to apply for an annual 'exempt' tax disc - nothing to pay, but LIMITED road use permitted - OR a SORN (a Statutory Off Road Notice) which also costs nothing, but means NO road use!
To answer your other question - no, there is no annual mechanical check for 'agricultural machines' (called a MOT test in UK) despite various attempts over the years to have one introduced. Nevertheless, if you caused an accident on the highway and your tractor (or combine etc) was found to be mechanically defective, you would be in deep doo doo...
The other real can of worms is in hauling it on the highway - does your towing truck need a tachograph or not? max permitted 'gross train weight'? for reward? Problem is that the average traffic cop does not know the letter of THAT law any more than Joe Public does! That's a whole other discussion...
Well, you did ask, thanks for your interest!
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year! Jim