B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 roof detail again and inside cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNHIR Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Oh my God Brian, your models just get better and better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 now,this is where i keep my tractor,inside my garage i have this seled and insulated room,the tyre at rear is one of a pair of original goodyears for my fergie,i have this room sealed so as when im grinding and painting models there is no contamination,protect your investment,2nd picture is my te20 parked up for the restoration,slowly getting there,im in no hurry and am going to do her right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 please excuse the black exhaust,my original MF white exhaust only is fitted at shows,they are like hens teeth so i keep it in my house..2nd pic showing the dash,i got the stickers made as any that were available had a mixture of thick and thin lettering and didnt please me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 a few rosettes that the little tractor won,including my scottish cup,that made it all worthwhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 all the original papers and books that came with tractor,my cousins who owned this tractor were very careful men and looked after everything they had,they were potato men with no stock,so all the 135 done was ridge drills at planting time and dig potatoes with a ransomes digger at harvest time,i remember sitting on the mudguard of this tractor when i was 6 years old so thats how far back me and my 135 go...in 1996 they bought a reekie cleanflow and the 3080 powered that so the 135 was out of work so i bought her and restored her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 2 last pics.in 2nd pic she is ,parked in the sealed room and covered to another day.hope you,s enjoy the pics and the tractor,as i said before the MF135 was in my book one of the most iconic tractors of our time and i spent many long hours on them,doing everything from digging spuds to ploughing with a kv bamford 3 furrow 12inch plough to drawing silage to spraying,buckraking etc etc etc and i never remember one letting me down,a small tractor with a hell of a heart..and this was MF country in the 70,s and 80,s and they farmed britain and the world and apart from the te20 i dont think any other tractor had such a long a successful production run,so hats off to Banner Lane and im glad i had the opportunity to restore a tractor that i so fondly remember and spent so many long days on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 the farmers i worked for had 135,s and also their bigger brothers.ive drove 165,s/185,s and a 188 and 148 and i remember when taking 10 ton of seed potatoes on a 20 mile journey to steep field that the farmer asked a neighbour to take 10 ton with his Fiat 980DT to same field on same day both of us got to the steep field together and the fiat driver said right i bet your 165 wont go to the top of the hill,he didnt know i was well into my pressure control hitch so he took off and the fiat got beat with his 10 ton halfway up the wet steep hill,he watched as i came along in a 1976 165(6 weights on front and a 40 loader) and passed him and didnt stop to i got to the top and along the headland,he was stumped at this 62hp tractor breaking all the rules but i knew when i was attaching my weights that the 165 was gona do it because the pressure control was very much misunderstood by many but when the 100 series were designed the pressure control was an integral part of the tractor and the hitch was undersold but to those of us who used it,it did break all the rules of more power more traction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Ferguson Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 well Brian it's not often that I am speechless... but I have to say.. I think this is very nearly one of them What a little stunner you have there... I am positive that I have not seen such a well restored example of a 135 (of any tractor for that matter) anywhere - it... no... she is simply stunning and a credit to your restoration skills and tenacity in tracking down all those original parts. I hope you have her insured for in excess of £10k that's all I can say - I'd write you a cheque for that right now in all honesty, and I know there'd be a few of my mates in the queue willing to guzump me as well I reckon.. Thanks for sharing... I'm looking forward to seeing the Fergie done now as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denis086 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 fantastic detail youve gone into with this build and it really shows in the end result now we have a tired 165 sitting the yard is tomorrow good for you to start the restoration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 thanks Mark and Denis.if it hadnt been for that wee push from Mark god knows when id have got round to the pictures,its insured for well in excess of 10k...and she,s well packed away from the lightfingered brigade,they,d be so long getting her out of there id be well outta bed with my iron bar....must get her ploughing now some good day,my uncle has a lovely little fisher humphries 3 furrow 10 inch plough and when i was restoring i got an MF mechanic to fit a new draft spring as thats a thing in the 100 series,unless its been used the spring will seize through time...i so glad to see MF back where they belong,at the forefront of modern agriculture with cutting edge technology,most british manufacturers had there problems in the 70/80s era mainly trying to perfect clutchless shifting and nearly all had there comebacks but we,re well past that now..i wonder do our countries leaders ever look back and think during this economic downturn that maybe they should have supported british tractor makers more and at least we,d have that employment sector going steadily along,to me the closure but most of all the demolition of Banner Lane was one of the biggest wastes in history,and the others that were part of our agricultural history,GONE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Ferguson Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 it's a crying shame Brian.. I can remember my trip around the factory in 1978 like it was only yesterday... waste indeed... the factory was truly huge... I can remember seeing the foundry, the red hot gears being forged and cut... the line... and most of all... all the workers... hundreds of them We lost out to our cousins overseas in France sadly... but in fairness... I think the increase in the average tractors horsepower and the subsequent decline in the volume of tractor sales rang the death knell for Banner Lanes production. Given Massey Ferguson turbulent financial past I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that the brand is still here today really \ I do agree with you on the 135 comments you made as well... this model of tractor HAS to be the most loved and known machine the world over... over engineered in every way and a real capable machine for it's size. I plumped for an early 240 tractor.. although I'd (not so) secretly love a cabbed 135 at some point in the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 speaking of your early 240,the last farmer i worked for ,the 1 who had the aforementioned 165 i drove,he bought a 135 in early 1981,i drove it for years,sekura cab as the rigid and flexi i think were discontinued by now,it had an 8 speed box as per 240 and 240 style front weights and i forget now but i think there were many more 240 upgrades on her,MIJ 8045,from what i remember,the difference in the smoother 8 speed less crash box was a godsend for me from his 165,but he still has her,sadly now with a C&D cab and all originality gone,but id say if in its original state and sitting next to your 240 they,d be identical... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 Now ,Mark,as an MF man ive one for you...now before i ask this remember NO MAJOR COMPONENT HAS EVER BEEN FITTED TO MY 135,IT IS AS LEFT MF............mytractor is 5/4/1974 registerd,now can you see anything that might make you think that my tractor is in fact earlier?? serial number 438079 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Ferguson Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 speaking of your early 240,the last farmer i worked for ,the 1 who had the aforementioned 165 i drove,he bought a 135 in early 1981,i drove it for years,sekura cab as the rigid and flexi i think were discontinued by now,it had an 8 speed box as per 240 and 240 style front weights and i forget now but i think there were many more 240 upgrades on her,MIJ 8045,from what i remember,the difference in the smoother 8 speed less crash box was a godsend for me from his 165,but he still has her,sadly now with a C&D cab and all originality gone,but id say if in its original state and sitting next to your 240 they,d be identical... welll I never... so you could still get the 135 in NI in 1981 then ... would that have been french built then Brian or Banner Lane... as for the question below... will ponder and come back to you on this... or give up... one or the other :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad4machines Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 BRIAN mate!!!!!!!! This topic is amazing!!!! I am literally overwhelmed by the stunning pictures & fabulous work with major attention to detail that you truly have put into this beautiful little 'all-time great' MF 135!!! I am also pleased to tell you that I myself have the very same tractor only its a May 1978 model with the the very same cab sitting out the back of our house, only its in its original working state!!!!! I can only but dream of mine looking anything like yours sometime in the not too distant future!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakescot Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 well well well, this is truly fantastic , I doubt if any of us will see a better MF restoration.thank you for sharing. All your hard work is , in my opinion well worth it and as for Marky`s £10k . I have no doubt it would make at very least half as much again as that if you ever chose to sell, not that I think you ever will. really made my day this has. A point too on the pressure control, my dad was given one when he bought his 165 new back in 73 or 74 I can`t remember and it lay up in the old dairy loft still in the original brown paper it came in until a guy came back to work with us ( he first worked with the family in 1948! ) in 1984 just before I left school..........this guy is a genius , we used to say things took one graham power or 1.5 normal man power........he just laughed.anyways he was a pressure control freak too funny it wasnt as effective on the 565 as it was on one of the old 135`s we have a 1965 round fender version UK C reg not done up other than brothers rough paint job.he did reline the pistons in it 5 yrs ago .we didnt have a 4wd til 93 and used the pressure control up to a point until graham retired. I can`t say I ever really fully understood the intricacies of it all.I got the basics and at that time I got a lot of the hand working so didnt use it as much as I would now have liked to. A cracking piece of engineering and would I be right in thinking ( never thought about this before) more ferguson ingenuity and brilliance????? hats off to Mr H and his contribution to modern agriculture and BACK ON TOPIC : hats off to you Brian on your faithful restoration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coxy Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 you did some great job on this you should be well proud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 what a tidy number you have there brian, well worth the effort and cost, as mentioned by others i to dont think i have ever seen that cab on a 135 over here, 165 yes, but only once, as for your coments on the 165, yes they were plucky performers ,we bought ours with flexi cab from new, and she was still going strong in 99 when we sold up, was a old n plate from memory ,first tractor i drove, really wish i had the space and dosh to have bought it when we sold up ,could have got her no worrys from my uncles, but at the time all the cash was tied up on buying the house i am in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 thanks lads......Mark the 81 135 was UK built ,i was young but i remember everything on her was in english and none of the obvious differences that as a sharp eye,d lad i wouldnt have noticed......she is now on her 2nd engine rebuild but it was never looked after and always abused but it was a truly superb tractor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 here is my original MF135 exhaust,now like hens teeth,i came across it by chance an bought the owner a replacement the day he agreed to swap,you can see the MF5 printed on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B O R Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 i have made the original exhaust clamp also,i think the only way you will hear a 135 going proper is with this on,you can hear the different sound the min you put it on,the sound that i remember,in the long production span of the 135 they had 3 different variations of exhaust,the earlier and later type were different,omly slightly to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 thats a stunning tractor you have there, credit to you for looking after this little beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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