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Sparts conglomerated tractor thread, now with added Massey Ferguson 50b loader!


spartacus

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41 minutes ago, bramz7 said:

That is fantastic. I think there is one still parked up in a slightly wonky shed on my uncles farm, and it is most probably the same one my grandfather owned and used 'back in the day'. I might see if I can sweet talk someone to let me see it next week....

 

 

Sweet talk, or drive off into the sunset with it ? 

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Wow DR, that sounds like a script for one of those farm safety films, pretty awful for everybody involved I would imagine.

I'm happy enough with a chainsaw, although Mrs Spart wants to cut logs while I'm out and has no experience, so I've got to try and persuade her it's the kind of thing you do with other people around.

I'll have a hunt around for the official manual, thanks for the heads up.

 

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14 hours ago, spartacus said:

Wow DR, that sounds like a script for one of those farm safety films, pretty awful for everybody involved I would imagine.

I'm happy enough with a chainsaw, although Mrs Spart wants to cut logs while I'm out and has no experience, so I've got to try and persuade her it's the kind of thing you do with other people around.

I'll have a hunt around for the official manual, thanks for the heads up.

 

I bought a saw horse a few years ago. Chainsaw bolts to it and is covered except when cutting logs. It's bloody ace and feels many times safer than any other chainsaw method. 

https://www.toolstation.com/sip-chainsaw-log-horse/p68225

 

 

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Cheers DW! I think I've seen one of these around the house, so she's bought one already, it looks like a good idea. There's a dead tree in the paddock though that's fallen over and needs cutting into manageable chunks before we can get it onto a saw horse. I suspect it'll be a weekend project!

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So today I decided to tackle the starting issue we had when we got it back. The starter solenoid is actuated via an internal linkage from the gear lever, you push the lever roughly into where fifth would normally be and it actuates the starter, great, because it's impossible to start in gear!

The solenoid had power going to it, but not from it to the starter, figuring that out couldn't possibly be very complicated I took it apart. Here it is in position, I'd already started undoing it.

qwQRMWN.jpg

And here it is in bits, the contacts were pretty dirty, do I cleaned them up, threw it all back together and it worked, result!

Jbx9FBX.jpg

 

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  • 1 month later...

Here we are again. 

As I may or may not have mentioned above, the Fergie will have to earn it's keep. There are a few fallen trees, a lot of logs, a couple of pallets of bricks and sundry other crap in the far paddock. Access is hindered by a river which is usually wadeable in wellies but is too deep for our existing mini tractor, which is really an ex ride on mower. It also won't tow much at once.

The Fergie has a three point hitch at the back which is currently inop. it's on the list of jobs but it's not critical. It's where a tow bar would normally attach, so, having decided to make my own, I took some measurements and gathered some parts. First off was a used tow bar from done kind of Vauxhall. I cut off the ends and happily the head of the bolts purchased for the job are a snug fit in the open end...

PTTcXQw.jpg

So I welded them in...

almsQJV.jpg

Next I used a couple of lengths of bar stock with the appropriate holes in the end as stabilising struts...

o1qEmaz.jpg

Close up of weld...

Ln6hvmu.jpg

And the finished and painted article fitted to the Fergie...

7LwPDRo.jpg

The previous owner of the property left an Erde trailer, it's in really good condition, other than the tyres which are a little perished and punctured. Luckily the correct inner tubes are the same size as those found in wheelbarrows and also on the small trailer we have for the mini tractor. I'm also getting pretty snappy at puncture repairs. I fixed the trailer and it's ideal for what we want, our first use of it today was driving round the paddock and chucking in the Ragwort we were pulling up.

Here is the ensemble, although the trailer is mainly obscured by horse, he thought it was meals on wheels...

jzYz3Jm.jpg

Through the river...

EGLWWG8.jpg

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The old battery (6v), on the Fergie was u/s and Mrs Spart went to South Yorkshire Battery Services in Sheffield. They presented her with a battery of the same dimensions as the existing one but assured her that of it wasn't man enough for the job then she could just return it and get a bigger one, which would still fit in the space available. Top place, would recommend.

I cleaned up the earths, made a new earth strap and now it starts straight away, first time.

Next exiting installments will probably include a service, maybe some new tin work and tinkering with the ignition timing. 

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Having sold the topper we had we needed a ride on for the areas around the veg patch and the 'lawn'. I have a customer who had a Mountfield ride on, I have no idea how old it is but could be '80's I reckon. She didn't need it any more and I made a derisory offer, after being very clear that she should check prices and I wouldn't be in the least offended if she told me to get bent.

She accepted the offer and last night I picked this up, it's lovely!

CWKdKyt.jpg

In the background is our original 'mini tractor', which I bought with a knackered cutting deck, it gets used for 'light' duties around the smallholding, although it was tested last night when Mrs Spart towed 260kg of post Crete with it!

The latest one drives so much better, it seems to have all the gee-gaws you might need, like a hill descent brake, a forward and reverse box, so you're able to use all five gears in either direction. It even has working lights. You can mow with the option of a grass collector or a chute to just chuck it out the back and let it mulch down.

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On 6/30/2019 at 5:43 PM, spartacus said:

The old battery (6v), on the Fergie was u/s and Mrs Spart went to South Yorkshire Battery Services in Sheffield. They presented her with a battery of the same dimensions as the existing one but assured her that of it wasn't man enough for the job then she could just return it and get a bigger one, which would still fit in the space available. Top place, would recommend.

I cleaned up the earths, made a new earth strap and now it starts straight away, first time.

Next exiting installments will probably include a service, maybe some new tin work and tinkering with the ignition timing. 

 

Top tip, 6v battery requires mega thick leads, (think twice as thick as a 12v system, because they are having to carry more current) 70mm sq welding cable is both cheap and ideal for the job. A 12v conversion is also simple and the 6v starter is spec'd high enough to be used on 12v. Buy yourself a trickle charger as 6v batteries don't seem to last long

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Cheers DR, I did wonder if that was the case. The lead that was on there was exactly that, however it was poorly made and fitted and about 3" long! With the new short lead on and the cleaned up earth points, (which are in fact positives), it starts much more reliably now, the amount of choke and throttle are the key, it's a balancing act but when they're right it fires up almost instantly.

We've got a very good charger that covers a wide range of batteries, including 6v, and it's become habit to never walk down to the barn/stables without jump leads! There's always a battery handy to jump from.

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After posting my latest tractor fettling success in my question thread I've rediscovered this original Fergie thread of mine, so I'll try and keep future updates on here!

The radiator has always had a crack in the top, near the top hose spigot which ideally needed soldering up. I set to earlier and had the rad off in about 15 mins. I cleaned up the area that needed soldering and broke out the torch. After a couple of false starts I managed to get it water tight. 

It's a working tractor and while the restored look isn't the way we're going I'm still happy to paint/protect new or reconditioned parts in the interest of longevity, with that in mind I gave the rad a quick blow over with black stove paint.

Finally after I refitted it I filled the cooling system up with 'Bluecol', which I found in the garage. Result.

 

20200412_123009.jpg

20200412_153252.jpg

20200412_160541.jpg

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Nice to see this thread get an update once more and that the old Fergy is still going strong :)

 

 

I regret not seeing if I could have a go on @Mrs6C's FE35 at one of last years FoD open days! hopefully ill be able to rectify that this year :) 

 

I do have this picture or Mrs6c running around on it with the ZX behind tho :) 

IMG_0652.thumb.JPG.204c0f43bfd1f4a17ede79b8ad846498.JPG

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On 7/9/2019 at 10:17 PM, spartacus said:

Having sold the topper we had we needed a ride on for the areas around the veg patch and the 'lawn'. I have a customer who had a Mountfield ride on, I have no idea how old it is but could be '80's I reckon. She didn't need it any more and I made a derisory offer, after being very clear that she should check prices and I wouldn't be in the least offended if she told me to get bent.

She accepted the offer and last night I picked this up, it's lovely!

CWKdKyt.jpg

In the background is our original 'mini tractor', which I bought with a knackered cutting deck, it gets used for 'light' duties around the smallholding, although it was tested last night when Mrs Spart towed 260kg of post Crete with it!

The latest one drives so much better, it seems to have all the gee-gaws you might need, like a hill descent brake, a forward and reverse box, so you're able to use all five gears in either direction. It even has working lights. You can mow with the option of a grass collector or a chute to just chuck it out the back and let it mulch down.

MTD is an American manufacturer in its own right and has been going a lot longer than Mountfield. They make nice gear and that looks like a good machine. It should do you a good turn.

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  • spartacus changed the title to Sparts conglomerated tractor thread, now with added Massey Ferguson 50b loader!

Holy thread resu...

Our Fergie is a great little tractor but we bought it knowing the rear three point link didn't work, there's obviously a hydraulic issue somewhere but solving it means being without the tractor for a while, added to that there's a limit to how useful it would really be, Mrs Spart decided a big loader would be much more useful.

 

20210217_172454.jpg

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As you can see, compared to our little Fergie, it's huge. It's a Massey Ferguson 50b, from about 1974, it has provision for a backhoe butt I don't know if one has ever been fitted.

The loading gear works smoothly as it should and it's pretty easy to control, the only bugbear so far is the poor traction, I think due to the lack of weight at the back.

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