1997 MF1230 Fix Me Up Please!

daugen · Oct 10, 2017

Did it again, guess i'm a real sucker for a little Massey near the front door...
Bought this 25hp twenty year old 4wd Iseki built tractor yesterday as a project to renovate.
They were asking 5500 and after I found out it had gone upside down in a pond, albeit briefly,
the price went down to 4800. Still a lot of money for something that looks like this but I can see past that.
Renovating old equipment is a hobby, particularly with Gravely machinery.

I went there yesterday for a second drive and unit was in the shop in pieces, which actually was good. Easier to look around, nice to see
the leak in front right diff was only a gasket, and all the gears and bearings looked perfect. About 1100 hours on the engine and it was bone dry, no leaks
anywhere. The guy just let it set out until it looked like a lawn roach and then bought a new one. Owned by dealer's BIL since new, so it's been serviced every year
and there are no surprises.

I needed/wanted another small tractor so I don't have to hook and unhook so much. Bad arthritis, bum right arm, pto shafts stymie me. So this one ton tractor will pull my
6x12 utility wagon around the farm as well as being used primarily for a big carryall I'm going to build on the rear three point for landscape work.
Several TBN members have built beautiful ones and I'm headed today to TSC to get a carryall on which to build the wood decking.

Very few BX and B Kubotas around. I found one NH with a mower, but I don't need a mower. This was bare bones, and for me, just what I wanted. Like buying a truck where you aren't stuck paying for the sunroof you never use...

Won't be hard making this look like new. Tires are a real challenge due to oem turf sizes. Very few tires made that fit these size tractors; lots of ag tires but almost no turf tires.
I found a Carlisle Multitrac CS for the fronts, 24x9.50X12, instead of the oem 8.50. Looks to be plenty of clearance for the extra width. Rears at 315-80-16 are the real challenge so far, I think I found one tire. Will continue to look, but rears have more issues with dry rot than wear. Fronts are shot.

I live on a small farm where I have fruit and nut orchards. Recently I've been using my larger Massey to do some row crop disc'ing for my next door neighbor, whose old JD is giving out. Often a chipper lives on the back of the 2615. But this little tractor won't be used that hard, just for pulling and hauling things around. The Kubota has a FEL and is used for all the typical purposes plus I have an 8 foot LP finish mower on the back. So that tractor is not very maneuverable in tight spots. Hydrostatic was a must on this and it seemed to work fine, though all the controls were horribly stiff from sitting out so long.

I had gone to the Massey dealer to pick up some parts and saw this tired little guy out on the lot.
I heard a calling....fix me up please, fix me up!
Drew

onionfmr · Oct 10, 2017

I had a MF1240 and ran it for 10 years. Never a leak or a major problem. Never let me down. Best tractor that I ever owned and a great little workhorse! Good luck with it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what a great tractor platform you just purchased.

Phillip w · Oct 11, 2017

Next little fixer upper yoI want, look me up. I got a mf 1531 and Mark it cheap. Good luck with the one you have.

daugen · Oct 11, 2017

Let's see Phillip, you're in Kansas, so if you can reverse Dorothy's tornado, you could land it right down here....

Thanks guys. Am headed to see it this morning actually. I forgot to write down the tire sizes while I was there, need to be super sure here since
the sizes are very odd and in some cases no longer available. Will need to go up an inch on tire width in front, will eyeball the frame and be doubly sure before
I order these tires. I'm only operating on info from online and I want to go use my own eyeballs.

Local TSC was out of stock on rear carryall so I'm headed to the one right down the street from the Massey dealer so figured I'd go doublecheck the tire sizes. You never know if what someone is quoting online is what was on their tractor when they got it, and who knows if the right size was put on, unless it's a fairly new unit, which this one is not. I did feel wearing out the front tires in 1100 hours seemed about right. Rears due to lighter loading last a lot longer, usually dry rot and cracking are bigger problems. I will soak them in 303 and inspect for cracks.

daugen · Oct 16, 2017

Got my pre enjoyed tractor home today, just before the rain started, so timing was good. Still need to make room for it, hiding under the rv shed at the moment.
A seriously ugly tractor with a lot of potential. Ran nicely down the lane, they had lubed all the stiff controls as I had requested. All new tires on order, rears are already in,
fronts from Amazon Prime not yet here. That Prime is sure no guarantee of two day service. Seems it used to be...

Dash was replaced at 907 hours so still a low hour machine for 20 years old.
Since it got serviced each year at dealer's that means oil was changed every 50-60 hours, all good.

TSC Carryall and 2x6 treated lumber ready to go. Need to go down to TSC and pick up the carriage bolts to build it.
And for sure buy some paint.

daugen · Oct 18, 2017

Stripped! Well not entirely. New tires all done and ready to be picked up this morning.
I powerwashed the tractor, it was surprisingly clean. Then air blasted it dry and lubed every linkage I could find.
Some were hidden behind rear wheels that even dealer missed.

No need to do a lot of painting on the frame , other than the three point
hitch area, it cleaned up nicely. Ball ends of lower arms worn out from 1100 hours of using rear mower. Can't fix them, they wobble in the socket,
and would not use this for ground engagement without replacing lower arms. I saw what happened to my farmer neighbor when a three point ball breaks; his
big disc harrow climbed right up on top of the back of his tractor on a turn, almost killed him.
I had to help pull it off with my FEL. That taught me a lesson to not run with worn out wobbly
ball ends.

bought some rattle can paint at TSC, will use that and see how I like their version of Massey Red. This is such a small tractor I can always buy one can of the "good stuff" from dealer and put a final coat on.

This little tractor really needs some fresh fuel and diesel additives. Truly needs some TLC.
Am working on the carryall for it today.

daugen · Oct 20, 2017

after hours and hours of blue taping wheels, I finally got them done and installed on the tractor. Of course while they were off I had all kinds
of things to do in that area before the big tires ceased all access. Found some rot under one floorboard, prior owner left the tractor outdoors and poor design of floor pan
allowed water to pool. Thin steel kept wet, not a good recipe. I cleaned it up, rustfixed the area and will likely weld a small piece of metal over the swiss cheese area.

Went for extended ride, ran great, need to let even more air out of the tires. Going down to ten in the rears from twelve.

Now I can work on the exterior paint but I wanted to get it functional first.

daugen · Oct 27, 2017

making progress
still have ROPS to go.
Rear I did in oem paint and it turned out fine.
Front I did in Rustoleum Gloss Cherry, which is very close to the MF red for half price,
and it all turned out very poorly, wrinkled paint, like I have texture paint on the tractor.
I'll get more oem paint and redo it. Have learned my lesson. Plus this oem paint is really good, like the old
Valspar oil paints, oily and sticky. May take awhile to dry but when it does, should be a nice gloss finish. And it will match
my newer Massey nicely.
Lined the footwell areas with sheet rubber to prevent the water damage problems of the past.

painting over the fiberglass console left a bumpy finish. More than a few fish eyes from some old chemicals or oils I must not have gotten totally off despite
cleaning. Most I was able to fix.

lostcreekranch · Oct 31, 2017

Drew, this is coming along very nicely. Hope you get your paint issues resolved on front.

Did you repaint the wheels or just clean them up? What color is that on your wheels. I’m needing same color to repaint wheels on one of my trailers. Thanks!

daugen · Oct 31, 2017

rlgustafson said:
Drew, this is coming along very nicely. Hope you get your paint issues resolved on front.

Did you repaint the wheels or just clean them up? What color is that on your wheels. I’m needing same color to repaint wheels on one of my trailers. Thanks!

Rick, thanks. The silver is what Agco called Corporate Silver. It has some metalflake in it. Was not easy to get to come out right but it does have sparkle. Same color at TSC but no sparkle.
Tomorrow I see whether repainting the front works.

lostcreekranch · Oct 31, 2017

daugen said:
Rick, thanks. The silver is what Agco called Corporate Silver. It has some metalflake in it. Was not easy to get to come out right but it does have sparkle. Same color at TSC but no sparkle.
Tomorrow I see whether repainting the front works.

Good luck with your repaint Drew!

murph1 · Dec 22, 2017

Hey Drew where is the rest of this thread?

daugen · Dec 22, 2017

well I guess I got too busy using it! The carryall has been worked hard, and I've also used a rear cultivator/hiller on it.
Plus it has pulled my utility wagon everywhere around here hauling brush.

I never did paint the grill silver, still a to do and the hood paint job still looks like wrinkle paint, but otherwise it's running fine.
Turf tires run in 4wd have plenty of grip in soft soil.

sorry, have no idea why two pics are now sidewise, they were fine before

murph1 · Dec 22, 2017

Sure looks nice Drew, Thanks much

GC1710 · Dec 22, 2017

Great job! Thanks for the read!

daugen · Dec 26, 2017

Hard at work (not really) with new Bush Hog. Needed a winter excuse to go get some sun on my face.
Engaged the BH15 at about 1400 rpm and it picked up smoothly. Tractor is at very lower limit of power for mower, but
I'm not doing anything heavy with it. Mower looks huge due to chains, quite a contraption they mount them on.
I needed to add a small amount of engine oil, will be keeping an eye on that.

daugen · Mar 1, 2018

Last week my neighbor, a local fireman/EMT and a friend, borrowed the little Massey to bush hog across the street from our properties.
It was fun to see one's own tractor working, like an out of body event or something...

Yesterday the tractor hauled garden hose out to my new garden and no longer needed wire tree cages back to the barn.
Definitely need to put a hook eye on the carryall so I can bungie the load.
Yes, the top one fell off...

so far so good. Still have to repaint the hood. That wrinkly paint looks like a sharpei dog, guess I'll have to grind it off before repainting.
Or just leave it. It's a tractor...and the paint is serving its function

The hydrostatic trans makes this so much easier to use than my geared tractors, and 3 ranges are plenty
Does whine a bit, but so does my Kubota.