truthsmiles
New member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2019
- Messages
- 13
- Tractor
- Massey 245(?)
Hi all! Brand new member here - I just 'acquired' this Massey last week and was hoping someone could help me identify it. I'm going to try and post a bunch of pictures below.
The back story for anyone who cares: The owner was selling a 3-point backhoe attachment for $1,500 which I bought for my brother as a gift. As part of the negotiation, I asked if he wanted to sell the non-running tractor sitting in the field with no front whees that the backhoe had once been attached to. Knowing it needed new front wheels and that it wasn't running, I offered $2,000 for the package and paid $1,500 on the spot, with the rest due upon pickup. Anyway, after a day of work I got the tractor running (SO much water in the fuel tank!) but unfortunately it seems the last person to add antifreeze decided to use water instead. Cracked head and cracked thermostat housing... crap. At that point, I told the owner I didn't want it anymore and I would just take the backhoe for the $1,500 paid. He then said I could have the tractor for free if I would just take it.
Ugh. I hate hoarding broken stuff but come on, it's a freaking free tractor! So, I ordered brand new wheels and tires for it, bought a new battery, went back out, and ran it just long enough to drive it onto my trailer, my son standing by with jugs of water to dump into the radiator. Now that it's home the current method of running it is to use the garden hose as an umbilicus flowing constantly while the engine is running. This seems to work well, and the engine otherwise starts and runs very nicely. No water in the oil! The next step is to remove the loader and (warning: look away now if you're a purist) use JB weld to repair the cracks in the thermostat housing and the head. I already attempted this as you can see from the photos but the access with the loader attachment was poor. Where I DID get it to adhere seems surprisingly well sealed! But, the new plan is to remove the injectors and manifold, clean everything off, and do a 'professional' job. Of course I know it's not ideal but I don't expect super high temps or pressures. Of course I will post pictures here once I've made the repairs so you guys can shake your heads disapprovingly
Anyway, to the point of this post... it was 'sold' to me as a 1975 Massey 135, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. My best guess right now is a 1979 245, but I'd really love know what you guys think. Yes, I've looked at all the supposed "serial number lookup" sites but they just list ranges and there is a lot of overlap, and are particularly unhelpful if you don't know the model, which I don't.
Any advice/tips/surprises, or insights anyone has is surely welcome. Thank you!
(PS - It appears the limit for images is 10 here, but I've uploaded more showing closeups and some serial numbers on imgur, but since I'm a new member I apparently can't post links. If you PM me I'll send the link. Or, if you're a skilled URL assembler, the gallery post ID is 0yoF8Nw )
The back story for anyone who cares: The owner was selling a 3-point backhoe attachment for $1,500 which I bought for my brother as a gift. As part of the negotiation, I asked if he wanted to sell the non-running tractor sitting in the field with no front whees that the backhoe had once been attached to. Knowing it needed new front wheels and that it wasn't running, I offered $2,000 for the package and paid $1,500 on the spot, with the rest due upon pickup. Anyway, after a day of work I got the tractor running (SO much water in the fuel tank!) but unfortunately it seems the last person to add antifreeze decided to use water instead. Cracked head and cracked thermostat housing... crap. At that point, I told the owner I didn't want it anymore and I would just take the backhoe for the $1,500 paid. He then said I could have the tractor for free if I would just take it.
Ugh. I hate hoarding broken stuff but come on, it's a freaking free tractor! So, I ordered brand new wheels and tires for it, bought a new battery, went back out, and ran it just long enough to drive it onto my trailer, my son standing by with jugs of water to dump into the radiator. Now that it's home the current method of running it is to use the garden hose as an umbilicus flowing constantly while the engine is running. This seems to work well, and the engine otherwise starts and runs very nicely. No water in the oil! The next step is to remove the loader and (warning: look away now if you're a purist) use JB weld to repair the cracks in the thermostat housing and the head. I already attempted this as you can see from the photos but the access with the loader attachment was poor. Where I DID get it to adhere seems surprisingly well sealed! But, the new plan is to remove the injectors and manifold, clean everything off, and do a 'professional' job. Of course I know it's not ideal but I don't expect super high temps or pressures. Of course I will post pictures here once I've made the repairs so you guys can shake your heads disapprovingly
Anyway, to the point of this post... it was 'sold' to me as a 1975 Massey 135, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. My best guess right now is a 1979 245, but I'd really love know what you guys think. Yes, I've looked at all the supposed "serial number lookup" sites but they just list ranges and there is a lot of overlap, and are particularly unhelpful if you don't know the model, which I don't.
Any advice/tips/surprises, or insights anyone has is surely welcome. Thank you!
(PS - It appears the limit for images is 10 here, but I've uploaded more showing closeups and some serial numbers on imgur, but since I'm a new member I apparently can't post links. If you PM me I'll send the link. Or, if you're a skilled URL assembler, the gallery post ID is 0yoF8Nw )
