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We’ve written before about Dave’s grey gold FE35 and red/grey MF35. Well Dave has been busy over in Australia, working away at his red and grey 35. Here are some photos and video of the nearly completed tractor.
Dave says about the restoration…
Thought I’d send a few pics and a short video of the progress, Fergie is nearly finished now with only the cowl hatch, LH front wheel and seat needing a little massaging.
Hood came up well, but the lower front panel didn’t survive the rust removal and beating, just too far gone, and had to be replaced, the crank hole is a different shape to the original, but it will have to do.
Note the Ferguson 35 side decals, had them made to match the originals, they aren’t perfect, but probably good enough, got a few spares, thought i might send some to Per in Canada to spur him on.
Also need to repaint the dash again, changed paint cans half way through and the colour has turned out slightly different. a message in there for wary restorers.
Anyway,
cheers from OZ,Next is the grey/gold,………
I’m going to take a heap more photos of the “before” condition before i start this one, something i neglected to do with the Red / Grey, on reflection, i have very few photos of her before i started.Dave.
Now for the photos…
And the video…
We’ve also had some photos sent in from Jeff in Canada, who has a tractor of a very similar serial number. Jeff’s tractor also has the Ferguson badge on the front and the Ferguson sticker along the side of the bonnet – so it looks as though Dave was correct to have the Ferguson stickers made.
I too have a petrol MF35 in Australia that looks near-identical to Dave’s, but for a very faded original paint job… which is actually what I prefer to bright/shining new red paint… I think, as with vintage cars, both approaches are valid – some should be restored to look like new, and some should be kept in as original a condition as is possible (polished/protected but not repainted or ‘improved’).
My MF35 is in the NSW Southern Highlands, 150km SW of Sydney. The serial number on block is 301795 (though last digit is hard to read). It runs perfectly, has no panel damage nor any rust, is used for slashing a few times a year, and requires only the odd bit chof regular maintenance.
With a very slow cranking speed, I am thinking of checking brushes in starter motor, or having it rewound if needed, as it does get hot when cranking. It is possibly cheaper to replace it with a new Bareco equivalent. Even a good battery can only manage a very laborious cranking (though the engine usually does fire up successfully).
I add both ‘Nulon E10’ (sub-micron PTFE/teflon balls that embed and separate metal working surfaces, lessening friction and heat) and STP (thicker oil that sticks to components for next cold start) to the oil. As an engineer with numerous classic cars over the years, I find this combination almost freezes all wear, especially on rarely-started engines. I also add a tube of ‘Nulon N70’ (heavier micron-sized teflon paste) to the gearbox oil, as it lessens friction and makes gear-changes smoother.
Anyway, the point of the post is that I use mine on flat land, and for original appearance next to heritage listed stone farmhouse… I too have not added a roll-over-protection superstructure (though it is required by law in Australia for all tractors). I suspect that the authorities will only seek to enforce the law if I die under the tractor in a roll-over, in which case my wife will happily confirm to the authorities that “he was a complete idiot in just so many ways”.
Graeme Harrison
prof at-symbol post.harvard.edu
Hi Good job Dave , but where is the roll frame , it`s law in Australia , I
expect you know .
Dave3