When I was young 12 to 16, we had a diesel 3000 ford diesel and buddy down the road had a 135 diesel, we ran the roads a lot and the 135 was the fastest on the road. the fords would do 21 mph top speed and the 135 MF would do 23, 24 mph, he would pass me going up the road. We live in a rural farming community and back then there wasn't a lot of traffic, kids today would never get away with what we did, I was in the fields by myself racking hay at 10 with a 1950's Ferguson gas tractor
MF 135 Multi-Power gearbox their was a silver handle for the multi-power Hare and turtle could be changed on the move without the clutch hard to find in Ireland anyway keep up the great vids.
On the engines the 135 came with you only mentioned two. The perkins 3 cylinder diesel @ 47.5 horsepower, and the Continental Z145 four cylinder gas engine with hp rating from 31 to 45 hp, and everywhere in between. Only I've always found that Continental engines were typically good for minimum of 1 hp per cubic inch, so I'm good with 45 hp. Also in the early models of the 135 they was a stinker as far as bringing the average hp numbers down. That's the Z134A Continental engine, which according to what I read in several of the top data sites as far as tractors go ranges from 34 to 39 hp. Now according to everyone one of them, it's the exact same block and head as the Z145. With two exceptions, and the 145 has lower compression ratio, but a different length stroke. Also of note the Continental has a sleeved block, and all of the smaller 4 cylinders engines are capable of taking a larger bore sleeve. So I guess you could change the 134 up to a 139 or thereabouts, and a little cleaner valve angle cut on the heads. Along with the fact that both the head and the block will be surfaced to flatten both faces down a couple thousandths they'll gain some compression due to that, and as long as you don't break the deck height or stick a valve into the piston. You'll pickup a goodly amount when you take into account the small displacement. I have a TO 20, TO 30, a 1967, 11th off the assembly line 135 perkins diesel, and my other 135 has to be a 1964 or 65 model because it has the Z134A. Believe it or not, but the 134 doesn't have any issues with the same implements as the perkins diesel does. About the only issue I have with the 135's is that they're cramped on my legs with the pedal configuration, getting on and off is a pain, because of the steering wheel to fender being tight, and if you are in 1st or 3rd gear as the shifter catches your leg between the it and the seat. Yet although I'm not but a shade over 6 ft, I'm cursed with a large frame as far as bone structure, add size 13 EEE feet, and a long legged short torso binds me in where as the average sized person can slide right in. With one more being the short handle on the pto lever leaves me twisting either around my leg either inside or out, but it's a little short for my liking. Only I noticed that the shift lever for the pto on the one your piddling with is significantly longer than mine, no buns intended here y'all, but sometimes it works out that way . I'll have to do some research into the different levers for massey ferguson models, and see if there's one that's similar to that one that'll fit mine. I believe that the gap on continental is 25, but you can up the heat range one place, and open the gap to 28 to 30 depending on individual engines working best at, but make sure your not running lean on your mixture. But checking color of plugs and exhaust pipe, after a short working run should verify that nicely
Great piece of info there Timothy Milam! I've got a 68 135 with a continental 4cyl. Over the years its seen a few coats of silver grey paint before I had it, and someone painted over the engine plate. Any tips on identifying the Z134 from the z145?
I used to drive a Massey Ferguson 235 diesel , at a small airport in Arkansas , to mow the grass , that thing would start first turn of the key , no matter what the temperature was outside , it was a great tractor .
We had one on our dairy farm in Southern ontario and was used as a loader, no power steering and 35 gallon drum of concrete on the three point for counter balance. Good little tractor but it always smelt like cow 💩
Nice old Massey, Bill. Your channel was the first RU-vid channel we ever subscribed to - years ago! Thanks for the great content for many years, and inspiring us to start as content creators also. -Chad #purplecollarlife
@@billstmaxx yeah be fun seeing that old snowblower going in the winter if theres snow now have 3 blowers at your place wich handy as a spare back up unit lol
Very nice tractor. We have 2 of them both Perkins diesels. A 1967 that my dad bought in 1967. Still runs good and. A 1968 bought it in rough condition but fixed it up runs good too. I put on after market flat top fenders with the dual headlights. They optional when new standard they came with dish fenders. They were about $3400 new and still being $5000-$6000.
Hey, great video, thanks. I have a 135 gas also, but I didn't think power steering was ever available. Did you add it later? Aftermarcket. I'd love to get it for mine. Rob
You should buy your own Massey Ferguson 135 tractor and restore it and video it for RU-vid Bill now that would be cool to watch!!! Hope you and the family are keeping well
Hello Bill, I am very new at this. I bought a 135 about two years ago and it has been sitting in the shed since then. It runs very well but I am not sure how to operate it. Can you explain how the three point hitch operates. I also have a front bucket that is operated with separate controls. Not sure how the whole works operate. Thanks.