I got two Massey Ferguson MF 12 tractors, two snow blower attachments, a mower deck, tire chains, a spare engine, two spare rear tires/rims, a cast iron front axle with rims/tires, and a box of spare parts all for.....100 BUCKS!!! Both run and drive, one has the light kit installed. Haven't started in 4 years, drained the gas, put in fresh, and a shot of ether in the carb throat and vroom! drove 'em up on the trailer, LOL!!! Can you imagine doing that with today's junk? I'm gonna make one as nice as I can to keep, and sell the other one. Picked up a battery and some plugs today at Menards with the 15% off bag sale. I am excited to finally have a summer project. Now it just needs to cool off a tad, 96* is no joke...pics later today!
Scored quite a deal yesterday!
- Thread starter dwcopple
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Wow! Quite a score!
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Sweet! Those are great old-school iron.
Are they Kohler-K's in them?
Are they Kohler-K's in them?
awesome! I'd love to have one of those old Massey's someday.
Nice find! Can't beat that for $100. Make sure and make a thread about fixing them up! I found an old 1960s Ariens Sno-Thro on the side of the road that I am restoring. Its a good feeling bringing something back to life.
Nice score!
That tractor reminds me of Wall-e for some reason.
That tractor reminds me of Wall-e for some reason.
Originally Posted By: JTK
Sweet! Those are great old-school iron.
Are they Kohler-K's in them?
Judging by the pics I think those are Tecumseh engines. The OP should know though.
Sweet! Those are great old-school iron.
Are they Kohler-K's in them?
Judging by the pics I think those are Tecumseh engines. The OP should know though.
I can never find anything like that around here. And if I did they would probably want $$$ for it!
Those old Tecumseh cast iron engines can be a real can of worms! The CD ignition magneto, alternator, and starter are prone to failure and the flywheel magnets tend to come off (necessitating a flywheel replacement), all are very expensive items to replace.
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JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
^thanks!
mytractorforum seems to like 'em. Solid state ignition on these engines.
I used to spend a ton of time on MTF. TractorByNet is another good one. Both great sites. Friendly and lots of knowledge.
Kind of got away from it now that I've been 'riding mower-less' for 2-3yrs.
^thanks!
mytractorforum seems to like 'em. Solid state ignition on these engines.
I used to spend a ton of time on MTF. TractorByNet is another good one. Both great sites. Friendly and lots of knowledge.
Kind of got away from it now that I've been 'riding mower-less' for 2-3yrs.
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
^thanks!
mytractorforum seems to like 'em. Solid state ignition on these engines.
These engines are very durable, provided the owner doesn't do anything stupid.
Be very careful about how you check one of these engines for spark. Grounding out the spark plug lead while trying to test for spark can cause the solid state CD ignition magneto to burn out. I have also seen them fail when turning the engine over with the spark plug wire disconnected. These CD units were fragile! That is why Tecumseh went away from them.
Also, if you need to remove the flywheel you MUST use an approved flywheel puller. If you try the old "pry the flywheel and hit the crankshaft with a hammer" method, you WILL break the magnets loose from the flywheel. I have seen this MANY times!
20 years ago those parts were VERY expensive. I don't even know that you can even get them anymore with Tecumseh being out of business. Be VERY carefull!
^thanks!
mytractorforum seems to like 'em. Solid state ignition on these engines.
These engines are very durable, provided the owner doesn't do anything stupid.
Be very careful about how you check one of these engines for spark. Grounding out the spark plug lead while trying to test for spark can cause the solid state CD ignition magneto to burn out. I have also seen them fail when turning the engine over with the spark plug wire disconnected. These CD units were fragile! That is why Tecumseh went away from them.
Also, if you need to remove the flywheel you MUST use an approved flywheel puller. If you try the old "pry the flywheel and hit the crankshaft with a hammer" method, you WILL break the magnets loose from the flywheel. I have seen this MANY times!
20 years ago those parts were VERY expensive. I don't even know that you can even get them anymore with Tecumseh being out of business. Be VERY carefull!
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Don't see many old Massey's around anymore.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: wag123
Those old Tecumseh cast iron engines can be a real can of worms! The CD ignition magneto, alternator, and starter are prone to failure and the flywheel magnets tend to come off (necessitating a flywheel replacement), all are very expensive items to replace.
That happened to a newer 9hp Tecumseh snowking we have in the family. The little coil that powers the headlight came loose from the inside of the flywheel, jammed and punched a small hole in the top of the crankcase! My brother patched the hole with JB Weld, eliminated the little coil (and headlight) and it still runs today. This happened 2 winters ago or so.
FWIW, as long as it's not a stock show tractor your after, I'd retrofit another one-lunger in those old MF's before I spent a ton on one of those old Tecumsehs. In fact I believe it was an old MF like the OP's I've seen online where a fella put a single cyl air cooled Chinese diesel in it.
Those old Tecumseh cast iron engines can be a real can of worms! The CD ignition magneto, alternator, and starter are prone to failure and the flywheel magnets tend to come off (necessitating a flywheel replacement), all are very expensive items to replace.
That happened to a newer 9hp Tecumseh snowking we have in the family. The little coil that powers the headlight came loose from the inside of the flywheel, jammed and punched a small hole in the top of the crankcase! My brother patched the hole with JB Weld, eliminated the little coil (and headlight) and it still runs today. This happened 2 winters ago or so.
FWIW, as long as it's not a stock show tractor your after, I'd retrofit another one-lunger in those old MF's before I spent a ton on one of those old Tecumsehs. In fact I believe it was an old MF like the OP's I've seen online where a fella put a single cyl air cooled Chinese diesel in it.
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