The 1966 Massey Ferguson 135 tractor was purchased privately by Tommy in 2002 at a cost of €1,000. Tommy has always had a love for all things machinery, especially in the line of vintage.
“I always had it in the back of my head to buy a 135 and fully restore it. I wanted to bring it back to its original glory days,” he says.
Tommy and Cathal purchased the tractor with the goal of fully restoring it as a father-son project: “We spent many long nights working on the tractor often until 11 and 12 o’clock over a number of years,” recalls Tommy.
The restoration project began in August 2004 and it was fully finished on 30 July 2007.
When Tommy and Cathal purchased the tractor back in 2002 it was running – but very badly.
Their aim was to retain and use as many of the original parts as possible.
Profession
Luckily, Tommy’s profession as a panel beater/spray painter meant he could carry out a lot of the restoration work himself.
“It was extremely time-consuming, however, my profession allowed me to save an awful lot of money in the long run. If I was to hand the tractor to someone to fully restore it to the same condition you’d be talking a total cost in the region of €20,000.”
By carrying out much of the restoration work himself, Tommy was able to reduce the total cost of the project to €6,800.
This figure excludes all of the labour hours that Tommy and Cathal spent on the tractor themselves.
The engine rebuild was completed by Engine Spares Limited in Laneborough, Co. Longford.
A local mechanic, Mattie Conneally, carried out a lot of the mechanical work including assembling the top half of the engine, reconditioning the hydraulic pump, and doing the seals in the back end.
Tommy and Cathal completed all the rest of the work themselves.
This included fully sandblasting the body; applying two coats of washed primer; two coats of high-built filler primer before the tractor finally received three coats of paint.
A huge amount of time, patience and dedication is required
Tommy informed us that “some of the new parts purchased included; a full wiring loom, a starter, a dynamo, four new tyres and rims, new lift arms and drop links.
All of the panels are 100% original, except for the mud guards which were retrofitted because genuine originals are difficult to find.
Any parts that were purchased came from Quality Tractor Parts (QTP) in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
On offering advice to anyone considering restoring a machine Tommy remarked: “A huge amount of time, patience and dedication is required. You really need to expect the unexpected. It will accumulate into an awful lot more cost than you would think. It’s extremely time-consuming and requires weeks and weeks of work to get anywhere. However, in saying all of that we certainly obtained wonderful satisfaction from the finished project.”
Since restoring the Massey Ferguson 135, Tommy and Cathal have gone on to fully restore a Ford 2000.
They completed all of the restoration work on this tractor themselves.
Tommy has no immediate plans for restoring any other machines, however, he “wouldn’t rule it out, I may very well begin another project when I retire”.
Social aspect of the vintage machinery scene
Tommy has a keen interest in all things motor, including motorbikes and vintage/classic cars.
He owns a Nissan Figaro and two motorbikes.
He also drives a loading shovel, bucking up silage during the summer months for a local silage contractor.
Both Tommy and Cathal spoke highly of the social aspect of the vintage machinery scene and how they have met many people through vintage events.
“Since we restored this tractor we have both met many new people from all over the country who are involved in vintage machinery and they have a common interest in all things vintage,” Tommy said.
The tractor is stored in dry-storage in a shed with a thermostatically-controlled heater in it. It is brought out for special events such as local tractor and vintage runs, festivals, and it annually attends the St. Patricks Day parade in Glenamaddy.
“We really enjoy polishing it up and bringing it out to special events. It’s always a great day out,” says Tommy.
Sentimental value
From a young age, Cathal always wanted to pursue a career in carpentry. Since working on and completing this restoration project though he changed his mind and has recently become a fully-qualified plant fitter.
Tommy and Cathal both feel that this tractor is now of great sentimental value to them due to the huge amount of hours they spent working on the project together.
“We have often been approached to sell the tractor but we will never sell it, it’s our pride and joy,” says Tommy.