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Diary

[04/03/2008]
spring is in the air
It seems that spring is on its way and lots of you are starting to emerge from your winter hideouts. Three great letters from people tonight.

How do people do it. It hasn't taken very long at all to strip that tractor down and put it back together. I'm very impressed and the photo's look great. Are there any restoration tips you'd like to share with us, things that where easy/difficult? Is there a tool you couldn't do without. I see you started with a lot of space, that must have made things easier?
Thank you for getting in touch

Thank you for these pictures the will come in really handy. I'm thinking of trying to combine ferguson tractors and a need to cut up wood for the log burner I have. I thought buying a ferguson saw was the solution. Then I could use my tractor to cut wood for my stove

[02/03/2008]
Heaven
Today I drove to a friend's house to take a look at his TEA with bannana loader. I had a go at lifting his block of concrete with my pickup hitch. I found some problems. I could not lower the lift arms as the hitch was getting stuck. SO we took it apart.. It was full of greased up mud. So we knocked out the pin and cleaned it up

So we got to work on the T-bar and took it apart. It worked so easily once it was cleared out.
It's sometimes nice to consult with someone else. Get a second opinion and what your doing. My tractor started this morning first time after 3 Months without starting. The Ki-gass system is for me. Just mak sure the battey is charged.

[26/02/2008]
SOLD OUT
I'm afraid I've sold out of the plough lamp brackets. I don't think I'll be making any more.

[25/02/2008]
Help
Just a readers letter today.

Hi Anthony,
First thinks first, are you a member of the Friends of Ferguson Heritage (FoFH)? IF you aren't you should be. As a member you have access to an online forum, where you can ask all the members the question about the scuffle plough. That's over 1000 other people..

If you have the massey ferguson part numbers have you tried your local MF dealer?
If its plough related have you tried Westlake ploughs? Phone number again on my website or the FoFH contacts page.
I'll add it to my website in the hope that someone will reply. Do you have a picture of what your looking for it always makes it much easier.

hope this helps
Tim

[22/02/2008]
I'm Back
I've been absent for some time now. Can't be helped as I have said before "sometimes life just gets in the way" Loads has been going on whilst I've been away. I've had some great emails, A long talk with an expert and a surprising walk along a Norfolk beach, all of which I'll talk about here.

We had a fab weekend last weekend in Norfolk. My wife and I went to see some friends and had a walk along the beach.

An unusual way to go beach combing

Check out those front types

Whilst chatting to the driver he said he had not owned the tractor for long (I thought so as it wasn't rusty yet with all that sea air) he'd bought it to tow his dad's boat in and out of the sea. They didn't think they where going to make any money at it but good on them for trying. I think its a bit like me and my logs. I'm never going to make any money out of them but I love collecting, stacking an burning free fuel.

I've had a couple of emails from readers so see what you think. Don't know if I should be publishing the third one as its not a ferguson tractor but it is a ferguson plough

Wow Kevin,
I wish I could find something like that buried at the bottom of my garden. From the photo's The most interesting part is the two castings where you attach the top link to. The arms are a single casting. I've seen this on the Sherman built plough as a two furrow. looking through some implement books I have found a 2 furrow example on pg 209 of "Fergusons The Hunday Experience"by John Moffitt and JohnFarnworth. It looks like an American Ford Ferguson product. Yours looks in great shape considering its been buried in the ground.

Good Evening, I am reading your pages in the recent past, I restored a MF 35 about 4 years ago but did not finish off a few little things like tail lights and ploughing lamp. I have all these sprayed up today but I am not sure how far along the wing the plough lamp shouls sit. To break up Christmas I stripped down a 3 furrow MF 793 plough that was idle for 20 years and I have it converted to 2 furrow and 1St. trials took place last Sat. That adds to my positioning crux, the lamp cannot foul the adjustment handle on the plough.If you have any photos of a plough lamp on a tractor let me know. Here is a link to my video of last Saturday, http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc0jYjxo5Yw Thanks, Micheal Hurley

Thanks for the Video Micheal.
Where did you get that music from? I think its great. Did you nick it from a kids tape

Hi Tim, really love your web site, and having found it just before I went to the 'Land of Pies and Tractors' myself for Christmas just gone, IÊam really into your photos and progress to date on both tractor and plough! Anyway, I appreciate your a busy man, so I'll come to the point, what!ÊÊÊ Like you, I just managed to buy the final bit for my fergie plough off ebay, over Xmas (well the brother picked it up for me actually!) yes that's right, the rolling landside wheel blade scraper ( mine cost me £10.50 inc postage though!!) However, having measured it, and fitted into the hole in the bracket, it appears to be too long?????ÊÊ Yes I've cleaned the seating hole out fully , but it stands proud of the wheel by an inch or two!Ê So, my first thought was to get the grinder out and cut the 'too long' bit off!! but that seemed a bit too brutal and would mean the numbers are hidden inside the hole!ÊÊ (numbers look like 3806Ê 10035 or SÊ Ê JC or G 3 or 8 D Ê 5)Ê Have you got this far yet? 'To cut or not to cut that is my question' ??Ê Any ideas? Best Wishes mate, Êkeep up the good work Peter Maxwell Stratford on Avon PS I'm hoping to have a go pulling my 2 furrow fergie plough this week end with my 18HP Kubota L1501 Special Compact tractor. We have fairly light soil here so I may get away with it, as it pulls my 10" deep digger single furrow reversible with no bother! If not, ÊI think I'm going to have to search the hedgerows for my own fergie! PPS couldnt resist sending the photos, sorry! Had to get a new new leveling box..... found one just the job,.. off a ford 1710 series compact tractor!

This one seems to have slipped through the net. I'll have a look this weekend at my furrow wheel and see if i can find an answer for you. Sorry for the delay. Nice to see there are still bargains around on the internet. That plough would look so much better behind a grey fergie rather than an orange one! Although if you've not got much space in the garage it could work. 18hp isn't that a little under powered?

[15/01/2008]
Hedgerow Restoration
Not much going on with me at the moment. I am busy with the mudguard mounted number plate holders, details from the webshop section on the left. I have about 10 left and I'm not making any more after that. I don't make muck money on them and it's time to move on.

One of the final batches of number plate holders getting sprayed

[10/01/2008]
Readers Emails
Another email from the TE20 owner

I hope Russ you have somwhere you can work on this tractor, I should imagine if you drop a nut or bolt its a 50/50 chance of finding it again. Good luck with your restoration. On the registration front I hope you are a member of FoFH or The Ferguson club as they both have people who can aid you in getting a registration. please check out there websites (click the icon on the left to take you to there site)

[05/01/2008]
Photo Fest

Testing the lighting in place

The lights in place & wired

Wiring up the Lucas switch on the dashboard

Plough light working (not original LucasFT57 light)

Back light also working on the cross over switch

[03/01/2008]
Electrics
I hate automotive electrical work. It always takes so long. I've had lots of trouble with finding a good earth for the number plate blacket lights. I was reluctent to scratch off fresh paint to get a good earth contact point. So I've added an earth wire to the lights and run it back to behind the dashboard where the switch is located. I had also wired up the plough lamp incorrectly. I have used grey cable at the moment but I'm still after the shielded outer to run the cable in and some cable clips to secure it in place.

I had a great email back from Mark after asking questions about the trailer they have restored on the website. I mentioned yesterday

[01/01/2008]
Happy New year one and all
I love this website. I like the way the photo's show the tractors at good angles with a well placed barn or tree in the background http://fergusont20.googlepages.com

I especially love the logging section http://fergusont20.googlepages.com/loggingpictures I can't imagine anything finer than spending the day gathering, chopping and stacking wood. I don't fancy using the Mcconnel sawbench, I thought The Ferguson one looked dangerous but this one health and safety would have a field day. Spring will soon be here and a chance to get out and replenish the wood pile.

Yesterday I finally fitted a number plate bracket to my tractor. I've been waiting 2 years to fit the rear number plate light and the cross over switch. Here I am wiring up the plough lamp (yes I know it's not an original lamp but who can afford one of them) I'm still having trouble with a good earth and I'm thinking of running one from the battery for testing if nothing else. I still have to get hold of the flexible steel outer cable and clips to put the wire into to protect it from damage.

[12/12/07]
I was Robbed
I see now why no one else made a bid for the pulley on eBay. Its broken. One of the FoFH members pointed it out.

The top of the shaft has snapped off leaving a big gap Between the end of the shaft and the seal. Heaven knows how I'm going to fix it. My first thought was to weld a piece on and turn it down on a lathe.

On a happier note. Here are the pictures of some parts I've finished spraying. They include Plough scraper, Plough Lamp holder, Number plate holder (new batch) and the part of the plough the ferguson brass plate attaches to.

[09/12/07]
More Pulley
I tested the pulley this weekend, I think one of the seals has gone.
Find out more on the pulley page.
The tractor started again without the use of easi start, the temperature was about 4 degrees.

I have received another batch of number plate holders.
I'm going to sell some of them on eBay Buy it now to recover some of the cost of producing them. They look Fab and a great addition to any TE tractor, Great as a christmas present.

I've got this one sprayed up in Ferguson grey and it will be going onto my tractor to replace the prototype one I've had on there until now.

I can't believe the price of this Original TE-F20 starting handle on eBay £72 +£8 P&P. Does anyone actually use the starting handle with the diesel model or is it a collectors item? If you do know please email I'd love to know how easy or hard it is.

[06/12/07]
Belt Pulley
I've got another Ferguson Accessory. eBay has come up trumps again. I don't actually need it for anything but it was toooo good to pass up.

I've added a pulley section to the menu on the left under accessories. Pulley

I'm going to add specifications and what attachments it's used with and a section view of the parts

[28/11/07]
Rules
I've been looking at the ploughing article in this months Tractor & Machinery (January 08) Here are the rules for ploughing using a ferguson plough and ferguson 2 furrow plough. It seems as though its more a question of what you can't use!

Rules from www.ferguson20rules.co.uk

A PDF of the rules (with pictures)

Opening on Grass a PDF

[27/11/07]
Life
Life sometimes just gets in the way of restoring, I have managed to pick up a bargain on eBay though.

The final plough piece A furrow wheel scraper. Not bad for £6.17p I haven't been able to get one anywhere not even a good reproduction

I've been using the random orbital sander I got from screwfix.com. It's great and should be useful for restoring the wheels to showroom quality. I'll I need now is some time.

[18/11/07]
EASY START Free Zone

My tractor Has officially become an EASY START free tractor. I fitted the new heater switch yesterday. I've tested the heater and its now working off the switch. I've also started the tractor using the ki-gass plunger on the dashboard.

I initially tested it whilst the engine was running. The engine initially at an idle picked up revs with just one push on the ki-gass plunger. Two pushes on the plunger and the engine started knocking and picking up revs. I left the tractor out all day and returned to it to put it back in the garage several hour later. It would not start after repeated attempts. So I used the heater, one push on the plunger and turned the engine whilst on 3 cylinder decompression. I returned to full compression and the engine started. The battery charge was also low at this point after trying to start the tractor normally.

I am never going to use EASY START again. I feel it was used by the last owner as the solenoid was causing the starter not to turn with full torque. With this problem remedied the tractor should always start without it.

All of the Newark pictures are now on the Newark Page

[16/11/07]
Newark Page
I've added about half of the photo's I have from the Newark show I went to last week. Still more to add though it's taken about an hour so far.

Newark Page

[15/11/07]
Club
I said yesterday I had joined a new club, well I am now a member of The Ferguson Club

They had a stand at the Newark show. I was taken with the friendliness of the people and the quality of the newsletter (3 times a year). I spoke to Brian Pickering who knew of a member in Sheffield who was related to the owner of the ferguson dealership which used to be in the centre of town. Finding some photo's and more information on this dealership is going to be a future project.

I'm trying to get my write up of the newark show available by the end of the weekend.

[14/11/07]
Too Busy
I have been to bust with work to concentrate on adding the Newark Show photo's and report, which I will try to do in the next couple of days. I did manage to find a new heater switch and will fit it at the weekend an also test the Ki-gass system, The weather is set to be cold! I was told the heater switch I was replacing was not an original as it has a plastic back.

I came across a fantastic site the other night especially for owners of a FE 35/MF 35, TO35 with the 23c Diesel engine. A company called Vintage Tractor Engineer owned by Steve Ridsdale. The website is well worth checking out from time to time as Steve answers questions as part of the blog.He has produced a DVD for the strip down and reassembly of a 23c engine with correct torque settings and logical process for assembly.

Click the picture to buy the DVD

The DVD also shows you how to assess the parts you are removing to see if they are within tolerance or need to be replaced. I must admit this sounded the most interesting part of the DVD to me as its always difficult to know if a part is knackered. I have asked Steve to send me a copy of the DVD so I can give a full report on it. In the mean time if you have a 23c engine its probably the best £14.99 you can spend in getting yourselves a copy. Remember to say you saw a review on ploughmyfield.com he is also well on the way to a Hydraulics strip down DVD for the 35 to be released soon.

I also joined a new club at Newark.......

[09/11/07]
Testing Times
I've been testing the heater switch and heater plug ahead of tomorrows visit to the Newark Show, See [06/11/07]. The heater switch is dead. There is no flow of current through it. I will be taking it as a comparison for a new one which will cost about £30.

Pictures showing the front and back view of the heater switch

I also removed the heater plug that screws into the air inlet to the engine. This has the task of heating the diesel sprayed into the inlet by the Ki-gass pump. This heated diesel is used to start the tractor in cold weather conditions (below 0 degrees C). Please look at the Diesel Engine Reference Book pg 6-9 and a picture on pg23 item E, for information on the correct cold starting procedure.

The heater plug I'm glad to say works fine. I used Mark Brand's technique for checking the plug. "Connect it straight up to a 12volt battery and it should glow within about 20 seconds". You can watch a movie of the plug being tested below.

download a movie of the plug being tested here

Wing frame bolts. I have checked and the thread on the bolts that hold the mudguard to the trumpet housing must be 2inches minimum in length. The bolt should be a minimum of 6in long in total. The TE-F20 parts manual quotes 62FBH612B the length is 612 Hundredths of an inches.

[06/11/07]
Tractor & Machinery
This months (December, I can't work out why it doesn't say November on it) copy of tractor and machinery is filled with loads of ferguson and MF related articles. My favourite item is the start if a 6 edition piece by Dave Beare about him acquiring a fergie TEA-20 and wanting to plough with it using a 2 furrow plough. I can't wait to see how he gets on. Sometimes there is just never enough detail in these articles. I think I may try to get in touch with Dave to have a chat hopefully in more detail. I see from the FoFH Forum article that ploughing is something lots of people are keen to know more about and have many questions. That's why I started the How to Plough page. In the future this page should develop into a how to plough with a ferguson 2 furrow plough, but for now its a generic page.

Newark this weekend 10th-11th November
There is a tractor show on at Newark showground this weekend over 300 tractor expected. I think I'll be going on the Saturday EARLY. there is a auction at 11am so I might have a look at that as well.

more information here

I've got a couple of parts to purchase. I'm sure the list will grow.

4 x Bolts to hold mudguards on (from fergiland.com at 1"1/16 head sizes)
12 x Bolts to hold wheel centres to rims
1 x Heater switch ( I still need to find out if the heater plug works)
5m Re enforced cable protector for lighting wires.

Number plate Holders
I've just put out a manufacturing order for 20 more number plate holders. Colin your order will be on its way as soon as I have them. Order yours now for Christmas!

Another 2 DVD's released
I see that second sight productions have released a third and Forth in the series of the MF archives.This new DVD number 3 (£16.99) shows the the TE20 in action. I've enjoyed the last two buy the price is quite a lot so I'll see if I can get someone to buy me this one for Christmas.

The forth DVD shows Massey Harris Tractors and Implements. I think I'll be giving this one a miss.

Shot Blasting
I picked up some parts from the shot blasters this weekend so I'll need to get to work on them. The first two pictures are of the frames for the rear mudguards.

The frames need to be rubbed down and I'm going to use filler on them to make them look something like new

Here you can still see the old rivets still attached. I tried to drill them off but I think I'll use the angle grinder to take them off

Also picked up from the shot blasters are these two wheel centres. both have just undercoat on them at the moment. again I'd like to get these so you can see your face in them

[29/10/07]
Podcast 1
A little after the event but I have recorded the starting problem the faulty solenoid had created. I then worked out how to save this as a movie. It is released here as the first of many (I hope) Tractor Podcasts. Make sure you have your sound turned on, otherwise it won't mean a thing.

get Podcast 1 here

[28/10/07]
The simplest thing
The second solenoid arrived yesterday and I duly fitted it. It had the same problem as the last one. It would not start unless I pushed the button in. So i posted a topic on the FoFH forum and within 24hours the answer(well several actually) I had left the solenoid dangling in mid air whilst testing it. The case must have a good ground (i.e. bolted down to the top of the starter motor) I used a jump lead to connect the case to ground and, yes it worked. I'm now going to assemble everything back together. Hurray. I have a working tractor again.

Bonus
Having put everything back together (I added an extra connection from the solenoid body to ground not on the starter)the torque from the starter motor is amazing. It started the tractor without any need for east start. That is only the second time in 4 years its managed that. I go to bed a happy man.

[25/10/07]
Relief
I phoned Dunlop tractor parts on Monday. It seems the part I have is faulty. It should turn the engine without needing to push the button in. It doesn't give you much faith as this was the most expensive solenoid they do "better than the imported ones" I was told. Well its Thursday and I'm just waiting for the replacement to arrive, Hopefully tomorrow then I can have another go at fitting it at the weekend.

Some time ago I sent away two rear wheel centers and two mudguard frames for shot blaster. I have been told they are ready so I can pick them up next weekend.

[21/10/07]
Frustration
I've been fitting the solenoid today. It looks great and it solves the starting problem. Confusing to start with as the one it replaces has 4 contacts, this one has three. I figured it out in the end. solenoid in (top) + wire to one side of switch + wire to loom , solenoid out (bottom), switch (small connector on side)

I spent over an hour with the multi meter testing it as once fitted the tractor would not even turn over. I traced the problem to the fact that this solenoid has a push button on the back that needs to be pressed as well as the gear stick in the start position. This can't be right. I'm waiting for Dunlop tractor parts to be open tomorrow to give them a ring. surely this can't be right.

The Implement brass plate is looking great though. But no rivets supplied as the website points out. I mention this tomorrow in the phone conversation.

[18/10/07]
The universal language of Ferguson tractors

Statistics about the website October 2007

The above figures show the location visitors originate from who have looked at this website. I found it amazing that the Netherlands was the 4th largest country of people looking. I also wondered who it was in Vietnam? I hope he or she wanted my page? If you are looking from around the world drop me a line. I'd love to know why your looking and if it was useful.

email :

[16/10/07]
8000
The website passed 8000 visitors today, so I thought I'd start a new page. You can (as ever) get the link to the previous pages at the bottom of this page. Has it really been two years since I started this? No it's been 3 years. The counter wasn't running for the first year.

I'm going to make more effort with the spelling on this page as I've been told its shocking (Mr Gunny!). I have also discovered the spell checker, but is doesn't help with my grammar!

At the moment I am researching the furrow width adjuster that can be found on a Ferguson 2 furrow plough. I'd like to make one to attach to my plough as I think making one would be easier than trying to first of all find then buy one and probably cheaper. No one out there has one they want to get rid of do they?

Picture showing the furrow width adjuster fitted to a ferguson 2 furrow plough

I have ordered the brass implement serial number plate and a solenoid from Dunlop tractor spares. I spoke to Amanda who sound a really nice lady. Hopefully the parts will arrive before the weekend so I can fit the solenoid and test starting of the tractor.

I am also hearing good things about the Vapormatic engine kit for the TE-F20. A number of FoFH Forum members have been less than impressed with the Sparex engine kit.

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