I started my collection of Massey Harris tractors in 1996. All I wanted was a antique pulling tractor to have a bit of fun with.
I chose Massey Harris because they are a well built and strong tractor with plenty of stock power.
Also it was a brand my dad owned a few of and the added fact there just not any other Masseys pulling in the antique circuit.
So my first tractor was in pretty well beat up when I bought it.
It is a 1951 Massey model 44, Engine makes 45 HP. with 31HP at the draw bar.
Since the antique pulling class rulls says the tractor can only have 19HP per every thousand pounds of the tractor. The 44 row crap weighed 4165 pounds.
I needed a pto shaft for the tractor so it could be dynoed, there was a plate over the hole and not one that the factory would have installed with cutting tourch marks.
The rear wheel hubs had been broken, one side some one had made someting that worked the other side had been welded.
So visiting all the salvage yards in Michigan I was not able to find the hubs that fit. We started a every week end search for a Massey sitting in a fence row or behind a delapid barn for parts.
We saw a lot of Masseys but when knocking on doors and asking about buying the tractor many times we were told it wasn't for sale as they were going to fix it up. Many are still sitting in the same fence row 20 plus years later.
But Kare said we should just start collecting them when we found complete tractors for sale so that is how I now own 22 Massey tractors. But did fiunlay find in the middle of the winter on a very cold blizzard type day a Massey that they were not going to fix up.
I got the parts tractor home and removed all the parts I needed and by May 1997 had the 44 ready to pull but my dad latched on to it.
The first time out dad pulled second place with it and it dynoed 47HP so it was legal in the 5000 lb. class.
So here I am in 2017 and wanting a tractor with a front loader that had a hrydrlic bucket rather than the manual trip bucker.
I was really looking at a Allis 185 perkins diesel.
Banker{wife} had other ideas so shopping around the new compact market was what I did. the dealers just didn't stock what I had in my mind to buy. Had to be 30 HP or more, Had to Have ag tires filled with beet juice AKA rim guard and a stick shift.
We had attended a car show and drove by a CaseIH dealer on the way home. Saw a Farmall. decided Monday we would go see if they had any thing that met my wants.
When we got the price we decided we didn't want a Farmall as they were mnade with gold it seemed.
Going home came to a Kubota dealer so we stopped. looked at some in the yard then went in side and met the sales man Brad. Told him what I wanted and took me out to show me the L3301. Ag tires, stick shift and 33HP.
Told he knew many of the people from my home town 3 hours north was nice just visiting about home. Told him we wanted to think about it for a bit and left.
Kare and I talked about it for a bit and 3 hours later went back and signed a contract and check.
That was wednesday and they had to mount the front loader and fill the tires. Delivery would be Friday.
It was delivered Frisday and I told the young fellow to not unload it because the front loader was wrong. He said Brad ended up not having a pined bucket so threw in the SSQH at no added cost.
Cleanest it has ever been.
I have made a lot of mods to it and was ready to get rid of it with in days as it was just scary it was so narrow.
Al
