Hey all, I wanted to post a timeline of restoring my grandfather's 1978 Massey Ferguson 200-4, and use this as a way to ask a few questions along the way.
To start, the 200-4 seems to be a ghost as far as origin goes. My grandfather originally imported it from Japan and it appears like it is actually a Toyosha tractor at heart. The closest comparisons I can find *any* documentation of are the 205 and 205-4 from around the same time period, but thankfully their controls, parts etc seem extremely similar. It has a 1.1L 2-cylinder Toyosha diesel engine in it that puts out a little less than 20 hp, and as of writing has only 158 hours on it.
My grandfather left the tractor to sit for around 2 decades out in the weather, which has been less than great for it's wellbeing and I am now taking up it's restoration so I can put it back to work. We just purchased 40 acres of land to homestead and I think this tractor will be a great, reliable tool to help me get things started.
To start with, the tractor was buried in trees, on flat tires, with a half-tank of fuel and a flail mower still attached.
View attachment PXL_20260617_011324674 (1).jpg
I drained the old diesel, replaced the split-open fuel filter with a temporary inline filter and put in some quick wiring to get it to crank. The wiring is shot from rodents and weather, but all I had to do was get the starter and glowplugs working. Unfortunately we couldn't find the key for it, so I replaced the keyswitch with a Kubota part with the same general wiring setup. I had to bleed the air from the fuel system which ended up being a long, annoying process, but after a couple of hours I was able to get fuel, preheat, and it started right up.
Getting tires on it was challenge #2, it had 7-20 rear tires which are apparently a size lost to time. I was able to find 7.50-20 fits well enough, so got new tires put on and was finally able to move it to the garage.
My current laundry list is as follows:
1. New tires (already done)
2. Get the mower disconnected
3. Replace a blown wheel seal on the right rear wheel
4. Fluid changes
5. Clean the fuel tank
6. Replace various dried, split rubber seals/gaskets/boots
7. Replace broken zerks and repack everything
8. Replace the temporary fuel filter with a better one
9. Completely new wiring
10. New headlights and field light
11. Paint
12. Steering wheel and seat
It's going to be an involved process, and I'm unfamiliar with tractors specifically, but know my way around diesels and general mechanics/electrics, so I am hoping I won't have too much trouble and I'll learn a lot along the way.
To start, the 200-4 seems to be a ghost as far as origin goes. My grandfather originally imported it from Japan and it appears like it is actually a Toyosha tractor at heart. The closest comparisons I can find *any* documentation of are the 205 and 205-4 from around the same time period, but thankfully their controls, parts etc seem extremely similar. It has a 1.1L 2-cylinder Toyosha diesel engine in it that puts out a little less than 20 hp, and as of writing has only 158 hours on it.
My grandfather left the tractor to sit for around 2 decades out in the weather, which has been less than great for it's wellbeing and I am now taking up it's restoration so I can put it back to work. We just purchased 40 acres of land to homestead and I think this tractor will be a great, reliable tool to help me get things started.
To start with, the tractor was buried in trees, on flat tires, with a half-tank of fuel and a flail mower still attached.
View attachment PXL_20260617_011324674 (1).jpg
I drained the old diesel, replaced the split-open fuel filter with a temporary inline filter and put in some quick wiring to get it to crank. The wiring is shot from rodents and weather, but all I had to do was get the starter and glowplugs working. Unfortunately we couldn't find the key for it, so I replaced the keyswitch with a Kubota part with the same general wiring setup. I had to bleed the air from the fuel system which ended up being a long, annoying process, but after a couple of hours I was able to get fuel, preheat, and it started right up.
Getting tires on it was challenge #2, it had 7-20 rear tires which are apparently a size lost to time. I was able to find 7.50-20 fits well enough, so got new tires put on and was finally able to move it to the garage.
My current laundry list is as follows:
1. New tires (already done)
2. Get the mower disconnected
3. Replace a blown wheel seal on the right rear wheel
4. Fluid changes
5. Clean the fuel tank
6. Replace various dried, split rubber seals/gaskets/boots
7. Replace broken zerks and repack everything
8. Replace the temporary fuel filter with a better one
9. Completely new wiring
10. New headlights and field light
11. Paint
12. Steering wheel and seat
It's going to be an involved process, and I'm unfamiliar with tractors specifically, but know my way around diesels and general mechanics/electrics, so I am hoping I won't have too much trouble and I'll learn a lot along the way.
