MF 65 Seat

[Mike NL]

I am refurbishing this seat which is from a 65. I believe it was also fitted to some 165's and want to try it on my 165 which has a newer but shabby vinyl seat.

Although it is old and has spent at least 20 years under brambles, I managed to get all the UNF nuts loosened, which is good as I want to keep it as original as possible.

I don't want to make it look new, but just preserve it and stop it from rusting further.

The adjuster was rusted solid so I had to drill the threaded part out of the brass nut and the bracket. I then managed to tap the brass nut to M12 and weld a new threaded part into the bracket.
The shock absorber was solid and one ring was broken. I welded the ring back on and hung three large front weights on it. Even then I had to bounce the weights to get it to move. I may be able to replace it with something from a light motor bike, as I doubt the original is still available.. I made the springs to get an idea of how it works, but they are not strong enough.

What surprises me is that I can't find any photos of this type of seat on the web. I would like to know what the original springs looked like.

Does anyone have a good photo of one in original condition.?

Mike.

 

[Bob NY]

I have been around Massey Ferguson tractors since 1960, and I have NEVER seen a seat exactly like that one. The "bucket" part is the seat that MF used originally without any suspension. I don't recognize the suspension you have at all and the backrest is definitely an add-on.

 

[Stan56]

I think you may have an aftermarket seat. The seat pan and back are similar to the later seat shown in my parts book (after serial #692932). Prior to that, the book shows the seat was the old-style u-shape leaf spring.

There are two major differences between yours, and the parts book. First, the shock absorber in the book attaches to the seat pan and the frame. The weight adjustment is exclusively on the spring, which is a coil type, torsion spring rather than the extension springs on your seat.

I had a similar situation on my Ford 860 - it used a torsion bar arrangement for weight adjustment and ride comfort. When it broke, I tried to find another. The owner of the vintage tractor parts store near me (Tractoropolis) had never seen one. He guessed there was an aftermarket vendor that made high end, deluxe tractor seats in the 50's or 60s.

I did try to get to Agco parts on-line, but they seem to be unavailable right now. Thank you, Microsoft?

 

[Brown David]

I have been around Massey Ferguson tractors since 1960, and I have NEVER seen a seat exactly like that one. The "bucket" part is the seat that MF used originally without any suspension. I don't recognize the suspension you have at all and the backrest is definitely an add-on.

Same here.