Massey Ferguson 300 Crawler

[Tones]

I can vouch for Phil Hunt, know their stuff

 

[aircommuter]

I see this old thread. I restored a Massey Ferguson mf400 made in 1975 by Landini tractor of Italy which was owned by massey.

 

[Welder Dave]

It wasn't Landini anymore in 1975. MF built a factory in Aprillia in 1967/68 to build crawler tractors and excavators that were designed in the US. I'd have to look but I think they had another factory or 2 in Italy as well. MF400 was a good sized machine and had the legendary 6-354 Perkins engine. It might help others if you could list where you got parts or service advice from.

 

[aircommuter]

It wasn't Landini anymore in 1975. MF built a factory in Aprillia in 1967/68 to build crawler tractors and excavators that were designed in the US. I'd have to look but I think they had another factory or 2 in Italy as well. MF400 was a good sized machine and had the legendary 6-354 Perkins engine. It might help others if you could list where you got parts or service advice from.

My restoration is posted in its entirety on tractor by net. Listed as another restoration. Engine parts were purchased from Reliance parts. Hydraulic hoses from Surplus Center and adapters to metric from Hose and Fittings.com. I manufactured numerous other parts. Manuals were purchased on eBay. I was a heavy equipment mechanic 57 years ago, then went into the grading and underground business, so I was still a mechanic too.

 

[Welder Dave]

I just noticed it's missing the MF ICM badge on the front. Do you have any more pics. of it?

 

[aircommuter]

Yes and the parts book doesn’t show one either. The decals are custom made to match the original font and location per OE.
There are dozens of pictures on tractor by net and the narrative. The hood and other panels were all missing. So I made those here along with others. I made the hood so it could be tilted on stainless steel hinges. I bought it with a frozen engine for $2400 delivered. The injectors were removed for rebuild? I guess they never got around to finishing it so water was in the cylinders and rusted tight. I saved it from being scrapped.

 

[Welder Dave]

My former neighbor had owned a few MF450S excavators over the years. 2 were bought new in 1969 and 1970. He said they were one of the 1st really advanced excavators. They used the 6-354 as well. They had the MF industrial badge on the grill.

I have the World Wide Guide to MF Industrial and Construction equipment. It has a pic. of an MF400 loader from a US brochure. The ROPS is a little different with different mounting points and a rear screen and front sweeps. Also the decals are a little different but those could have changed for different years or countries. It has big MF decals in black on front corner of the hood and 400 in white below the letters. The optional ripper is the same and it lists a 1.5 cu. yd. Drott 4 in 1 bucket with teeth as an option. The standard bucket is 1.625 cu. yd's. It's interesting that the MF300 and 400 didn't appear to have B models like 200 and 500 but went to C models. The 400C has a completely different design for the lift arms. Your MF400 looks really nice.

 

[aircommuter]

The parts manual shows different variations of the exhaust and air cleaner locations also naturally a different hood to match. Plus other variations by year and of course serial numbers. This machine is slightly heavier than the Case 855D I bought new in 1986. This one will just be for around here. Since I retired to a passive business in 2003. But the projects here will keep going. Don’t know how I had time to do work for others.
I couldn’t find ripper teeth so I am making some.
I have a JCB backhoe with a Perkins of course and had others too. They are quick starting and durable. That 5” stroke really gives it that low speed torque and a nice sound. The crankshaft checked out to standard and no measurable or out of roundness. Looked like new.

 

[OzDozer]

That's a superb restoration, full credit to your restoration/mechanical/fabrication skills!

 

[Welder Dave]

You don't many MF industrial machines so it's a treat to see one restored. There are some who have said they were ahead of their time.

 

[aircommuter]

One thing I am looking for is a picture of the backside of the Drott bucket. I have seen some but they were different models. It appears that there was a cover for the clam cylinders. Maybe I would fab some if I had a proper picture. I alway had sweeps on my othe machines but the muffler location blocks them on this machine and the muffler mount is hard to change as it is welded to the mainframe.
I have few more things to do to this machine then I was planning a YouTube video. Walk around drive look and hear the real thing.
When that engine is spooled up you can feather forward and reverse while having full hydraulic power and it doesn’t slow down, either the tracks spin or the dirt moves.

 

[aircommuter]

More pictures.

 

[aircommuter]

It only allows 4 at a time.

 

[Maineman]

This is a dozer my grandfather bought new in the 70’s . I just painted it and thought I’d share it

 

[Welder Dave]

Very nice! On another forum several years ago there was a guy who owned 2 or 3 MF300's and said they were ahead of their time and better than some much newer dozers. I see it's also missing the MF industrial badge on the grill. It has weld on sprocket rims so I'm wondering if it's using original MF undercarriage or it was modified to use a more common undercarriage? That seems to be the biggest issue with the MF300 as the undercarriage was discontinued. The same rails were used on the MF450S excavators. It looks like your machine might need new undercarriage fairly soon too.

 

[Maineman]

The chains got new pins and bushings and the sprockets were available through Berco . I found a recipe that said the front idlers were from a TD7 . Bottom rolls we had built up by a machine shop on an automatic welder . Seals for the bottom rolls matched up to I believe a caterpillar part number . The top rolls were the only thing unavailable, at the time . I build those up myself with a mug welder . If I’m not mistaken, the top roll bearing and seal were matched up at our local Napa with some aftermarket parts. That machine had to have over 10,000 hours on it easily . Cleared many acres of farm land

 

[Welder Dave]

10,000+ hours is quite a few for a machine that size. Great that it's still earning its keep.

 

[Maineman]

We had done the engine too. But never a lick of trouble with the transmission or steering clutches . I’ve just sold it as a matter of fact

 

[Welder Dave]

Might have been nice to keep in the family.