Project Fergy (Ferguson)

A year ago we purchased a 1955 Ferguson TO-35 tractor at a neighbor's estate sale. The tractor had a front end loader, which the neighbor used to plow snow and gather firewood. I never knew much about the tractor's history, but it had been painted several times with different colors.

The front end loader on this tractor was big and bulky and since I already have a tractor with a front end loader, my first job was to remove the loader from the Ferguson. With the loader removed the tractor handled much better, but I noticed some problems with the engine and hydraulics.



I started out working on the hydraulic lift system and then the engine. Before long I had removed a lot of the parts from the tractor.



The engine had broken piston rings on 3 of the 4 cylinders. Even though the tractor is 60 years old I was able to find all the engine parts I needed and I ordered an engine rebuild kit.



The engine rebuild require the removal and replacement of the cylinder sleeves. With the cylinder sleeves removed I found the engine water jacket for the number 4 cylinder to be packed with scale and rust. Which needed to be removed.



With the inside of the water jacket cleaned I was able to start reassembling the engine. A view of an old cylinder sleeve on the left and a new cylinder sleeve on the right.



With the engine rebuild complete a new coat of gray paint was applied.



A new coat of red paint was applied to the sheet metal and missing parts replaced. The restored Ferguson TO-35 was displayed at the tractor show in Rome, PA this past weekend.