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Hamilton Brothers have been around as long as the rubber tyre tractor, and since the business launched in 1933, we’ve sold a farm machine or two. With a long standing history of tractor sales in the West of Scotland, it’s always a joy to be reacquainted with an old vintage tractor sold by us many moons ago as that year’s “must have” machine.
These moments are particularly special for our sales and service staff, and recently excitement peaked when the team were reunited with a lovingly restored Massey Ferguson 135 Vintage Tractor sold in 1975 from our old Paisley base!
Massey Ferguson 135 Vintage Tractor sold by Hamilton Bros in 1975!
The MF 135 in question was brought to us by fellow tractor enthusiast, David Wilson of Drongan, East Ayrshire. As an Agricultural Engineer at William Kerr (Tractors) David spends his days servicing modern tractors and his evenings restoring vintage models. The 135 is David’s second vintage restoration project after he discovered his passion when refurbishing a 1961 Massey Ferguson 35 tractor. In a mission to fully restore his MF 135 to its former glory, David called Hamilton Brothers to the rescue!
A true enthusiast, David wanted the tractor to remain as authentic as possible and he was determined to recreate the Hamilton Brothers sales sticker that once took pride of place on the original bonnet, so he called Hamilton Brothers for help! Luckily we have our very own vintage tractor enthusiast on hand, Horticultural Engineer William Bilsland. William made it his mission to locate an image of the exact logo that would have featured on David’s tractor and, even, found the original sale in our old purchase ledger!
Hamilton Bros Sales Sticker Replica.
Thanks to William’s help, and the assistance of staff at the Tarbolton depot in providing parts during the restoration, David was able to complete his restoration project and learn a little bit more about the tractor’s origins. According to our sales ledger, the Massey Ferguson 135 had been supplied to John Craig of Barbush Farm in Johnstone on 24th January 1975. David said: “Thank you very much to the team at Hamilton Brothers and William Bilsland for all your help! I would not have been able to add the finishing touches without your assistance.”
John Craig’s purchase recorded in the Hamilton Bros 1975 Purchase Ledger.
In turn, David was able to tell us about the tractor’s history post Hamilton Brothers, “I purchased the tractor in November 2014 from Kenny Smith, Newlands Farm, Dailly, South Ayrshire. The tractor was sold by the original owner John Craig at his farm sale to Kenny Smith.”
Today, the tractor takes pride of place in David’s collection and is enjoyed by all the family including his son, also named David, who is a young farm machinery enthusiast. Pleased with the addition to his collection David (senior) said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed restoring the MF 135 and I am already on the lookout for another project.”
Young David takes the wheel!
At Hamilton Brothers we take great pleasure in assisting with tractor restoration projects! For us, there is nothing more enjoyable than speaking to customers about their vintage models and we are always interested in uncovering tales from Hamilton Brothers long history so please get in touch with any stories, questions or projects we can assist with.
To share your story or for more information about our tractor parts facility please contact your local Hamilton Brothers depot.
