Serial number decoder

Massey Ferguson Serial Number Checker

One model name, two factories, two number systems: that is the Massey Ferguson 135. Read a Detroit tractor against the Coventry table — as several websites do — and you get a confident, wrong year. This decoder asks where the tractor was built before it answers.

Decode your serial number

Pick the brand, pick the model, type the number exactly as stamped. The answer shows the bracket your number fell in and the sources behind it.

The tables, in the open

These are the exact tables the decoder reads from — every one assembled from two independent published sources. Check our work.

Massey Ferguson 135

Where the number is: Serial plate on the instrument panel, below the steering wheel. US tractors from 1967 carry the 9A series; Coventry tractors carry a plain number.

Detroit, USA — the 9A series (1967–1975)

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
19679A10,0019A39,835
19689A39,8369A63,157
19699A63,1589A87,324
19709A87,3259A107,518
19719A107,5199A128,140
19729A128,1419A152,024
19739A152,0259A182,760
19749A182,7619A207,680
19759A207,6819A231,700

Coventry, England — plain numbers (verified 1965–1971)

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
196510130,282
196630,28367,596
196767,59793,304
196893,305117,428
1969117,429141,425
1970141,426162,114
1971162,115190,000

Massey Ferguson 135 traps

  • The US and UK 135s use completely different number systems. A US 9A number read against the UK table — which is what several scraper sites publish as 'the' MF 135 table — gives a wrong year.
  • The 9A series was shared across several Massey Ferguson models and industrial machines — the number dates the tractor, but confirm the model from the plate, not the serial alone.
  • US tractors before 1967 use a long numeric plate format (starting 641…), not the 9A series.

Sources: US: JustAnswer-published MF 135 list and tractorsinfo table (identical 9A starts), forum-verified. UK: Vintage Tractor Engineer MF 135 table (verified 1965–1971).

Massey Ferguson 35 (Coventry, UK)

Where the number is: Serial plate on the instrument panel. UK 35 castings also carry a casting date code (month letter, day, year letter F = 1957 through M = 1964) you can cross-check.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
195774,65679,552
195879,553125,067
1959125,068171,470
1960171,471220,613
1961220,614267,527
1962267,528307,230
1963307,231352,254
1964352,255388,382

Massey Ferguson 35 (Coventry, UK) traps

  • This table is for the Coventry-built 35. The US-built 35 continued the Ferguson TO-35 number series — use the TO-35 decoder for a Detroit tractor.
  • Replacement castings are common on 35s — a casting date newer than the serial's year means that part was replaced, not that the tractor is newer.

Sources: Vintage Tractor Engineer MF 35 table; Massey Ferguson serial-number guide (PDF) — identical ranges.

Ferguson TO-20 (Detroit)

Where the number is: Serial plate on the dash / steering column area, marked Harry Ferguson Inc, Detroit. Engine is the Continental Z-120.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
194811,807
19491,80814,659
195014,66039,162
195139,16360,000

Ferguson TO-20 (Detroit) traps

  • TO-20 and TO-30 shared one Detroit number run at first — the split is the number: 60000 and under is a TO-20, 60001 and up is a TO-30.
  • The English TE-20 is a different tractor with its own series that also starts at 1 — a grey Ferguson in the US can be either; the plate says Detroit or Coventry.

Sources: Vintage Tractor Engineer TE/TO serial tables (Detroit ranges); Yesterday's Tractors Ferguson board canon (TO-20 ends at 60000).

Ferguson TO-30 (Detroit)

Where the number is: Serial plate on the dash, Detroit-built. Engine is the Continental Z-129 — the engine marking is the quickest TO-20/TO-30 split check.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
195160,00172,679
195272,680108,644
1953108,645125,928
1954125,929140,000

Ferguson TO-30 (Detroit) traps

  • A TO-30 plate that reads like a TO-20 number usually means the number was misread — check for a swapped or re-stamped plate before paying.
  • One gear lever and the 'S' start position on the shift plate = TO-20/TO-30 family; two levers means TO-35.

Sources: Vintage Tractor Engineer Detroit TO ranges; Yesterday's Tractors Ferguson board canon.

Ferguson TO-35 / US Massey Ferguson 35

Where the number is: Serial plate on the dash. Two gear levers (main + hi-lo) separate the TO-35 from the TO-20/TO-30 at a glance.

Model yearFirst serialLast serial
1955140,001171,740
1957171,741178,215
1958178,216185,503
1959185,504204,180
1960204,181209,890

Ferguson TO-35 / US Massey Ferguson 35 traps

  • The 1960 start, 204181, is the first US-built MF-35 — tractors just below it (from 203360) are the last Ferguson-badged TO-35s of 1960. Sources anchor this changeover slightly differently; we show the documented anchors and say so.
  • The TO-35 changed colors across its run (green/grey, then beige, then red/silver in 1958) — paint is the weakest dating evidence there is.

Sources: I&T official guide figures via Yesterday's Tractors Ferguson board; Vintage Tractor Engineer; the documented anchors are 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959 and the 1960 MF-35 changeover at 204181.

The $39 Buyer's Check Kit

The decoder gives you the year. The kit gives you the rest of the check before money changes hands: serial-verification worksheets, the two-numbers check that catches swapped engines, year-split parts traps, and an inspection checklist for each family.

Included in the $39 Buyer's Check Kit

See what's inside