MF IND403 (~MF185?) with MF320 backhoe

It supposedly has the internals of the 3PT hitch including the actuator
arms (under the seat) and the control levers.
It also supposedly has the PTO plumbed to (but not out) the back.
These pieces were apparently left off to make room for the backhoe.

I tried to lookup this tractor on our local AGCO dealer's CDROM
system but found no trace of 403, and hardly any of 185. The MF320 backhoe attachment was in there, but it appears to be in good shape.

I called around the area's tractor wreckers, and none of them heard of
MF403 and MF185's are super-scarce. I'd like to be able to toss off the backhoe and do some 3PTH work, and
maybe even some baling...

This machine will probably be fine, but I'm a little leery of something
that appears to have zero used parts available. Apparently Massey dealer parts are pretty pricey.

Can I get used/jobber 3PTH arms and links for this thing ?
Can I get the PTO shaft exit bearing/guard ?
Should I just forget it and stick with something more common ?
Should I not be such a chickenshit and just buy it for the heavy duty
loader, the backhoe, the Fwd/Rev shuttle ?

yours,

kurt klingbeil

Our 30 and 40 industrials have the automatic froward/reverse transmission (no clutch, fwd/reverse pedal on the right where brakes are normally). I'm assuming yours is similar.

The internal 3 point pump (and PTO if they had them) runs only when the forward/reverse pedal is engaged.

Not really satisfactory for what we now expect for three point and PTO operation. (If you are stepping up from a 9N, you'd be used to it!)

We looked at converting - arms etc are available, but decided not to. They work great for what they were intended - backhoe and loader.

We had to make sure they idled down when we took feet off the pedal, however. Slop in the interconnected throttle linkage caused a high idle speed, making them jump from one direction to the other.

Slowed down to 600 RPM they are smooth as frog's fur.

Hope this helps!

Jack