856 custom

[brahamfireman]

Neighbor guy needed electrical help with his 856 a couple years ago. When i was working on it i noticed it had the 1256 turbo setup on it. I told him if you ever want to sell it to call me, full well knowing nothing ever leaves that farm. I got the opportunity to farm his land spring of 2021, sadly he passed fall of 2021, but I was able to buy the 856 from his widow. I handed her a check and said if it starts I'm going to drive it home, well it fired right up and I drove it 1.5 miles home. Here's a Pic of it when I got it fired up and was about to leave.

 

[brahamfireman]

I got it home, gave it a good look over and planned on putting it in the shed with the rest of our tractors. Figured it's never been inside for 20 years, it will be very happy behind dad's 806 row crop, and my 806 wheatland. 

I posted a few pics in the general chat forum and that's where it was pointed out to me its an 856 custom. So plans changed. I took it to work where I could tinker on it in the warmth over winter. Plans are to make it factory original except for the turbo setup will stay. So far I've slid the rear wheels in real narrow cuz I love the look. I rebuilt the pto because it wouldn't shut off, I rebuilt parts of the range top cover. I knew when I bought it that it had a chipped reverse gear, that's staying that way for now. I Pulled the front end off to get the center tube straightened.  The narrow front was put on just to keep it mobile. The 3 point is shot but I think I've got enough parts to make it good and tight again. Lots of little random things that were wrong with it. I'll post pics and updates as I go.

Pics of it the first day I got it home.

 

[brahamfireman]

Took it to work and gave it a good bath with the Hotse,  then blew it all apart. Took off hoods, fenders, platform and another round of washing. It cleaned up pretty good.

Pics of the bath.

 

[brahamfireman]

Got it inside,  pulled front end off and range top cover off. Pics of chipped gear and old parts. Ended up putting a new high low shaft, and arm in because the foot the detents ride on was broke off the shaft. Detent spring was also gone.

 

[brahamfireman]

Got the pto rebuilt and back on, rears are narrowed way up,  new radiator hoses and lube cooler hoses. Next step is tighten wheel wedges and put fenders and platform on. For some reason the 856 has 66 series fender mounts and 06 series fenders... Someone also torched off the outside 2" of the platform, luckily the 756 i bought for another project has the right parts. Somewhere in the mix I pulled the double remotes off the 856, pulled the single remote off my 806 and swapped them. So the 856 is back to factory single remote.

 

[nepoweshiekfarmalls]

Nice!

[JaredT]

That looks nice. Without fenders on it, those rear tires look huge, what size are they?

[brahamfireman]

2 hours ago, JaredT said:

That looks nice. Without fenders on it, those rear tires look huge, what size are they?

18.4x34 I thought the same thing. Being that everyone wants 38" rubber I think I might start going the other way and put 34" on the diesel toys.

[plowboy64]

like the look with rear tires slid in like that. keep the narrow front 

is the drawbar a factory set up or a custom job ? have never seen one like that 

 

 

[1480x3]

On 1/30/2022 at 6:28 AM, JaredT said:

That looks nice. Without fenders on it, those rear tires look huge, what size are they?

Our 1st set of radials, 18x34 firestones, we got around 1994. They were on a 4020.  Soon after we put a set of 18x38 firestone radials on the 856. From 50 ft behind those 2 tractors setting side by side could not identify which was 34 or 38. Those 34s had a very tall sidewall. I believe if one of each was dismounted and leaning against the tire service truck, looking from front or back you would think they were a pair the same size. Don't think the current production has that tall of a sidewall.

[brahamfireman]

12 hours ago, plowboy64 said:

like the look with rear tires slid in like that. keep the narrow front 

is the drawbar a factory set up or a custom job ? have never seen one like that 

 

 

I believe the drawbar to be factory original,  although it's been broken, welded and wore out again so newish parts are going on.

It'll go back to a wide front just because narrow wasn't an option on the 856 custom. The 756 across from it got the narrow front already.

 

[brahamfireman]

Got the pto rebuild done and installed, albeit it twice because of my own cheapness. 

Put the front axle back on after having the center tube straightened. Had to cut 4" off the tubes of each knee because the center tube was dented way in near the pivot.  Without cutting, the front tires were out about 38" on center and wouldn't go any further in. After trimming I got them down to 32". They're still narrower then the rears so that's good enough for me. 

No pics, broke my phone Sunday, new screen will be in Thursday. 

[brahamfireman]

Front end on, pto on, the 4" pieces I cut out of the knees, and one of the  locomotives, just for fun.

[B.B.]

Looking good! 
 

Locomotive picture explains what I couldn’t figure out was in the floor lol

 

duh… the train left tracks 

[B.B.]

And while your taking photos I’d love to see some of those “other” tractors in the background  

 

 

[brahamfireman]

5 hours ago, B.B. said:

And while your taking photos I’d love to see some of those “other” tractors in the background  

 

 

Oliver is a 1650 diesel with an oliver loader. Was a 2020 end of year tax purchase by dad.

Allis Chalmers is a little CA dad inherited 2 years ago from his father, it's got a woods belly mower thats way to big for it. It's a good auger tractor.

White case is a 2090, 6700 hours. Was a manure spreader tractor prior to 2010, now it just pulls wagons.

Dualed up tractor by combine is my 3394 case. Bought it 7 years ago with a noise in transmission.  Split it and put in new parts, been a great tractor. It's the main tillage machine, plus nh3 knife puller.

Cab tractor in first Pic is a 706 diesel that was owned by the widow I bought the 856 from. I "drove" it to the consignment sale but it could barely pull itself, clutch was junk. Terrible blow by. Think it sold for 2K.

[DT Fan]

On 2/12/2022 at 12:28 PM, brahamfireman said:

Oliver is a 1650 diesel with an oliver loader. Was a 2020 end of year tax purchase by dad.

Allis Chalmers is a little CA dad inherited 2 years ago from his father, it's got a woods belly mower thats way to big for it. It's a good auger tractor.

White case is a 2090, 6700 hours. Was a manure spreader tractor prior to 2010, now it just pulls wagons.

Dualed up tractor by combine is my 3394 case. Bought it 7 years ago with a noise in transmission.  Split it and put in new parts, been a great tractor. It's the main tillage machine, plus nh3 knife puller.

Cab tractor in first Pic is a 706 diesel that was owned by the widow I bought the 856 from. I "drove" it to the consignment sale but it could barely pull itself, clutch was junk. Terrible blow by. Think it sold for 2K.

A CA with a belly mower too big? Mine has a 72" and never seen anything it won't cut if you can keep the belt tight enough to not slip. It nicely bridges the gap between lawn mower and brush-hog.

[brahamfireman]

13 minutes ago, DT Fan said:

A CA with a belly mower too big? Mine has a 72" and never seen anything it won't cut if you can keep the belt tight enough to not slip. It nicely bridges the gap between lawn mower and brush-hog.

No live power or hydraulics, I get into 2 foot tall swamp grass and things spiral south quickly. First gear is all it wants.

It works great for finish mowing the yard, but not for miles of ditch mowing.

Also the "live power" axle clutch is shot so if you hit a wet spot, your done. One day it'll go through the shop and get fixed,  for now it's a good auger rig.

[DT Fan]

1 hour ago, brahamfireman said:

No live power or hydraulics, I get into 2 foot tall swamp grass and things spiral south quickly. First gear is all it wants.

It works great for finish mowing the yard, but not for miles of ditch mowing.

Also the "live power" axle clutch is shot so if you hit a wet spot, your done. One day it'll go through the shop and get fixed,  for now it's a good auger rig.

I bought a second CA in December. Hand clutch is bad, apparently bolted together. Have one from a parts machine on the bench right now, mostly cleaned up. Will change out this spring when it's warmer. They aren't complicated at all. Going to do new brake bands at that time.

I mow in second gear with mine unless the grass is really tall/heavy. That's about 4&1/2 mph, with a 72" deck it covers a lot of territory in a hurry.

[brahamfireman]

Last round the fenders were just sitting on there, now they're bolted down and the platform is in and bolted down. 

Got the tires slid WAY in because I love the look of the long axles, even though there just standard length. Tires are 29" on center.

 

[brahamfireman]

Put the dash wiring harness back in, need to get a new left side dash harness from Porch, also need to get the tach and heat gauge sent out and fixed. 

Put the sheet metal, intake and muffler back on. I know it's the wrong muffler but it's going to stay with the turbo setup.

Single lights in the fenders too.

 

[nate]

Shute looks nice now.   Will be ready for the field!

[Frank H]

Did you change the reverse gear? 

[brahamfireman]

On 2/25/2022 at 6:51 AM, Frank H said:

Did you change the reverse gear? 

No, it's going to have stay for now, if I get a heated shop built at home I'll change it out then.

[brahamfireman]

Drawbar and 3 point went on today. Entire drawbar assembly came off the 756. 3 point is a mix and match of good parts off both tractors.  Waiting on seat cushions and a Porch electric dash harness and then it'll be pretty much done.

Pics if the finished rear, pile of broken/stripped out parts from 3 point, bare 756 rear. The broken and brazed drawbar mount off the 856.