IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I purchased this 856 in March of last year and I have been working on restoring it ever since. It has been a long process since finding time to work on it between school and work can be a challenge. After almost exactly a year, I finally finished up with the painting this last weekend, and I should have it all assembled and complete after this coming weekend. I will post some completed pictures of it this weekend whenever I get a chance, but here are a few that I took throughout the year. The tractor has only 4900 hours which the old man that I bought it from claimed to be accurate. The tractor was in fairly good shape, and was in running order when I got it, it just needed some tlc. I disassembled the front end and rebuilt the front axle, installed new engine bearings, split the tractor and inspected the clutch (appeared almost new), installed new ipto seals while it was apart, had the fuel pump rebuilt, rebuilt the hydraulic valves under the seat, completely rewired it, fixed all the oil leaks etc, swapped the hyd seat suspension out for a rebuilt mechanical one, new steering wheel, seat, knobs, and numerous other parts that I and sure that I am forgetting. This is the third tractor that I have restored and its probably not what most guys consider "perfect", but I am getting better with each one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Binder Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Looking good!! FYI, your top cushion on your seat is on upside down.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehammer Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Looks very nice to me. Pretty clean looking rig to begin with, but sounds like you fixed everything up right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHDanielBoone Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 If that's newspaper on the tires.. how long did that take you? Best newspaper mask job I have ever seen!!! Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Hmmm, I've had the new seat on there for a few weeks now and I hadn't noticed the cushion being upside down. Good catch, I'll have to check that out this weekend. Guess that's the reason I post on here so you guys can catch whatever I don't. Yes it was fairly clean to begin with. Most guys probably would have just took her straight to the field, but there's just something about that nice shiny red paint that my brain tells me I have to have. After I painted my first tractor, I can't get rid of the urge to paint them all!! It keeps me busy in the winter so I don't go insane from sitting in the house. I have also found out through experience that when I'm finding one to restore, its easier to pay a little more for an old tractor that's been taken care of and is in decent running shape, than to buy one out of a fence row and pour thousands of dollars and countless hours into it to get it to the same running condition. Lol... Yep that's newspaper.. Call me crazy but I find it easier to spend an hour taping the tires and rims off than having to unbolt and rebolt the rims to the casting. It also saves me from scraping and paint when rebolting the rim to the painted casting. I find that tin foil comes in super handy for taping off around hoses and etc. The foil will form to whatever shape you want, then wrap a strip of tape around it to hold it in place. Personally I think taping around the injector pump is the worst. I like to tape them so the pump stays silver but the lines and such get painted red, usually entails an hour of careful taping and a sharp exacto knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyinca Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I like you logic on painting & finding a suitable tractor. Keep up the good work. I my Farming career which spans 47 years I noticed early on that if I had clean nice looking well kept tractors with good seats my hired drivers would have greater respect for the tractor and take better care of it. Tractors did not have to be new or latest, Just not all dented, rusted, tore seats , missing lights, neglected. There is a big Psychological difference in employee & owner attitude. JMHO, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Dinan Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Tractor looks great 826, I agree with Tony too, it helps having good looking tractors for landlords to see in their fields also. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Got the fenders, weight bracket, and the most of the other pieces attached today. Finished up just before dark so I didn't have a chance to get many good pictures in. All that's left to do now is finish wiring the lights up and finish painting one of the white pieces of tin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehammer Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Looks great from here. I would be proud of that for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyinca Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 She's turning out to be a beauty ! I Like your front rims , What size front tires are those? Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 I appreciate the complements! It's been a long process but is always rewarding in the end. The fronts are 11L-15's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red farmer Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 looks great!! I love the 856's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brady Boy Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Looks wonderful, look forward to more pics of the finished product. Thanks for sharing. BK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lintonxy Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Looks fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 Well I finally finished up the tractor about a week ago. Here are some pictures of it all completed minus the one white piece that I had been procrastinating on painting. The pictures might not be the best because I was just casually snapping a few after putting it together. I did not know at the time that this would be the last chance I would get to take pictures of it!!! I finished painting the last piece the same night the pictures were taken. A guy showed up the very next morning and took it home with him!! The paint wasn't even dry on the last piece! As I was finishing up the tractor, I had been contemplating whether to keep it for myself or to try to sell it so that I could do another. I went ahead and advertised it just to see if there was any interest. Wasn't even advertised for a day .... I took that as a sign and went ahead and sold it. It's hard to turn down a good offer and the old boy who bought it seemed even more excited to own the tractor than myself. The tractor went about one hundred miles south of me. The man said he planned on putting it back to work on his farm. Probably better that it's going back to do the work that it was intended to rather than sitting in the corner of my shed. My only regret is that I worked on it for a year, and all during that time I just couldn't wait to get to use it. Waited that whole year and I didn't even get to use the tractor for a day after it was all completed!!!! I guess I shouldn't complain though because since I sold this one, I have the funds to start another !! This one seemed to take so long to complete that I swore to myself that I was going to take a long break before doing another. However, the 3488 has somehow already found its way out of the back of the shed and its restoration has begun (going to post soon). Who knew this could be so addicting.. (sorry for all the posts with pictures. This is the easiest way that I've found to upload them.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC826 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lintonxy Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 That looks amazing. Well done. That gives me some inspiration as that is how I would like my old girl to look one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
806Jordy Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Very Nice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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