Early versions of the -66 series?

Well, I got to looking at the neighbor's 806 yesterday. What I saw was quite interesting: the PS pitman arm comes out of the upper boster, too, and the axle pivot casting has what appears to be the same bolt pattern allowing it to fit on my 766 upper bolster. The -66s I've looked at have a large bolster bolt pattern, I'd say around 10" square. Hmmm...perhaps this axle change-out won't be as expensive as I thought.

I also noticed that the two remote connections at the 806s rear were exactly as the 766s and not like I've seen on others. In addition, the locking blocks or cinch blocks (whatever the heck you call them) that tighten the rear wheel onto the axle are the same. Funny...the 766 operator's manual I recently got shows something different than what I have for these blocks.

These striking similarities prompted my neighbor to ask: "Do you really have a 766?"

How about an 826 that got some 766 sheetmetal?

Oh, those of you out there, please tell me more.

Third, the bolt pattern, it should be the same bolt pattern, as it is almost the same bolster that was under the older tractor. Tractors that were purchased with a single front wheel or a tricycle front end will have modified (?) versions of all of the parts that were used on the older models, as IH wasn't going to design a whole new system for an option few were going to purchase. Does yours have the same square channel iron along the side of the motor as your neighbor's 806? If so, that almost guarantees that you have a tractor that was purchased with a narrow front, as they used similar channels to the older tractors. The ones equipped with the std. wide front will have newer, rounded channels with a much different bolster than yours. Also, I wouldn't recommend going with the 06 front end if you work in tight spaces, as the 66 and schwartz front end steer a little shorter. The difference between our 656 and 806 was pretty substantial. Please note the taper to the newer styled frame rails with the wide front.

Fourth, IH offered two styles of couplers for their tractors (although they tried desperately to go to one, but it never caught on). The current PIONEER style is the old IH coupler design. The IH GOLD style couplings are all their own, and have a cast housing with levers beside each coupler for permitting unhooking under pressure. Our 966 has one of each style, as the second set (one on the right) was added later by the previous owner. If your tractor was purchased with a narrow front, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that the purchaser didn't buy too many options, including those for hydraulics.

Fifth, IH offered two styles of wheels, one with wedgelocks(later, stronger replacements to handle bolt on duals that broke the old style cast centers) and the other with the standard block from the 06's(What our 966 has, and probably what you have) They are interchangeable and could have been changed out by the previous owner.

Well, now you've to me to guessing. I want to say the frame rails are tapered. (My mind plays funny tricks on me all hours of the day.) I'll check.

Tight quarters? Oh, who's to say. I would say, yes, I'll be working in tight quarters from time to time. I do like how that Scwartz turns, but that's the only thing I like about it. Oh, there's some potential in that axle I suppose, but it's gonna take a month of Sundays to get all the joints tightened up. Dang, when traversing ground, the front tires act like the the Monty Python Race for People With No Sense of Direction. It's also going to take a lot of welding and grinding wheels to get all the grapes scraped off those welds. Gawd, I'm ashamed to be associated with such POS handiwork. Well, it wasn't ME that did that!

I have the standard axle blocks like you have on your 9.

Thank you!

Allan

So if that was a factory NFE upper bolster with provisions to mount the appropriate WFE pivot casting, then at that time they must've been tryin' to use up -26 parts or something. Don't know. That's why I is asking you dudes.