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CBL: Let me start by saying, in the 1960's as 06, 26 and 56 series tractors came on the market, I was just nicely into farming on my own. I was using a 560D turned up to 90 hp, bacause I couldn't justify buying a new 806 or later 856. I really didn't like what I was doing to the 560, but sometimes you get by with what you must. I went to numerous tractor demonstrations, constantly checking prices to see if I dared take the plunge on a new tractor. I tried many of these at mainly tillage demonstrations. First was the 806, then came the 856. Then the dealer alerted me to the 826, much less money due to the German engine. They were about 20% less than the 856. Aside from the German engine there were numerous items like hydraulic valves, etc., optional on 826 and standard on 856. I did not buy as to me 856 looked like better value for the dollars. We had also seen a lot of European equipment all makes here in Canada, and beleive me you just got what you paid for. I went on and bought a second farm where I acquired a 656D and a 504. I traded the 504 for a new 1066 in 1975. About the same time I purchased a 100 hp power shift Deere. So the bulk of my farming over the years was done with 300, 560, 656, 1066 and the Deere. About 1978 the dealer brought me a used 766 to try. He had taken this in on trade on a new 1086. His thinking was I would trade 560 off. I plowed about 85 acres with the 766 with 360 US diesel. (5x16 semi- mount plow) I was impressed and probably should have traded. That 766 at roughly 2000 hours was a good buy, but I passed on it. In the early 90s I was helping a friend with his spring cropping. He had four tractors a 666D, 2- 886 and a 2096 CaseIH. One of the 886 was the early production with 360 US engine and the other had 358 German engine. The 666 had as much hp and torque as the the German 358 in the 886. The other 886 with the 360 US engine would walk all over the 2096 CasIH. He had a new 16' heavy tandem disk, and was raving about this new 2096 and it's power shifts. I said," It is good that it has the power shifts, as it has no power." He said as he pushed me out of seat and to right of cab," Let me show you how to drive this thing." He started out at about 3.5 mph, and I standing on the right shifted the power shift up to about 5.5 mph, bingo the Case died before he could get his foot on the clutch. He said,"What did you do that for." I said, " Because the 886 was pulling the disk at 5.5 mph and rarely ever using the TA." With that he jumped out into his pickup and burried it in the plowed field. I had to tow him out. He apparently went to the house and phoned the CaseIH dealer and gave him an ear full. And why wouldn't he, his two best tractors being the 666 and the early 886, were also the oldest. A few days later the dealer asked me what I had done to get him so stirred up. I said, " I just showed him reality." The dealer told me later that the 886 issue was really the last straw for him, and probably the single biggest reason for IH downfall in the area. The early 886 he sold had the 360 US engine, that in turn sold a lot more 886, only problem was later ones had 358 German engine. He had one wack of unhappy farmers on his back. A lot of his costomers were 40 to 60 cow dariy farms, bought these tractors for forage harvester work. That area went from being 90% IH red in the 1960's to no CaseIH dealer since about 2001. Today it is Green and Blue country, and if they take an IH on trade they just ship it out of the area.
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