966 or 1066 tractors

I am thinking about one of these, what are the pros and cons, is there anything I need to look for?Thanx Guys...

Hello,

I just sold my '75 IH 966. It was a real good tractor. I bought a new chore tractor with MFWD and no longer needed the 966. The '66 series tractors were very good machines, in my opinion. I was always told to look for one that had a water filter on it as the 400 series motors were prone to electralysis (sp?), or cavitation of the block. However, I am not an expert on this matter, and maybe some others can give you better insight to this. IH used the 400 series engines for a long time, so parts are readily available. The 966 and 1066 were similar in many ways. I would probably wait to find a 1066, just because of the turbocharger, and a 1066 seems get peoples attention easier when you are trying to re sell (that may not be a big deal to you). The shifting is much improved over the '06 series. My 966 was not my easiest starting tractor, in comparison with my 806. During the cold months, It stayed plugged in 24 hrs a day because I needed it on the mixer wagon. Both the 966 and 1066 are great tracotrs and should serve your needs well.

Good Luck!

Iowa Farmer

As far as reliabilty,both 966 or 1066 were good tractors if looked after.The 1066 would be my choice because of the turbo. I had a 966,it was a good tractor,but hard to start if the temp was below 45-50 deg.F My father had a 1066 hydro for years & that tractor started way better than the 966

I have a Black Stripe 966 with just 4200 on the clock. It's been a flawless machine for the 6 years I've owned. As low as 2.5 gph fuel in light work, like bushhogging. Starts immediately. TA is great to have doing tree removal and loader work.
Just be sure to hang a set of ear muffs on it!

Gordo

same tractor except the 966 had a 436ci NA engine and the 1066 runs a 414 turbo.

Animal: Having farmed with at least one new IH tractor every series from letter through to 66 series, I'd look for a real good 56 series first, and there are a number of reasons.

First off I watched every series improve over the previous one up to and including 56 series. 66 was definitely not an improvement over 56 series. 66 were heavy on fuel compared to same size 56 series. That steering cylinder on 66 series was crap compared to 56 series steering, along with a whole host of other small items. Clearly IH were nickel and diming the 66 series tractors.

Secondly the farmers that bought new 56 series had them paid for and were much better healed financially when high interest hit in the 80s. A lot of 66 series tractors fell to the hands of the repo man, and a lot of the owners who survived, did so by the skin of their teeth. A lot of 66 series tractors were run when they needed maintainence or even rebuilds. I'm relatively new to the area where I now live. One thing I've noticed, lot more 56 series around than 66 and the 56 are in much better condition. there is a big salvage yard to the north of me, 06 and 56 grills are quite scarce in that pile. I'm betting there are 6, 66-86 grills in that pile for every 06-56 grill.

Where I farmed was not a high volume area for tractors, thus when I moved here to SW ontario, that tractor count was quite obvious. I've met a lot of farmers here who still have the Super letter and the 56 series they bought new, however the 66 and 86 series are gone, some replaced by new CaseIH and some by other brands.

Just my observations.