856 custom

Just bought an 856 custom. How many customs were made, how rare are they, what are the differences between a farmall 856 and a farmall 856 custom?
Thank you in advance
clay

I'm no expert, but I believe the custom model was a stripped down regular 856. Smaller rubber, less outlets, smaller gas tank, etc. I think it still came with fenders and TA, but I am not sure.

To answer your question, I think they are worth less.

They were produced to compete with the John Deere 4000 which was a stripped down 4020. The other reply was correct on how it was equipped, every one I have seen had fenders(could have been added) and no TA. Not sure of production numbers, this is according to my father who worked for Harvester Company in the Memphis Territory. Many were sold here in the Mississippi Delta, farmers were not inclined to have a "fancy" tractor so this tractor fit in just right.

Per my recollection, round muffler, single head lamps, single hyd outlet were some of the ways to tell the difference. Not too rare. The 756 Custom was much rarer, only about 1000 made as by the time you got done, they were within $1000 of the 856 Custom.

The CIH dealer in Newton IL had a 756 Custom in junker row (last fall) where someone took the 756 Custom rear end and swapped it into an 806 or 706. (per the casting codes anyway). The tractore is a 756 Custom front and 806 rear. To be a true custom, the S/N plate will have a CU on it.

The following description is one that I made some time back in response to someone asking about 756 Custom. 856 Custom was equipped similarly.
In addition , 856 Custom has 33 gallon fuel tank.
Farmall 856 has 42 gallon.
856 Custom could have had 34 or 38 inch rear wheels.

Description of 756 Custom
The "Custom" models were not as fully equipped as the "Farmall" designated models, therefore they were sold at a lower price.
Custom models had fenders. One headlight in the fenders. No rear work light, only a red tail light and amber flashing light. Not equipped with ether starting aid. Mounting step and grab handle on left side only. One auxiliary hydraulic valve with two simple connectors on the rear ( no check valves or breakaway connectors ).No sheet metal hydraulic valve coverings in front of or in back of the seat. No full coverage battery covers. Never had hydraulic adjustable seat or tilt steering wheel. Three point hitch or two point fast hitch ( whichever dealer ordered ). Two speed PTO and TA were usually standard equipment on Customs , however they could have been ordered without ( as any Farmall model could have been ). Clamp type rear wheels ( no wedge locks ).Commonly equipped with 9.5L-15 front tires and 16.9-34 rears, however one could have other size tires depending on dealer order.
The above descriptions are as the tractor came from the factory. If you see a "Custom" model with anything more than the "bare bones" equipment listed above, someone added it at a later date.

I have one with over 12,000 hrs. on it. It is a good mid-sized tractor.
I also have 856 Custom.

Differences as I remember in regular Farmall 856 and Farmall 865 Custom. Single stage air cleaner, one headlight in each fender, angle iron battery hold down, single auxilary valve, 15 inch front tires, 18.4 x 34 rear tires, smaller fuel tank, no TA standard. The seat suspension may have been different but I don't really remember this for sure.

Harold H

(quoted from post at 17:59:48 02/22/11) Just bought an 856 custom. How many customs were made, how rare are they, what are the differences between a farmall 856 and a farmall 856 custom?
Thank you in advance
clay

Click to expand...

856 custom also had single stage (or element) air cleaner, same single element as 806. 37 gal instead of 43 fuel tank.

Also one set of steps and round (cheeper) muffler.

Harold H

And red light only on rear.

Harold H

Thanks for the replies

There HAS to be a way to determine how many were produced... my 856 custom has a "CU" on the serial number tag... how can i find this info out?

No way that I know of to seperate number of Customs built as serial numbers were in normall F856 serial number series.

Harold H

(reply to post at 23:26:54 02/23/11)

Click to expand...

The 756 Custom we had had grab handles and steps on both sides. Rear work light. Wide front, 18.4-34 tires. One remote. It was all original. If anything had been added later, the paint would not have faded the same. Yes, it had the original paint, it was my uncle's baby and he would wash and wax it after planting.

That tractor is why we ran IHC instead of deer. Grandpa had a 4020 on order. He was at another dealer and saw the 756, and took it for a ride, never had been on an IH newer than the SM. He called and canceled his order on the 4020 and took the 756 home. He couldn't shift the 4020.