Calling all picker gurus!!! My friend Josh pointed out to me a video he found on You Tube showing a "Corn Harvest on Nedell Farms 1978", In this video they show two 234 pickers picking sweet corn. If you look close enough you will see one picker is mounted to an IH 686, but the second one is mounted to a 786 or 886. This brings up lots of questions: How is this possible? Will the belly bracket from a 66 series tractor fit a 786 or 886 so one can mount a 234 on it? What axle brackets are needed? Was this picker-tractor combo a factory job or did some one put it together themselves?
Check it out and hopefully someone can shed some light on this! Thank you!
That's quite a video, especially considering it was filmed at a time when it was not as easy to do this as it is today! I thought you were pulling my leg on there being an 86 series IH under that picker but that is sure what it looks like! I have no idea how they did that - I would think it is darn near impossible to remove the fenders on those tractors to get a picker on there, not to mention the fact of the rear-mounted fuel tank. The axle brackets should be the same ones used for the 66 series but the belly mount? Not sure on that one. I have seen pictures of a narrow-front on an 86 series tractor so that part is doable. Would be interesting to know the full story behind that outfit!