Anyone got a Massey 26, 60, or 80 out their?!

Anyone looking for a new home for your Massey Harris 26, 60, or 80 combine that's running, at leased somewhat field ready and that doesn't have a grain screener on the top of the grain tank? I'm located in Madison, MN. If your not willing ta sell now in the future maybe? I've started my own collection and still got plenty of shed space for now. Turning 21 years old in June so hopefully have the next 70 years God willing ta enjoy them and bring them ta farm shows. I've got a Gleaner T3 and two Massey Harris SP Clippers already.

I would love ta hear any backstories on them Massey Harris combines and what problems ta look out for when going ta look at them.

We have a 26 not runnable with industrial Chrysler 6.
We used it for wheat ,it did a very good job.
Also tried it with soy beans ,but it was a my set disaster, I couldnt get the real speed slow enough to it keep the boards from whacking the the bean
pods from split open and dropping the beans on the ground. With the header low the angle are perfect for doing what Im describing.
My scoure clean was rust rotted out so I made one out of square wire mesh.
Yep probably still have the owners and parts manuals ,
Pulled the engine once to do valves ,that was a chore. I would replace the valve seats with steel inserts todays with leaded gas.
There was a fellow sells maple syrup in geauga county I bought straw from that has a beautiful 80 ,but he over heated it and his some valves are gone.
I dont know what happen to it. Never got any more straw .
Post your concerns Ill try my memories to help you .
Thank you for asking good to remembering that machine
Good luck

OK, Were is the combine located?

Is it possible ta take the corn head off a Massey Harris corn picker and mount it on a 26 or 60? I've seen some picture of the Massey 80 combines with them two row corn heads on them. They look like the same head that is on the Massey corn pickers. Did Massey Harris ever make a kit so a guy could put the header on the combine?

I assume you are interested in the Massey Harris 80 82 ? It was bigger than my 26 ,.
I talk a long time about it, cause I complemented the owner, on how nice it was . I told him how I got the motor out of the 26 ,

Lookup Hilltoppers farm Ltd. Sherman road ,Chardon Ohio,
I dont know if he still has it ?

I do remember him saying he only used it once every three years for oats.

And this was maybe 8 years ago I dont remember. That I bought the straw off him .

He raises some nice beef I remember.

Your not interested in the 26 are you ? not much left of it .

(reply to post at 22:00:55 05/17/21)

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I have a nice 82 that would take little to get running
217- for nine 7 seven 19 seven

(reply to post at 22:00:55 05/17/21)

Click to expand...

I have a nice 82 that would take little to get running
217- for nine 7 seven 19 seven

I have a Massey Harris 60 in great shape.

We had all three of these combines, although it has been about 45 years since I've run one. The 26 got replaced with an 80, but there was a short period of time when all three were on the farm at once. Pop bought the 60 new in 1955 for $3500. It was always stored inside and still looked good when he sold it sometime in the 1980s.

The 26 and 60 are similar in capacity. The 80 is a bit larger all around. The 60 and 80 are very similar in operation.

I remember the 26 being a real beast for 10 year old skinny me to operate. It took every bit of my 75 pounds to get the thresher drive engaged. All the controls were more difficult to operate. There was nothing hydraulic on the 26. Even the header lift was electric. The variable speed drive also took some effort for me to operate. The steel bucket seat got a bit stiff after 8 or 10 hours too. It has a 2 speed + reverse transmission. 2nd gear is not very fast. There is no clutch. To stop the machine or shift, you pull the variable speed control all the way back. The 26 has many bearings which need to be greased The 60 and 80 will have less bearings with a grease zerk. If you plan to use these machines, it's important to know where all the grease zerks are and grease them as recommended.

When pop upgraded the 26 to an 80 it was a big deal from me. I think I was about 12 or 13 then. It had much nicer operator comforts and more capacity. It had a hydraulic header lift, a variable speed drive control, a padded seat, and a foot clutch which allowed for quick stops when necessary. If memory serves me, I don't think the 60 had a disengaging clutch. All these machines have a 0 to top speed for that gear variable speed operating process. The operator puts the machine in gear and then moves the variable speed control lever forward which controls tightens the variable speed drive pulley. The machine slowly increases in speed as the drive pulley tightens on the drive belt. There is an indicator on the console which gives the operator feedback about how fast he is going in that gear.

The engines on all the machines is a 6 cylinder flat-head Chrysler industrial. They are very similar, though I believe there are slight differences in them. The key thing I recall on these is their susceptibility to over-heating. This can be mitigated by replacing a long galvanized water distributor which is accessible by taking off the water pump (again, it's been 45 + years). It's basically a flat piece of galvanized sheet metal about 2 inches by about 24 inches folded lengthwise like a 'U' with slits cut for each cylinder. The water flows through the middle and cools each cylinder. As they age, they rust away and eventually the cylinders farthest from the water pump don't get enough water to cool and those cylinders overheat. If you're unsure of the condition of this in your engine, I recommend getting a new one and making a tool out of a long, flat piece of metal that will fit in side of the new insert with a small hook on the end which will hook the last slit in the insert. Use this tool to pull out the old one. The tool should be long enough to assure that it can reach all the way to the last slit because we don't want the old insert to break, leaving part of it inside the engine. This would be the single biggest issue with these combines. This is Part #7 on the image I've linked in this post.

Other than that, make sure all the bearings - which there are many - are turning smoothly with no play. Pop was good at preventative maintenance and would look check each bearing for play and replace before it failed. I don't ever remember a bearing failure while we were in the field because of his careful maintenance.
Link to image of engine diagram...

(quoted from post at 07:45:36 05/20/21)
I have a Massey Harris 60 in great shape.

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ow can I get in contact with you about your 60!?