Trying to find dad's 560

After spending most of my day today attempting to read this ENTIRE site, I feel I need to post my story and there might be a chance someone can help me.

My dad farmed until 95' or 96' in Leland, IL. He had some older... but reliable iron. The two tractors that I remember the best were the (2) 560 diesels. They both were wide front, quick hitch tractors. They were his go to tractors for everything.

This is where my story really starts. We moved off the farm when I was young, but even in the city I could not get the farming blood out of my system. Started working for a cattle farmer at the end of high school, which lead to when I turned 20 and moved back out within a couple of towns of Leland, I found myself farming for a local grain farmer as I just could not get it out of my system. My dad came out a few times to ride the banker seat with me and you could see the gleam in his eye as it was not out of his system either.

Dad has since fully retired and now lives just up the road from me and my family. As my dad gets older I try to find as many things that I can to do with him as you get older you start to see things in a different light.

So about the tractors. I have been searching for a few years in Indiana (as I thought they went there) to find 'his' old tractors. Problem, my dad is a stubborn old farmer and I have to keep my prying and questioning about his old iron short and quick so he does not figure out what I am doing. He would be so quick to shut down my investigation telling me, 'I don't want that old junk back.' But you all know as well as I do that if I could pull in the drive with one of his old tractors for a restoration project... well... we would see a different side. So this year at the fair as we are walking threw all the old tractors, I find out from him that the 560's went to Vandalia, IL. I was way off! This has sparked the fire something fierce to find one of these tractors.

I found a fitting tractor there, but I just don't know how to tell if it was his or not. I have the last 3 digits of a 4 digit serial, but the first one not visible. I had my mom do some investigation to see if she could locate the serial numbers from his records, but she had no luck.

So, do any of you know how to go about finding a tractor in the reverse direction? Not to mention one that was sold on a sale 20 years ago?

Any help would be great as I am just trying to do a turn of 360 on a 560!

Phil

PS - My mom gave me a couple of pictures she found while digging threw my dad's stuff. Man has the equipment we run now changed from what he ran...

Find out where your dad bought the tractor and if that dealer is still there, they
may have record of the serial number. I think most on this site know how you feel;
good luck! Ben.

Yeah, I tried that. Their records are only go back to 2004. I was shocked that they went back that far. He would have bought these back in the last 70's or early 80's.

Funny part was my Grandpa's name was in their system, but not my dad... I believe that my grandpa co-signed on one of the two tractors (second picture... with the clean stack and headlights on the nose)

You may try running a wanted ad in the Vandalia paper ( The Leader Union).

Also might try calling Bluff equipment in Bluff City and ask their parts people. I believe Bluff would be the closest CIH dealer to Vandalia.

Yeah, talked to them too already... although the guy that I spoke with was greatly helpful, 2004 are the end of their records also...

Glad to hear that I am thinking on the right track as all of you guys thus far...

If you are really serious take a drive. Go there and
talked to people. I can promise you that I didn't take
my last "new" tractor to the field twice without
people asking about it. Everyone knows when they
see that 86 series that it's me.

Think back to things that he has told you about the
tractor. I will know dad's old tractor when I see it -
the trip loader stop broke and it put three little holes
in the nose. Did he have any welding done on it? I
guess it just depends on how nuts you really are
about finding one of "his" machines.

The good news is that size machine is still a go-to
for small farms and hobbiests. They are probably
still out there running.

Good advice. I am headed to Vandalila tomorrow with truck and trailer to look at the one that I found.

This is only the 3rd trip I have made to look at one (1st one still in Illinois as I said before, I was in the wrong state before) and you are right, there are things that I saw on the first two that were just not right and left without it...

It matches everything that I can remember about the tractors that my dad had. Except that it has flat top fenders. I do not believe that flat top fenders where a factory option on a 60 model era machine... could be wrong, but I thought those were like 06 model era??? I know it is only a few bolts to add if someone wanted (like changing wheels on a truck) so I am not completely out, but I believe this is the closest I have gotten in searching in the last 4 years... although the first 3 years were not as dedicated as this one as his 65th birthday is this year and I want so bad to road his machine up to his house and just say here... this is yours... again...

Wow those were beauties!!! Looks like a 1240
planter in the last picture. People remember tractors
all a person can do is try to find someone who
remembered it after your dad had it and see where
it leads. We tried and tried to locate my dads 33 MH
Diesel but never could track it down.

The planter is from before my time. When we moved, we had a 7200 planter at that point.

I also tried the auctioneer that sold them, but his records and or memory don't go that far back either...

There were not many 33 diesels made, it may be easier to track. We had one in the early 70's, wide front row crop with 3 pt and lpto, in southern Ontario. Next owner destroyed the engine, it probably ended up as scrap. Ben

Oh I know. Dad talked to the dealer where we traded it in and he gave us the name of who as best he could remember he sold it to and it turned out that one was a gas. We did find a 333D we picked up instead,it wasn't Dads old tractor but he sure enjoyed it like it was.

Put ads in the newspapers, for a few days. Copies to all the implement dealers and tractor dealer.s

Yes,I would like to find my DADs IH 560 Gas tractor. I do have the serial number---57575. Found this from a old bank note where he borrowed money to buy it.

He traded for a Gas 706 at Elk Horn Farm Equipment in Elk Horn ,Iowa.

I bought a 47 Farmall H that DAD had at one time and it was in bad shape,he asked me what I wanted that old thing for. After I got it running and painted he thought that was a good looking tractor then.

Yes he'd be pretty excited to see it looking as good or better than when he first got it. Your very lucky you found it!

See if you can find out who the auctioneer was. He may still have the old records that would show who bought it.

Keep trying. I located my Dads ZB Minnie that he bought new in 54. Bought it back at auction three weeks ago. Still has coop rear tire on it that I helped put on in 1967.

Do the next best thing. Find a 560 diesel wide front similar to what you had and then keep looking for the one that belonged to your Dad. Bill

The dealer that sold the tractor to your Dad wouldn't know what happened to it after it was sold at the auction anyway.

The auctioneer that sold the tractor might still have the records but they may be hesitant to give out personal information in this day and age, let alone spend a bunch of time digging through boxes of old records to find the information. Odds are it wasn't computerized back then. Heck I know some auctioneers that still do everything on paper now!

I know it will still be cool to find a similar one, it would just be that much better if it was "his".

This one that I have found has had such a crazy story for me of locating it. My wife says it has to be it... she is superstitious though.


We will see what we find today when I take a look at this one I am going to look at today. I hope that there is something on it that when I see it, it sparks an old memory and I know it is his old machine. You never know what people have changed in 20 years since he sold it.

(quoted from post at 08:12:32 09/22/16) The dealer that sold the tractor to your Dad wouldn't know what happened to it after it was sold at the auction anyway.

The auctioneer that sold the tractor might still have the records but they may be hesitant to give out personal information in this day and age, let alone spend a bunch of time digging through boxes of old records to find the information. Odds are it wasn't computerized back then. Heck I know some auctioneers that still do everything on paper now!

Click to expand...

Auctioneer was already a dead end. He is a family friend that my dad and grandpa knew for years. He would have given me the info if he had it, but that was so long ago, he said he did not have the records. He thought it was a dealer in Vandalia that bought both of them, and that is the same thing that my dad thought when he told me where they when. That was why I called Bluff Equipment and hit a dead end.

I am hoping that if I get a pencil rub on the serial number I can get the first digit on the serial on this tractor to give me a little more to go on... but who knows.

Well... it came home with me. Not 100% sure if it is my dad's tractor, but the story of how I found it and a few small things about it just
made me have to give it a shot. We will see what dad says on his birthday. I bet he finds those serial numbers very quickly...

Tin is in pretty good shape, should be a good restore project no matter if it was his or not

Spent Sunday morning searching dad's old records while they were out of town desperately searching for a serial number.

I have the dates that they were purchased, his farm deprecation logs, expense logs. I can tell when head gaskets were done, what belts were changed, when anti freeze was added down to the month...

I even have the sale record from the auctioneer... nothing has a dang serial number on it...

I am going nuts here!!

Awww..nuts!
Keep on it man, you'll get it figured out!

I can't wait to hear "the rest of the story" ...

phil , be at peace with the 560 you bought , but . if you can recall a battlescar on the 560 and find it, then you are home free ,. but don't bother if it was on the fenders ,, fenders can be swapt out and I would much rather have the flattops imho ,.. btw ,. my dads 68n-holland baler he bought new in 1959 , showed up at our local consignment auction ,Dad traded the baler on 24t deere some 35 yrs ago ,.. the 68 baler had been kept up, and I know it was ours because my younger brother bob , decided to blotch a blob of ford blue paint on the lower main frAME, to aid to clean off his paint brush,. his reason it was the bicentennial yr 1976 , and dad let his salute to patriotism stand until the year he traded.. at which time I took a couple red spray cans and gave the old 68 a rattlecan overhaul..the paint helpt the trade ,.. 35yrs later bob and I scraped the lower main frame and found the unmistakeable blue,.. we hoped to buy the baler but it brought 2300 ...too much for sentiments sake when both of us owned 5 square balers between us already ..

I am truly at peace, it is just that little extra thing that makes you go nuts when you think you are this close, but cannot figure it for sure...

The fenders I know someone added at some point the tractors history. They are oliver fenders from an 1850 by my guess. Paint is not a match and you can see the red coming off and the oliver green showing threw.

You guys that are around 460's and 560's. Have you seen many with the headlights on the nose?

I have seldom seen them with the headlights on the nose like the one that I bought and the one of the old pictures with my dad and the disk. Was that a factory option or someone had to move them up there?