Massey Ferguson 760: Prairie Queen in the polder | Classic wheat harvest | Stichting Polderpioniers

The Massey Ferguson 760 is one of the most iconic models ever build by the manufacturer in its Brantford factory in Canada. From the half 70s onwards these machines pushed MF to the height of their popularity in North America and in a lot of European regions. This 760 was build in 1975 making it a relatively early example. It was part of a fleet purchased by the Dutch state-owned Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (RIJP) who were tasked with reclaiming land from the Zuiderzee and forming the Netherlands' 12th province Flevoland.
This machine is now again working in its home territory cutting a small acreage of winter wheat each year. It is owned by the foundation Polderpioniers who collect and restore farm machinery once used by the RIJP. We see the machine as it arrives at their location and how it is put to work.
The MF 760 is powered by a V8 Perkins A6.354 180 horsepower engine known for its distinctive noise and black smoke plume on top of the exhaust stack. This drives a hydrostatic transmission and 152x56cm threshing cylinder. The grain is separated by 6 straw walkers and the total screening area measures 412 cm². The grain tank holds 6340L. The prototype was developed in 1971 and 3 years later the first series was put to work. Series production started a year later. The machine was later updated and given a new red/silver colour scheme with an updated cab. The first machines had a manual transmission and smaller 6 cylinder engine but these were only produced for 1 or 2 years.
More? Visit our website: www.agrifoto.nl. Subscribe to this KZbin channel for regular updates. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram! / agrifoto / agrifotonl . If you want to find out more about the foundation Stichting Polderpioniers look on: www.stichtingpolderpioniers.nl/.

[@chybie]

Perfect. No music. Just machine.

[@Agrifotodotnl]

The V8 is music on its own 😉

[@michaelpowell9640]

Definitely 👌

[@user-xe4zw9lr2d]

What a beast.

[@renecapron920]

oui une belle bète bien française

[@sarah_farm]

You're doing such a great job at showing everyone the way you see the world! Thank you for this!

[@brandontegan9665]

What a beautiful old machine! Grew up in a 750, now running a 9540

[@robertallen3441]

Great to see an early 760. I started working for an MF dealer in England in 1974, and helping to PDI these machines was one of my earliest memories. The combines came with extra guards which had to be fitted to comply with UK safety regs as well as extra road lights and indicators. The extra lighting put more strain on the charging system and alternator replacement was very common. The North American headers came in crates and had to be assembled. Most were 18 feet cut, but we had one customer who had two 760's with 20 foot headers. They were huge compared with 12 foot cut 525 machines. I do remember there was one 760 in the area fitted with a 6 cyl Perkins 354 and manual transmission, but this was a very early machine and possibly a pre production model as I understand it was new in 1972. Grain loss from the straw walkers in damp conditions was a limiting factor, but this was improved when the walkers and hood were lengthened and the rear beater speed was increased from 710 RPM to 740 RPM. Most of the early machines were fitted with straw spreaders rather than choppers, as straw burning was still allowed. When the NPT New Profile Table and PF Powerflow table (1978 if my memory is correct) were introduced, MF had a machine that could beat any other make. A 760 with Powerflow table in oilseed rape had to be seen to be believed. The last UK MF 865 machines were sold in 1986 / 87 with the Danish MF 38 made by Dronningborg taking over in 1988.

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thank you for the story Robert what great memories! The 760 was launched much earlier in North America indeed I believe the prototype was build in 1970 and the pre-production machines were working in the field in 71. The first machines came to Europe in 72/73 as you say but the real launch by MF was 75 I think when they had upgraded the model with longer walkers and only offering the V8 engine with a hydrostatic instead of a 6 cyl with manual gearbox.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

@@Agrifotodotnl the 18" straw hood extension and obviously longer straw walkers (and under walkers pan), plus the V8 Perkins with Hydrostatic transmission were pretty much the standard spec' for UK and EU bound MF 760s, due to our higher cropping density. That header looks a bit flimsy - certainly not of the same heavier built Marquette headers that's for sure

[@Agrifotodotnl]

@@jamesbarbour8400 indeed so. This is one of a series of 760s that were imported very early to Europe and they are more North American, including the header.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

@@Agrifotodotnl Hi, and thank you for your reply. It's always interesting piecing together the history of this particular model of combine - I believe just 10 or 11were inutially built, and at the time, they were the biggest capacity machine on the market, though they did have their design weaknesses too. As the expression goes, 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery', and so John Deere, of all Companies, ended up copying the MF layout for their higher end combines in the mid to late 70s (not entirely sure of exact years, my knowledge on Deere products isn't as good as that for MF)

[@Agrifotodotnl]

@@jamesbarbour8400 This combine was purchased new by the Dutch state-owned land reclamation company RIJP. In 1973 they had one or two prototypes coming over from Canada. They bought 10 for the '74 harvest and an additional 18 for the '75 harvest. A year later they bought 3 more. The first ten still had the smaller 6 cyl engine not the V8 but it was heavily underpowered with its 20ft header in heavy straw crops here.

[@rbharvesters7404]

Ace, what a machine, i remember visiting my mate from school when his Dad was harvesting using 2 750s back in the 90s. Some good old days. The John Deere 30 series was a beauty too.

[@joshuadixon4931]

I bet that thing was amazing In it's day

[@chrishonghonggebbink6044]

Mooie MF 760, ben zelf geboren en getogen in de NOP en weet dat mijn groutouders polderpioniers waren. Kan maar zo zijn dat zij ook nog met deze machine hebben gedorst.

[@ianrobinson9565]

WOW doing a great job in a substantial crop. GREETINGS FROM AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thanks!

[@arthurmowatt8256]

we had two 760 on the farm i worked on boss drove one i drove the other 18ft header progressed to 18ft power flows we used to get canadian ,us,and french massey technicians come to farm during harvest to test new machines they built one of the first power flow tables in our work shop .

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thats a very interesting history! Something for Classic Tractor Magazine.

[@peterchandler3549]

Ben Turner ( Ripley ) demonstrated one on the Cowdray Estate in West Sussex, 18ft Powerflow header in a crop if Oats ( abt 4ft tall ). My Father bought some of the straw, the rows were HUGE! I had to bale it with an MF 135 and 20 baler, could barely go slow enough, and the pickup was having to drag it round the sides as the rows were so wide. I don't think I've ever seen the needles /knotters work so hard!

[@ArchersView]

Nice!!

[@petergardner2334]

that one nice combine

[@darylnottley8788]

My Gramps boss bought a 760 with the 18ft header in 82. He already was running a 750, but unfortunately they both weren't in the same fields from working 3 farm's here in Wiltshire. Both machines are still the best in my opinion.

[@JanRijpma1]

Prachtige film Niels

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Bedankt Jan!

[@wiesiekkoodziej1653]

Piękny sprzęt 👍💪👏

[@blacksnorlax6830]

Prachtige machine !

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Bedankt.

[@pascaldurandgratian8243]

Il as gagné au change ça n'a rien à voir.

[@AgriCHR]

Bel video. Bravo. Bei mezzi. 👍👍👋👋💪💪🚜🔝🇮🇹

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thank you!

[@lucmarchand617]

Here western canada still mf farm equipment new or old.mf 760 still popular some farmer problems get parts but some wrecker still have.machine still good shape for job.thank you video calgary alberta canada.

[@petergardner2334]

love to own one some day😊😊

[@trucktirebuster5622]

Massey's we're common here in Kansas. Alot of custom cutters ran them

[@BRPFan]

Could always tell that it was a Massey combine from long ways away as they all smoked!

[@airesrebelo6242]

The best

[@davidkimmel4216]

The old monster

[@robincurwood]

I would love to have a season on that. Having spent 4 years on a 410 and 9 years on a 525 .

[@paulrobinson5357]

I loved driving one though it either didn’t have air con or it was broken down. So choice was to get covered in dust or close the cab door and bake. Always seemed to go better when the sun went down.

[@MCatSHF]

Hello Agrifoto: Awesome machine & video!!! Here in Canada the Massey Ferguson 760 came with either the Perkins turbo-charged AT6.354 (inline 6 cylinder, 354 cubic inch) or the Perkins AV8.540 (V-8, 540 cubic inch) engine.

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thanks, good to hear. It is indeed an awesome machine. I believe in Europe we only had the 6 cylinder version during the first year and afterwards only the V8. It took until 75 before it came widely available after a modification. European models are longer (longer walkers) and the header was modified to suit heavy straw crops.

[@bigteddy66]

Were they not running 6.372 perkins by then? Claas we're in 1974 as I understood it the 372 replaced the 354, the 372 was 120 hp?

[@MCatSHF]

Hello Big teddy: Here in Canada the Massey Ferguson 750 came with either the Perkins turbo-charged AT6.354 (inline 6 cylinder, 354 cubic inch) or the Perkins AD6.372 (inline 6 cylinder, 372 cubic inch) engine.

[@bigteddy66]

@@MCatSHF hi, I just wondered as the 372 was a better engine and was a bit more power, didn't realise the 354 being talked about was turbo, that would make sense of how it was 120hp 👍

[@AgritechFutureUS]

*It's great to see my favorite farm machinery again, and I'm curious, which one is the easiest to operate in your video?*

[@farmboy_907]

This is really cool there's a farm here in the state of Alaska that uses the same massy Ferguson 760 for barely

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Alaska?! I didn't know crops grow there!

[@farmboy_907]

@@Agrifotodotnl yeah we grow pretty much everything barley oats peas canola wheat potatoes carrots and we do grass hay that's all the crops that are mainly grown people overlook alaska for agriculture so much it's basically like Montana similar growing conditions

[@Agrifotodotnl]

@@farmboy_907 Very interesting I never knew that. Thank you.

[@OFTENUSER]

@@Agrifotodotnl

[@OFTENUSER]

@@Agrifotodotnl

[@robertjd2208]

There never went very fast but they just kept going and by the end of the day a good amount of acres were done.

[@mekleren]

To je hodně podobné Don 1500

[@alexthomas637]

😎😎😎😎👍

[@kenblosser7380]

The 6 cylinder models were produced from the beginning to the end of the 760/860 run. They were less horsepower but had the standard transmission so the HP for the threshing unit was close to the same as the V8 with hydro transmission models.

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Thanks Ken thats really interesting I don't think we had the lesser HP models over here after the initial run in the first year. Luckily we don't have issues with the gearbox.

[@kenblosser7380]

@@Agrifotodotnl The gear box on the 760 worked well in wheat or cereals. The plugs came when threshing canola/rape at lower cylinder RPMs. I ran our 1977 760 for over 20 years. Fantastic capacity for the age.

[@user-sw4dm1qj2x]

Im a deere man myself but im not putting down your combine what ever model gets the job done thats all that matters no matter if its green red or yellow

[@deere7227]

Live and farm a few miles north of Brantford factory. The last few years neither management nor union knew what they were building.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

Probably didn't care, as the writing was on the wall for MF at that point - they were in an astronomical amount of debt and Victor Rice was instrumental in pulling the company back from the brink of collapse. In reality, the Banks didn't really have a lot of choice in bailing MF out, as the Company already owed them a shed load of money to begin with. Best to keep it as a going concern, in order to cut their losses, at least to a certain extent. MFs woes can pretty much be laid at the feet of one Albert Thornborough, who just ignored the bad news that was piling up and carried on regardless. Had he listened to his advisors, things may have been very different, but as they say, 'hindsight is 20:20'

[@koreanculturefan]

Can't find a mod of this combine dor farming simulator 2015. Does anyone knows a similar model or mod of this combine🙂?

[@kenblosser7380]

The best upgrade you can make on this is to change the cylinder gearbox to the 860 style. Bolts right on and gives way less slippage and plugging of the cylinder.

[@deere7227]

Thought you were going to suggest a cutting torch

[@kenblosser7380]

@@deere7227 The cutting torches are reserved for JD 8820's of the day. They could put way more thru the cylinder, just couldn't keep it in the grain tank...hence the term "the long green line"🤣🤣😂😂

[@deere7227]

@@kenblosser7380 my custom guy started with 760 moved up to 860 (or 850) - practiced lot of 4 letter words over the years. I thought we shipped all Massey combines to South America

[@robertmaxwell496]

​@@deere722799

[@jamesbarbour8400]

Bit of a rare bird that MF 760. Can date it sometime between 1975, when the higher access platform guard rail was added ( was previously only a low single rail and bloody dangerous !), and 1979, when they went to the grey cab with the sloped cab door glass and 'round top' unloader elbow. This particular combine does not have the 18" straw hood extension (and by extrapolation, has the original shorter length straw walkers), which was de riguer for MF 760s destined for sale in the UK and rest of Europe.

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Hi James, see my other reply regarding the header and straw hood extensions. Interesting about the rail. According to the serial number this machine was build in 1974.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

@@Agrifotodotnl I have numerous versions of the Parts Books for MF 760/860s, which have the serial numbers run printed on the front, and inside are the alternative assemblies, as the product was improved throughout its lifetime. Perhaps this one is a late '74 model but with the additional higher guard rail, for European consumption ? I'd have to trawl thru the books again to find out. My friends actually managed to recover the very first MF 760 off the production line, and refurbished it to a pretty high standard too. Even they commented on that so called 'safety rail' on the early models. It's quite a drop from up there, if you should lose your balance ! Incidentally, that first MF 760, is now owned by a combine contractor out of one of the Dakotas - can't remember which one, but the chaps' first name is Marv' (Marvin).

[@Agrifotodotnl]

@@jamesbarbour8400 I know from the MF importer that they carried out annual updates on the machines so maybe the rail was also a later addition. This isn't even the oldest 760 as the state-owned farming company that bought it new also had a series of 760's in 1973. Steven and Kevin Clarke helped me with the serial number to date this machine.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

@@Agrifotodotnl yep - know those two chaps very well - have known them for over 20 years - not much they don't know regarding these machines. They work to an extremely high standard. The combine contractor fellow from one of the Dakotas, who found the first MF 760 combine languishing, was called Marv' Helland.

[@wojciechm.621]

Super sprzęt.ale na wiejskich drogach sie nie zmieści.ale jest piękny i robi super robote.

[@deutzd]

🥰🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🥰🤩👍🍻

[@user-lm9xz6sy3l]

mozhna budʹ laska MF 750 zokrema stseplennya i sichkarnya budu duzhe vdyachnyy

[@DKWierenga]

Hier in het hoge noorden draaien ook nog een paar MF combines

[@Agrifotodotnl]

Maar niet van die oudjes denk ik?

[@DKWierenga]

@@Agrifotodotnl Nee, klopt. Er draaien nog wel veel oude New Holland / Clayson 8000 serie en nog ouder hier rond. Ook nog wel wat oudere Claas combines als de Senator en een enkele Matador Gigant en de oudere Dominator 85 modellen

[@joeantolak4629]

Anyone remember the 205?

[@user-xe4zw9lr2d]

Must be a brute of an engine in that machine.

[@nazzarenoceretti8025]

👍👏🌈💚🙋‍♂️

[@brucepooley3623]

Not many apprentices or trainees visible there.

[@user-ey4xw7pk9h]

На российский Дон-1500 похож.

[@raytcat5997]

Фига он на дон 1500 похож

[@OFTENUSER]

Ya doemayoe na droegom, Don 1500 pogoz MF 760

[@user-sw4dm1qj2x]

That goes to show u u don't need 10 big combines with 40 foot headers just to get something done I wouldn't have this new equipment with all the dam computers and that dam beeping ass gps crap all dam day long

[@Raisinsaredumb]

Seating in the seat of my sassy Massey with a smile like a jackass One more payment this beast is mine 🖕🤓

[@timmywade1313]

LoL throw your phone in the head so we can see the inside 😅

[@kevinharker1840]

3000 quid vs 300k.... no contest.

[@martinsteenson3300]

Wheres ur satellite doing a good job just shows compares to young farmers now adays couldnt drive that cause it doesnt steer itself lol🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Agrifotodotnl]

I am young but enjoy trying to drive straight however I can see autosteer having an important place for commercial farmers! This is only hobby and for 2 days without autosteer and aircon its fun.

[@flundgames7238]

I am also young (teen) but we don’t use auto steer and probably never will I find the fun in doing the driving self we only have a satellite map thing for fertilizer so you can where ur spreading even in the dark and it’s to expensive for how much we drive

[@kenhofer8063]

Why are those trucks sooo ugly?

[@theforester3426]

What a beast.