Concerning the Allis-Chalmers Model 66 on page 24 of the January 2009 issue of Farm Collector: The Allis-Chalmers No. 60 combine with 18-bushel grain tank was made from 1935-1952 and came with a PTO drive. During 1937 a B-15 4-cylinder 125-cubic-inch power unit was made and used in the No. 60 combine. The same engine was used in the Allis-Chalmers C from 1940-1950.
The No. 66 was made from 1953-1958 with a 25-bushel grain tank, and these models came with an 8-ply tire on the hopper side. In the 1956 price book, a straw chopper that could be used on either combine was listed for $311. A 2-row corn head listed for $1,400. A bagging platform was also available for bagging clover, alfalfa and carrot seed. Rubber flax rolls were available to crush the flax bowls before they went into the cylinder with rubber-coated cylinder bars. A ScourKleen was an extra, too, to clean out small weed seeds and debris from soybeans. A grain pick-up was made to pick up windrowed grain.
In 1955 I purchased a No. 60 for $600. It had a ScourKleen, a B-15 engine, chopper, flax rolls and an after-market skid plate that fit under the pick-up head. I put a metal ring over the header control lever so it would float. After adjusting the spring so it would follow the ground when there were bean stems on the canvas, as the canvas had no stems on it, the header would come up. As soon as I got to the next two rows, I would lower the header.
Everett Hanson, Fairfax, Minn.
