Its official! I own something other than a 642 Ford

[Haley]

Had a great day yesterday. I took my lowboy truck and traveled 100 miles one way with my little brother, cousin, and father. I also took my pickup with a header trailer. We were talking back and forth on CBs, shooting the bull, and having a ball going to get a combine that nobody else wanted. It turned out to be a GREAT day. We had absolutely no problems. When we got there, the combine ran flawlessly and was even better than I had hoped it would be. That Mercedes diesel sure runs sweet. I actually wound up with a 20-foot flex Claas grain head in great shape. I never thought I would say this, but the Dominator is way ahead of the 642. This Dominator is one sweet little combine that makes it easier to service. There is a story on how I found this combine that I will post later. This is a very, very rare bird in Middle Georgia. There are no more Dominator combines left.
For the price I paid I bought the head and he gave me the combine!




 

[Fritz Maurer]

That's a real nice machine. I would have liked a picture of the interior, to see how different that is. You remember I was looking for the electric header control? Well, I was under the cab while it was idling, prying on hydraulic lines, trying to find the one that was buzzing, accidentally touched the motor with the large screwdriver I was using, and the head went down. I cut beans with it yesterday and it worked perfectly.
 

[dbock]

That is a nice looking combine. How do you tell when you have a full bin?
 

[oj]

Well done Haley, she looks in great shape... and it sounds like you got a bargin...

I notice the old girl has air con... hope it works better than mine!

One other thing i've noticed over the years, is that some of the dominators have the air cleaner higher than the top of the grain tank... if you can find a way to raise yours up i think you will notice a difference in how often the air filter needs cleaning.
 

[JD Seller]

Where are you located??? I think cutting soybeans in Jan. is kind of unusual.
 

[Haley]

Thats great news on your header control,I will take some pictures of the interior but that is probably the worst loking part of the machine.Sitting out in 105 degree Ga heat has made pretty much all the glue on the headliner and panels turn loose.This one is good enough I think I am going to get the stuff to redo the interior.I am a true DIE HARD 642 fan but from the moment my butt hit the seat in this one I could tell the cab is so much better than the one on the 642.When you shut the door on this one it sounds like a real sealed up cab and not like an add on.
 

[Haley]

Its actually got two sensors with microswitches in them that turns on two lights when it is full.You can also see through the back of the cab across the engine into the grain tank with windows.The tank has a light in it to brighten it up.
 

[Haley]

It has got factory a/c! It turns out this is the same condenser that I got off of an F2 Gleaner to run on my oldest 642.I think it is Kysor unit.It mounts laying down on a Gleaner but is standing up on the Claas.The previous owner said he had to clean the air filter all the time cutting dusty soybeans.The Mercedes in this one is a 6 cyl om352a with a turbo.I have looked at a lot of Dominator 76's on the net and none have the 352 with a turbo.I find plenty with the straight 352 and lots of Perkins but no turbo Mercedes,Whats up? Newer year model maybe? The engine runs super sweet but I have to say the engine scares me the most.I have searched the web and came up with very few places to get parts if I need them.Most of what I have found is Unimog websites.One other thing that scares me is the Linde hydrostatic pump and parts avalibility for it.Most all hydrostatic farm equipment that I have been around runs Sunstrand versions.It all works STRONG now but I may have problems in the future and need parts.
 

[Tim(nj)]

I just cut 3 acres of beans in January . . . not by choice. Had a wet spot I couldn't get through back in November (remember that thing called Sandy that dumped on us the end of October?) and it didn't get dry or froze enough to drive through until this week. There was still about 90 bushels in there . . . I was surprised they didn't fall over or the wildlife hadn't finished them off.
 

[JD Seller]

Here the wild turkeys would have eat them all off the stalk. I have trouble in the early fall with them doing it. Between the deer eating the tender plants and the turkeys eating the finished beans. I think I am suppling plenty of protein for the wild life.
 

[Fritz Maurer]

Cleveland, Ohio. Doing a little custom job for a guy in Olmsted Twp. 30 acres in the middle of a housing development. Angry residents prompted 2 visits from the police yesterday. Evidently they (the police) can't do anything about it. Too warm yesterday, started breaking through. Have to wait until after midnight. That'll probably get Chopper 5 News hovering over there.
 

[Fritz Maurer]

Is it shorter than a 642? I'm wondering how you hauled it with air in the tires. That trailer is every bit as high as mine, but I could only get down to 13' 6"
 

[Erik Ks farmer]

Sweet looking machine, that merc looks spotless too.
 

[Haley]

Erik,I couldnt believe it-There is not a leak spot on it anywhere.Hour meter shows 3024 hours and most of it was supposedly cutting grass with a stripper header for seed on a grass farm.
 

[Haley]

Fritz,Its about the same height as a 642 but my annual wide load permit is for 14'6" high and it measured 14'3".We had pretty much all 4 lane U.S. road with no overpasses so I left them aired up.