david brown but what model?

[sparrow legs]

just started to help restore this industrial david brown, it G reg from the first time round so 1960's at a guess but were unsure of the model, no decals or plates on it to say, anyone any clues? our guess is a 780 but realy no idea

[sparrow legs]

we have the bonnet for it but no front grill, the cab has had tin placed on the roof which needs removing and sorting, all the doors are there for it and it hadnt run for 4 years, we went to it today, checked the fluid levels, put a battery on it and she fired up first turn of the key! well we then swapped fuel filters, put new fan belt on and proceded to subsoil with it on some waste land for an hour, it went really well, looks to be in great mechanical shape.

This is going to be my road run tractor so any info on the model or how the hyds work would be of great help.

[powerrabbit]

It's a 3 cylinder 780 or an 885 'Highway' version, front hydraulic braking and only has a single brake pedal. If you look on the top face of the front casting just in front to where it bolts to the engine chassis, to the rear of the radiator mounting on the right hand side of the tractor you will find the model type followed by the tractor serial number, you may have to scrape off the dirt and paint to find it, it's stamped in. If a 780 these numbers will start with 780/1 or, if it has a 12 speed gearbox will read 780/S/ and then the serial number. If an 885 it will start with 885/. You'll know which model it is then.

[sparrow legs]

It's a 3 cylinder 780 or an 885 'Highway' version, front hydraulic braking and only has a single brake pedal. If you look on the top face of the front casting just in front to where it bolts to the engine chassis, to the rear of the radiator mounting on the right hand side of the tractor you will find the model type followed by the tractor serial number, you may have to scrape off the dirt and paint to find it, it's stamped in. If a 780 these numbers will start with 780/1 or, if it has a 12 speed gearbox will read 780/S/ and then the serial number. If an 885 it will start with 885/. You'll know which model it is then.

your a super star, yes it has front brakes (disconected) and only the one brake pedal, its got 3 forward and one reverse in low and then the same in high. the hyds are the main problem, nuetral for them seams to be in the middle of the main quadrant lever, it also has 2 sort of spool levers but no coupleings

[powerrabbit]

Pictures of what you are describing would be worth a thousand words. Hydraulics:- curved lever on the rear left of back axle below lift cross-shaft should be in the upward position and out, this is the locking latch that locks up the arms, to lock and unlock, engine running, hydraulic lever held in the 'Select' or fully rearward position until you hear the pump strain. Front of rear axle, left hand side, 3-way-valve, handle should be in the second position to the left. Right hand side, behind quadrant, little lever on a ronnded sloping housing, this is your dial pointer, this poiter should be in the middle, move by again holding the hydraulic lever in fully rearward positiion, see what happens with the hydraulic arms then. Dial pointer positions:- fully right, TCU and External. (Traction control unit, for ploughing and ground engaging equipment to prevent wheel-slip, external for tipping trailer and other like implements that need an external oil supply, both services combined in this position.) Middle position:- Height, for lift arm operation, linkbox, hay turner etc. Left position:- Depth, for controling the dpth of ground engaging implements, plough, cultivator etc. With the dial pointer in the 'depth' position you would find that the middle position of the lever on the quadrant would be about the optimum position. Play around with these positions and see what happens and let me know.

It's a normal 6 speed gearbox. If you can find and tell me the serial number I can tell you the year of manufacture, registration letter would suggest 1968/9 but serial number would be more accurate as it could have been registered a lot later than actual manufacture date.

[sparrow legs]

thanks for the info, yes we found the lock on l/h side, on the quadrant lever middle lets the implement go down then push fully forward lifts it or pull backwards does the same but if you go right to the top the pump squeels out.

its a 780 by the looks, number were you said is 7801603387 and reg no is RWF552G

used it for 4 hours 2day subsoiling, it runs very well, just a water pump leak and an injector pipe is weeping, not sure what option to do for the cab, some have a canvas top and sides over the frame and others have side windows made from glass and metal with a rool up plastic back.

[powerrabbit]

The cab is a 'Sta-dri', the first safetey cab to be fitted to a tractor before the legislation came into force, again a telling of how far advanced David Brown were. Your cab, having the steel roof, would originally be fitted with tin side cladding with sliding glass windows and a black canvas roll-up rear curtain with a clear scetate/plastic square window in the middle, all the doors on these cabs were standard exept for the length of them for different models. As for your hydraulics, pull the quadrant lever back and make the pump 'scream'and shift the little lever behind it on the half-rounded housing to the middle position, your arms will or should operate on normal lift and lower then. The serial number dates its manufacture to early 1969 and the last 2 letters of the registration, WF, tells me that it was registered in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council area. The year of registration, 'G' suffix ran from August 1st 1968 to September 30th 1969.

[Tractorman810]

tim, have you got a picture of the cab as it should be??? only db's i have seen cabbed are like the corgi model or the jd opu looking cabs, not seen a sta-dri one on a bd before,

[powerrabbit]

If you do a Google search and type in 'David Brown Sta-Dri cab' and click on 'images' you will find several pictures that will give you more of an idea.

[LeeRoebuck]

Period picture of the cab fitted to the above tractor. Canvas sides and roof, metal clad cabs can be identified by a non angled windscreen top (where the DB decal sits)

[powerrabbit]

David Brown were the first tractor manufacturer to offer a safetey cab, way before any legislation on safetey cabs and roll bars came in, early ones were 'Victor Sta-Dri' and were offered as metal clad or canvas, the canvas could be rolled up and over from the back to the top of the windscreen specifically for tractors that were used with a rear end loader or the David Brown ditcher digger.

[David Brown]

David Brown were the first tractor manufacturer to offer a safetey cab, way before any legislation on safetey cabs and roll bars came in, early ones were 'Victor Sta-Dri' and were offered as metal clad or canvas, the canvas could be rolled up and over from the back to the top of the windscreen specifically for tractors that were used with a rear end loader or the David Brown ditcher digger.

You are a mine of DB info Tim, very interesting reading your posts.

[powerrabbit]

Well Oliver, I reckon it's the same as anyone who has used and maintained any one make of tractor continuously over 50 years, you get to know them pretty well, you collect all the books, brochures and other literature and if the dealers and mechanics are worth their salt they teach you over the years how to maintain and repair them yourself when things go wrong, saves time and money, it's just that I happened to have farmed and played with David Brown Tractors for many many years.