Mid 80's 850 tractor questions.

[Leejohn]

I do a mile of road and I like a rear blade so that I can pull the loose stuff back into the road. Then I take my land plane to smooth out. The land plane is 1/2 as wide as the road so I can keep a crown. I do have a pull behind box blade with a lot of teeth to knock out the wash boarding. If you don't want a land plane you can turn the rear blade backward and smooth out after pulling the sides in.

 

[TimberHole]

I don't really understand the concern. The 850 is pretty much the same as my 950. They are a very durable geared tractor with 8 forward and 2 reverse gears. That should give you plenty of choices for forward speed. The 3 point is same as any other tractor, new or old. One advantage these older tractors have is that they are relatively heavy for their size and do a pretty good job of getting the power to the ground. I think you'll really like that tractor. If you want to do your friend a favor, change the coolant. It is often overlooked and at some point it doesn't do a good job of protecting the water jacket.