Combines 510 massey fuelconsumption

We had a 510 with a 350 gas motor. It was terriable on fuel consumtion. It went through almost twice the amount of our diesel machine. Recently we pulled the 350 out and replaced it with a perkins 354 out of another 510. You would think it would be a simple change over but it isn't. If you don't have a salvage machine that is a diesel you will have to purchase alot of misc. parts. 354's in my area are going for $1000.00 to $1200.00 and a decent 510 diesel will cost you about the same.

We can cut 100 acres of wheat on one tank of diesel with our 510. Have a 760 and have to fill it up twice to do 100 acres. 510 with a perkins diesel is a cheap running combine.

So what makes the switch so hard, and what kind of parts need to be bought and about what does it cost. can any one tell me about the 510 what kind of machine is it as far as capacity and reliability goes, would a salvage yard be a good place to goIJ what about the 327 be worth to a gearhead or somebody like that anything at all. i also have a question about the bigger masseys as well like the 750 760 and 850 860 are they good machines as far as capacity compared to the gleaners i've been looking for a combine larger than my 82 massey. i've been looking at the n6 and n7 rotaries, can a larger massey like the 760 and 860 850 offer comparable capacity, i like the early to mid eighties machines because they tend to be cheaper less than ten grand and dont tend to be all worn out yet, well most of them tend to be cheaper running machines, except for the green ones. well thanks Red

I had a 510 with a 327 engine back in the late 60's. I had a 6 row corn head and a 16 ft bean head. It was a great combine for the era, having replaced a Massey 92. I ran alot of acres thru it. If someone will give one to you why not run it and forget about changing it to a diesel. You can buy alot of gas for what it would cost you to change it over. Run this machine, make some money, save some money and use that money to make a payment on a newer combine when the 510 gets tired. A 850 would be a great machine to set your sights on. PS: If you need a shop manual for the 510, see my post below.

We used to run a little aussie designed massey in the sixties - gas chrysler 6 engine - would get about a ton of wheat to a gallon of gas - same machine with perkins deisel would do three times that easy. Biggest problem with gas engines in harvest is putting out the fires! Now have a greycab 760 with 4 speed box and 354 perkins. Its underpowered but economical to run, will do 100 acres on a tank easy enough, and when evertything is going ok can get twenty ton of wheat in an hour with it. One of these with plenty of power (v8) would of been a monster in its day. I think a nice 850 with 354 motor would be a sweet machine - well balanced.