[AT] Old tractor wool-gathering...

[Spencer Yost]

Great writing Farmer...

I’ve never been a big fan of the C/CA but I do like the curved front axle Bs just because of the nice looking axle and they are handy little mowing machines with a mid mount sickle mower.   They were used a bit in tobacco cultivation around here but Farmall locked up the market pretty quick and the B never had a chance.

I also wouldn’t mind owning a WD45 diesel or G.  In fact, my wife likes the G so much I think that’s probably the only tractor I could bring home that she would actually be excited about. She wouldn’t show it obviously but she would still be excited (-;

Spencer

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 14, 2019, at 7:20 PM, Indiana Robinson <robinson46176 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> I was thinking about old tractors this morning and more particularly about old tractors of my own general vintage. We mostly desire the tractors we grew up with either on the family farm or on the farms of neighbors or extended family. These days I find myself mostly interested in stuff from around 1930 up to around 1960. I was born in 1942. I don't throw rocks at stuff made after around 1960, I just don't have the desire to collect any of that "newfangled stuff"...  :-)
> Starting with "A"...  :-)  I have a 1948 Allis Chalmers C (Serial #522686) that needs a few hours of work but was totally restored except paint many years ago and then I painted it and used to show it occasionally, I think at Portland at least once. Back when we decided it needed / deserved rebuilding we were really busy so we acquired the parts and had a good local mechanic that we used sometimes to do the rebuild. It got the full treatment, oversize piston and thin wall sleeve set (claimed to raise HP from 23 up to 29 HP), Full valve set with all giblets, crank ground to .010 under with all bearings and seals etc., clutch etc. It was bought new by an old family friend to replace an old homemade tractor made out of a cut down truck from the 30's. He also used it as transportation to the store (which I now own as a rental house) in the village that bordered his small farm. He, like my grandfather, never owned a car. The "C" has a strong personal attachment for me. Three generations of close friendship on each side. The "C"s main job was mowing with its mid mount sickle mower and powering elevators and augers. It is a decent tractor but if I was picking a small Allis of that vintage ignoring personal factors I would choose a CA. Tractor data list it with a couple of more HP stock, it has Live PTO and the spin out wheels were a big plus in this row crop country. I'm also thinking that all of the "CA's" were Snap-Coupler hitch?
> I have a Allis WC chassis minus the engine and sheet metal. I have owned several WC's in the past and they were a functioning 2 plow worker but kind of crude, especially those hand brakes. The WD had a lot of improvements but like many makers Allis failed to see how badly farmers wanted more than a few extra HP out of a new model. I have owned a couple of WD's over the years. The WD-45 did hit the HP target. It had enough power to do some serious work on larger farms. I never owned one but did some plowing with one and it literally loafed with a 3 x 14" plow running deep in heavy clay. I never much liked the off-set drivers station on any of the Allis tractors made like that. I like to sit in the middle. The other big failing on the WD and the WD-45 is what I call the right foot "pit"... It can be pretty dangerous if you need to stop quickly. It is nearly impossible to get a size 13 waffle-stomper work shoe up out of the "pit" and on the brake pedals. I was reminded of that when son Scott and I were pull starting a friends WD to load it on the trailer a few weeks ago..
> I liked the "D" series Allis tractors but they lean into the "newfangled" class.  :-)
> Allis Chalmers was well represented here and I used to see a lot of them working in the 1950's and 1960's. We had a good Allis dealer for a long time and they had a very good head mechanic / shop foremen
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> If I get a chance I'll pick on another brand tomorrow.  :-)
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> -- 
> -- 
> 
> Francis Robinson
> aka "farmer"
> Central Indiana USA
> robinson46176 at gmail.com
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