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BryceBurden 
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Joined: 12 Feb 2025
Location: Shattuck OK
Points: 15
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 Topic: New Member With A Pair of WDs
Posted: 12 Feb 2025 at 8:30pm |
Hello everyone, browsed this forum a few times over the years when looking for information, seems to be a lot of very knowledgeable people here, so figured I would sign up and introduce myself.
My name is Bryce and I was born and raised right here in Oklahoma. Been interested in and collecting antique tractors for several years now, though I have to admit my main focus has always been IH tractors and equipment, even though the very first tractor I ever drove at age 12 was my grandpa's D15. My girlfriend and I run a small cattle operation, raising Scottish Highland cattle, and we are wanting to maybe start farming a bit of our ground and maybe putting up some of our own hay, which gives me a chance to play with some of my toys 
This past weekend she bought her very first tractor, worked out the deal with the guy and everything. She bought what she (and the seller) thought to be a WD45, but upon closer inspection what is in fact a 1951 WD. The seller is a longtime friend of mine and he and I are always buying/selling/trading with each other, so after she got her tractor bought I started working on him trying to deal on a McCormick Deering W4 that I've had my eye on in the back of his shop for the past couple years. No luck but he did tell me he had something in the south shed I might be interested in, opened up the door and found another WD, this one with practically new tires on the rear. The price he threw out was too good of a deal to pass up, so we ended up coming home with both of them. Provided the engine is original to my tractor, we believe it to be a 1948 by the engine serial number, can't find a serial number for the tractor, appears to have been ground off at some point in its 75+ years. Both tractors do run and drive, hers (the one with the painted lettering in place of decals) is in dire need of a tuneup, and they both need some serious attention in the wiring department.
I know my way around old tractors, but wandering into new territory with these, so I will probably have a few if not many questions along the way.
Edited by BryceBurden - 12 Feb 2025 at 8:34pm
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Les Kerf
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Joined: 08 May 2020
Location: Idaho
Points: 1056
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Posted: 12 Feb 2025 at 8:44pm |
Nice! Two running WD's  Welcome to the forum
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Gary Burnett
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Virginia
Points: 3010
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Posted: 12 Feb 2025 at 9:25pm |
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Couple good looking WD's,ya'll did good
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Michael V (NM)
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: NM
Points: 2444
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Posted: 12 Feb 2025 at 10:37pm |
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Welcome,,,from a neighbor from just across the panhandle,,I get to Good Ole WW quite a bit in the next few months..
Nice wide fronts!
The real early WD's have the SN stamped by the left hand brake cover,, ya might look there.
If it's been repainted in its past,, may be difficult to find,and will only be a 4 digit number
Edited by Michael V (NM) - 12 Feb 2025 at 10:39pm
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BryceBurden
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Joined: 12 Feb 2025
Location: Shattuck OK
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Posted: 12 Feb 2025 at 10:53pm |
 Michael V (NM) wrote:
Welcome,,,from a neighbor from just across the panhandle,,I get to Good Ole WW quite a bit in the next few months..
Nice wide fronts!
The real early WD's have the SN stamped by the left hand brake cover,, ya might look there.
If it's been repainted in its past,, may be difficult to find,and will only be a 4 digit number
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Thanks for the tip, that would explain why I couldn’t find it in the usual place, I will check there tomorrow after work when I go back out to the farm. If by WW you mean Woodward then it’s a small world both of these tractors were found about 3 miles SW of Woodward before I loaded them up and drug them to the farm just across the state line into Texas
Edited by BryceBurden - 12 Feb 2025 at 10:55pm
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IBWD MIke
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Joined: 08 Apr 2012
Location: Newton Ia.
Points: 3972
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 8:16am |
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Nice, welcome to the forum.
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JoeM(GA)
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Cumming,GA
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 8:51am |
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nice!, welcome from Georgia
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Allis Express North Georgia
41 WC,48 UC Cane,7-G's,
Ford 345C TLB
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Lars(wi)
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Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Permian Basin
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 12:46pm |
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Two running WD’s, a small cattle operation, and you want to start putting up your own hay? You are well on your way!! Now you need a decent haybine, a small square baler, and a hay wagon or two(maybe three).
My suggestion would be to see what implement dealers are in your area, and establish a communication with them. Starting out, you may want a certain brand of a particular piece of equipment, but if there is no service support reasonably close by, it won’t do you any good. Getting a bargain at an auction, off eBay is all well and good, but all equipment will eventually breakdown, if parts are 1/2 a day drive, it’s no bargain.
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I tried to follow the science, but it was not there. I then followed the money, and that’s where I found the science.
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BryceBurden
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Joined: 12 Feb 2025
Location: Shattuck OK
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 1:26pm |
Lars(wi) wrote:
Two running WD’s, a small cattle operation, and you want to start putting up your own hay? You are well on your way!! Now you need a decent haybine, a small square baler, and a hay wagon or two(maybe three).
My suggestion would be to see what implement dealers are in your area, and establish a communication with them. Starting out, you may want a certain brand of a particular piece of equipment, but if there is no service support reasonably close by, it won’t do you any good. Getting a bargain at an auction, off eBay is all well and good, but all equipment will eventually breakdown, if parts are 1/2 a day drive, it’s no bargain. |
Out here where we are a half day drive one way is about the normal. From the farm to the nearest WalMart or auto parts store is a 2 hour round trip. That’s one of the reasons my shop is as well stocked as it is. When we go to town I buy oil/grease/consumables in bulk. I keep several filters for all the trucks and tractors on the shelf at all times. Couple tubes for every tractor out here. Spare belts, u-joints, common bearings, a couple Delco alternators, spare water pump for each of the trucks, there’s more but you get the idea. We do have a dealer that sells Kubota and New Holland equipment about a half hour away. They’re great if you have late model equipment, but walk in and try to order a part for a 20+ year old piece of equipment and they look at you like you’ve got two heads. So if something breaks and I don’t have the needed part to fix it on the shelf, it’s always a full day road trip or order it and wait for it to be shipped to us
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Alberta Phil
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Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Location: Alberta, Canada
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 1:54pm |
Welcome, Bryce!! I also have two running WDs plus a couple of parts tractors. There are several other WD's and WD 45's in this area still earning a living. It's a two hour round trip for me too, to get to my nearest Agco supplier. Fortunately I have the remaining stock of a defunct Allis dealer to keep myself and others in the area going.
I used to do hay, but now lease out the land to my neighbor as pasture.
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Dennis J OPKs
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Overland Park,
Points: 497
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 2:40pm |
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Welcome to the Forum. Looks like you have found a nest of WD's. I have a WD-45 and just use it for mowing. Good luck with your Scottish Highland venture. They can be quite pricey now. We kind of got hooked at watching them after seeing them in Scotland on a trip a couple of years ago. The breeders are scattered around the states and there is one or more associations for breeders. I know there are other breeders in KS & OK. You will find help here & answers for every question you have.
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BryceBurden
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Location: Shattuck OK
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 3:29pm |
Dennis J OPKs wrote:
Welcome to the Forum. Looks like you have found a nest of WD's. I have a WD-45 and just use it for mowing. Good luck with your Scottish Highland venture. They can be quite pricey now. We kind of got hooked at watching them after seeing them in Scotland on a trip a couple of years ago. The breeders are scattered around the states and there is one or more associations for breeders. I know there are other breeders in KS & OK. You will find help here & answers for every question you have. |
Thanks, and yes they are getting to be quite pricey, good for us though She’s been raising them for the past 12 or so years, went all over the country showing them. All of our cows were hand picked from some of the best breeders in the nation, and our bull she hand picked and imported from Canada. She knows breeders from all across the country, she’s the brains of the operation, I’m just the grunt who gets told what to do and make it happen
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Michael V (NM)
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: NM
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 8:14pm |
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Yea,,WW=Woodward, I haul fertilizer out of the CF plant.
There's another allis enthusiast jus to the south, Creston Moore, he's trying to get a little show going in November. Check out the shows and events page.
I've got 3 WD's, 2 WD-45 dual fuel(LP/gas)plus lots more tractors and 'stuff'
Yea, they're fairly easy to work on. Get an owners manual, good reference material, if ya do a lot of your own work,, an IT manual gots lotsa info, there are copies of the A-C service manual out there,, or,, ask here, lotsa knowledge here...
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wjohn
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Location: KS
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 8:35pm |
Welcome aboard. My philosophy when farming with old equipment is to go ahead and preemptively replace anything visibly questionable before it breaks when you're trying to get hay done before a rain hits. Get both tractors set as best you can and then if one does die, you can finish the job with the other.
On the WDs, I'd specifically mention the radiator hoses and the generator/alternator belt. You can't replace the belt without removing the lower hose, and in my experience the hose often disintegrates when you try to remove it. The coolant is probably 50 years old if it hasn't been changed recently so you can replace it when you do the hoses.
Obviously push the tractor a bit and make sure the radiator is up to snuff under a load, make sure all the hydraulics work, etc. before field work.
I'll second the owner's manual if you don't already have one. They are good little tractors!
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1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45
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BryceBurden
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Joined: 12 Feb 2025
Location: Shattuck OK
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Posted: 13 Feb 2025 at 9:06pm |
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Little update tonight. The other tractor is in fact an early 1948, serial #1865.
Plans are to fully service both tractors, change all fluids/belts/hoses, as well as a full tune up on her 51. Also plan on completely rewiring both and converting them to 12V. I prefer 12V on any of our working tractors. My Cub LoBoy is still 6V for originality but it’s just a play toy. Hope to not have any problems after putting these back to work, but if we do we have plenty of spares, we’ve got two Farmall Ms and a Farmall C that’s in the process of an engine rebuild now, hope to have it up and going soon as it’s my main mowing tractor for keeping the place looking presentable.
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and help/advice so far
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55allis
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Joined: 30 Jun 2020
Location: Griswold Iowa
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Posted: 14 Feb 2025 at 12:19am |
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Welcome, Welcome!!!
Always love to hear about someone saving and putting these older tractors back to farm duty!!!
I have a wd and a wd45 diesel (d19 diesel repower) that I painted up and I use for jobs around the farm.
Not a Farmall fan but I did repaint a M for a neighbor.
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1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD45
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