WD pic @ Nebraska Test
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7621
Printed Date: 04 Nov 2025 at 9:33am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: WD pic @ Nebraska Test
Posted By: MikeB (SD)
Subject: WD pic @ Nebraska Test
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 10:54am
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http://contentdm.unl.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/tractor&CISOPTR=753&CISOBOX=1&REC=10 - http://contentdm.unl.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/tractor&CISOPTR=753&CISOBOX=1&REC=10
Interesting picture of the WD at the Nebraska test lab. Note the #2 exhaust valve is
pure white. I think there are two engineers from AC and one guy from the Nebraska test
lab. I wonder if they had to retest the WD gas model the WD distallete was tested in 1948 at test #399 and the gasser wasn't tested until 1950 test #440? Look how high they have the drawbar for the pulling tests. Other interesting things are the steering
wheel appears to be painted all orange, even the grip cover area and the headlight rods
are painted orange with only the headlight bucket painted black.
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Replies:
Posted By: JayIN
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 12:41pm
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I remember seeing a painted steering wheel or 2 when I was a kid. I assumed later that it was a sloppy repaint by the dealer. After seeing that picture, I am starting to wonder about that.... ------------- sometimes I walk out to my shop and look around and think "Who's the idiot that owns this place?" |
Posted By: JohnCinMd
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 12:50pm
| I don't know on how many models, but my grandfather's WD & my B each had orange painted steering wheels. |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 1:11pm
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Steering wheels was painted orange at the factory. I've seen the head light stem painted both orange and black. Most black. I get that info form watching old promotional films or old factory photos. ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: Butch(OH)
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 1:31pm
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Ya and when you zoom in on the fenders you can see they are all crooked and dented like those cheapo repros from Stiener! Darned A-C didnt give a carp about correct police did they? LOL.
I like that photo program whatever it is, just zoom to the magnification and point to what you wish to look at in detail, purdy cool.
I think the white on the valve and inside the ports is leak/crack detector, we had some years ago inthe shop, it's better seen when you zoom in.
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Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 4:43pm
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Makes me wonder if it was using coolant on that cyl. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: Bill_MN
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 6:34pm
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almost looks like white rims ??? ------------- 1951 WD #78283, 1918 Case 28x50 Thresher #76738, Case Centennial B 2x16 Plow |
Posted By: Zyta
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 7:00pm
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There you go I have always agreed with this (Steering Wheels always got painted orange on WD-45's WC's WF's RC's etc.... ) Unless the starter was replaced it was also orange from the start. Even the carb was sprayed over orange! And look at those front rims solid orange.... no silver ring! I just love seeing those old photo's to know how a correct restoration should be!! |
Posted By: DREAM
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 7:10pm
| From the promo films i've watched, they spray EVERYTHING, including the exhaust manifold. The only reason the headlight buckets were not orange, is they weren't on the tractor when it was sprayed. It they were, headlights would be orange too, even the bulbs.LOL. Only reason some had silver rims is they were galvanized, and not on the tractor when sprayed. If front rims weren't galvanized, they were fogged orange before tires were mounted. AC didn't start thinking of paint as cosmetic until D series came out, if you ask me. |
Posted By: Denis in MI
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 7:10pm
I agree with that ------------- 1938 B, 1945 B, 1941 IB, 1949 C, 2 1938 WCs, 3 1950 WDs, 1951 WD, 2 1955 WD45, 1957 D-14 |
Bill_MN wrote:Posted By: DREAM
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 7:21pm
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Not starting an argument, but i'd be willing to bet those rear rims are galvanized. They would look white with the low light in the room and the camera flash.
I agree with the starter being orange originally. I still have the original starter from my grandads old C, used it to put together one good one for my C. It is all orange, and not particularly well painted either. Kind of runny and lumpy. I don't think they cared how smooth it was, just as long as they got enough paint on it, it was orange, and it wasn't going to rust before it left the factory.
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Posted By: DREAM
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 7:26pm
| Maybe I spoke too soon. I zoomed in as far as I could, and they sure do look white. I like it. Looks good. I bet my C would even look good with white rims and orange centers, especially if I had the studs shined up and chrome lug nuts on there. |
Posted By: Zyta
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 8:27pm
| I just zoomed in all the way.... also and I agree with you its 100% white! and I also agree with you that everything but the lights got painted orange. |
Posted By: Bill_MN
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 10:00pm
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I wonder if rear rims were painted all along. Maybe they were galvanized the first year or two but they found out that they corroded too much anyway so they began painting them white. I have seen some white rims on WDs and 45s and even they were rusting through. Makes sense because the D-series rims were all painted cream (correctly anyway). A new twist in the story perhaps??? ------------- 1951 WD #78283, 1918 Case 28x50 Thresher #76738, Case Centennial B 2x16 Plow |
Posted By: MikeB (SD)
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 10:04pm
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I would not get to worried about the white rims. Here is a pic of the same tractor with the galvinized rims. The ran two sets of rims and tires during the tests often one filled with calcium cloride and one set without. The whites are marketing or engineerings and
it is often a different color to avoid confusion with productions. I worked in a engineering
department where this practice was common. The tractor we are looking is serial #WD-21 or the 15th WD ever made.
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Posted By: Bill Long
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 10:04pm
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As best I can recall the tractors that were painted at the factory were all painted including the starter, the generator, I think the steering wheel, and the lights (except for the lens).
The rims were galvinized.
Good Luck!
Bill Long
ps: I can assure you all that they were not painted with the same loving care you all do.
After all this was an assembly line.
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Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2010 at 11:44pm
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Good hot dipped galvanize should outlast the best paint. Electroplated galvanize often does not. Gerald J. |
Posted By: gary ny
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2010 at 7:11am
| I did a paint job on a B for a guy once that said he wanted it to look just like it came from the factory.I said well I can do that but everything will b orange except the rims.I was told once that if someone was sitting on the thing they would be orange and after all the ones I have done they didn t care about runs either or making sure eveything was covered.I personaly think that a nice paint job and trimed out well not oveer done compliments the design of the tractor .I have alway thought that the styling on allis chalmers tractor was the best ,the only other one that I reaaly liked the looks of was the farmall M with a wide frontend .painted up thats a great looking tractor.jmho |