2011 Allis Chalmers B

Guys: If Allis Chalmers were still alive and well and you worked in the Tractor Design Department what upgrades would you design?  Engines gas/diesel, air filtration, turbo, hydro are all on the table.  This is a mental mind exercise to see if Bill Longs favorite can be upgraded and how you would upgrade it.  Be specific please.

I think it would be powered by a 4 cylinder deisel between 25 and 50hp, rear and mid PTO, 4 wheel drive, hydrostatic transmision, have an optional loader and belly mower. Basicly similar to most other compact tractors we have now

Absolutely would not change its looks, maybe a little more HP, for sure better air-filter, add live power and hydraulics, and am still pondering hydromatics.

You guys can have them Diesels. I work on them things all day. This would be my upgrade for a 2011 Model B. Its a Chevy II (62-70) 4 banger that was found in the early Nova's as the base engine. At 153 cubic inches, this little tike should make a B model stand on its draw bar without to much trouble, especially with its stock rated 90HP. The Merc Cruiser version of this engine has a 4" bore rated at 170HP. This little bugger shouldn't have any trouble moving any Model AC for that matter....

       I have that Mercruiser, and, its one bad motor !!!

Steve: those chevy fours were great motors.  What do you guys think about converting the existing Clark 3 speed in the B into a hydro set up?

That Chevy and Mercruiser engine makes its horsepower at 5000+ rpm, not 1800 like the original AC engine. So to use it and make use of that power there'd need to be about another 3:1 speed reduction in the drive train, then would it survive all day at 5000+ RPM and would the tractor drive tolerate that scream all day? One thing my uncle learned about 50 years ago putting a car engine in a tractor was that at tractor engine speeds the water pump didn't circulate enough water and it overheated. There's probably some air cooling factor from the car in motion that lets the smaller water pump and radiator work for the car. And I don't think any car engine cooling system moves enough coolant at engine idle to keep it from overheating. Try that with a tractor, it can idle all day and not overheat.

I'm not a fan of a K&N air cleaner, I wish my air cleaners to stop flies, bees, bumble bees, and humming birds along with dust and the K&N passes many of those objects allowing the dust to grind away at the pistons, cylinder walls, and valve seats.

Gerald J.

Top HP for the little guy is at 4000 rpm, but 152 ft.lbs of torque is developed @ 2400 rpm. We won't need all that HP, but I think it would make a better install than an inline six or SBC in any Model AC. And its still a 4 cylinder! I don't think there would be any issues with the water pump either. I have a little 4.3L V6 under my full hood 29 P/U, and I can idle that all day without any overheating issues. As a matter of fact, JoAnna was out with the 29' this afternoon in the 98 degree temps, sitting in traffic and she said it never went over 185 degree's when I asked her how it ran in the heat. Its always behaved itself in the hot weather with the setup I have...   Owen- sorry I offended you, but I'm a hotrodder by heart, and my "young buck" days are long gone. I'm just suggesting that this engine would be a good candidate for a transplant. I'm a B guy myself. Once in a while, I do things a little differently. Just somthin' different ya know?
Steve@B&B

I'd add some disc brakes that were easy to service somehow.