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Cast Iron WC Valve Cover

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=161907
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 9:12am
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Topic: Cast Iron WC Valve Cover
Posted By: Bobstractors
Subject: Cast Iron WC Valve Cover
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 1:14pm
Does anyone know any history and the purpose for the cast iron WC valve cover? I have not seen any reference to it in Allis Parts Catalogs.



Replies:
Posted By: GreenOrange
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 1:41pm
From what I’ve seen, it was used in a similar timeframe to the cast iron B and C valve covers - late WW2 year’s and immediately post war. I can’t say if it was the sole valve cover during those times, or if they went back and forth for a bit.     


Posted By: Bobstractors
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 2:33pm
That’s interesting as Allis replaced cast iron for a steel rear end during the War. Must have to do with War economics. I do know the cast iron valve cover takes the longer rocker studs. Thanks... Bob


Posted By: GreenOrange
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 5:28pm
It is interesting. Would love to know the full story. Few of the steel axles seem to be made in 44, then many more in 45 and 46, but not exclusively. I wonder if they had to seek additional suppliers due to war board commitments, then had to deal with tooling and schedule issues???


Posted By: Bobstractors
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 7:31pm
Definitely I would say the switch between steel and cast would be availability. Interesting that the cast oil pan was discontinued in 1936 according to the parts books. Have any cast pans been seen on the War tractors?


Posted By: GreenOrange
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 7:32pm
Not to my knowledge on the WC - only on the B &C. I’m sure they’ve been field installed on some in the last 75 years though.


Posted By: MACK
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 8:45pm
Valve cover, oil pan, gov. spring cover all the early WCs.    MACK


Posted By: GreenOrange
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2019 at 9:00pm
The early ones had a cast pan and gov cover, but the valve cover didn’t have a breather. I’ve never seen a cast valve cover without a breather, but maybe they’re around.


Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 10:06am
The shop manual I have in many pieces might have some details or might not.
In the directory at:
http://geraldj.networkiowa.com/Trees" rel="nofollow - http://geraldj.networkiowa.com/Trees

Gerald J.



Posted By: alchpuller
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 10:06am
My 46 WC has a cast iron valve cover, with the normal breather caps


Posted By: Gary(WI)
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 12:30pm
If you study the parts book it shows Valve cover with no breather on the early Wc's.  I have several with no breather on the cover but all the covers I have seen are tin and Have never seen one that is cast iron without a breather.  Parts book shows they discontinued base mount mag on Wc 3528 and that is when the breather would have been moved to the rocker arm cover


Posted By: Bobstractors
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 12:45pm
It’s certainly looking like the cast WC valve covers were for the most part a Wartime necessity. Mine has the breather cap-1945.


Posted By: Bill Long
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 4:31pm
Gentlemen,  During WWII the shortage of stamped materials caused the use of Cast Iron for the valve cover, oil pans, and in the B-C final drive pans.  Also, there was a steel rear end produced for the WC from sometime in 1944 - 1946. 
This was deemed necessary for the need for war material.  Also, the B, C, and WC came through equipped with steel wheels.  Some were "half-breeds" steel rear and rubber fronts.
After WWII when rubber became available we replaced almost all the steel wheels with rubber and junked the steel wheels. 
Hope this is some help.
Good Luck!
Bill Long

ps:  If you have the steel valve cover or any other cast iron items you may want to keep them.  I understand they have some collector value.


Posted By: Bobstractors
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2019 at 7:40pm
Thanks Bill! If you own a 1944-1946 Allis you have a real piece of WWII history!   


Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 17 Jun 2019 at 1:01am
Bill's note is spot-on.  See... it's not so much the materials availablility, but rather, what those stamping machines were most valuable for.  Stamping is a very high-speed metal forming process that made extremely short work of making everything from machine gun parts to aircraft wing gussets... so stamping was considered a 'war material resource'.  Casting, on the other hand, was very easy to accomodate as a secondary process when doing large pours for other things.  Remember- Allis's engineers were exceptional foundrymen.

The steel rearend was PROBABLY done, because they could source the entire unit through military truck manufacturing channels.   I BELIEVE (but cannot say for certain yet) that the axle was likely a slightly modified version of the Studebaker-built US6 2-1/2t truck axle.  If I ever have the chance to see a wartime steel WC rearend up close, and take measurements, pictures, and notes, there's a high likelyhood that I could confirm exactly WHAT they used, but for the time being, my gut feeling is that Allis was able to source the WC steel rear from some overproduction or production error stock, and may even have been facilitated through 'in-kind trade' of unregulated resources between manufacturers.


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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.



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