1953 CA w/ Snap Coupler
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=210067
Printed Date: 07 Apr 2026 at 1:29pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: 1953 CA w/ Snap Coupler
Posted By: wjohn
Subject: 1953 CA w/ Snap Coupler
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 10:56am
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I have been keeping an eye out for Snap Coupler CA parts. All of my CA implements are pin hitch, but with the 4 row toolbar planter I am building, I'm worried a CA might not be able to handle quite that much weight based on feedback from the forum. It would be nice to set the planter toolbar up for Snap Coupler and be able to just hook that planter up to a WD/45 if I find out the CA can't handle it. Cue the search for the CA Snap Coupler hitch parts and I found this 1953 CA for sale and dragged it home. The one rear rim disintegrated when we winched it onto my trailer. There was a can over the exhaust but it's stuck solid. I think I have gotten lucky once in my life with soaking the cylinders in diesel and actually breaking an engine loose. Might do that just for kicks while I work on the other tractors and the planter.    ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Replies:
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 11:05am
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Since I have accumulated 5 cheap/rough CAs now, you start noticing things: -All 5 have Zenith carburetors. I have yet to see an MS carb on one in person but I know they exist. -All have the higher compression ratio gas engines. -4/5 had at least a couple of cultivator brackets left on them. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: PaulB
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 2:29pm
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Great find on a CA with SnapCoupler that may run with a little work. As with most anything 70 some years old, Some things get changed. As per the parts book, only a Zenith carburetor was OEM on a CA. However any carburetor from a B,C. RC. D10/12 will bolt to the manifold. What is the Spec number on the M/S you have seen on a CA? My guess is that few Distillate or High altitude CAs were sold. The CA is a wonderful cultivating tractor and the mounting brackets and levers don't interfeer with most other CA implements. ------------- If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere. Real pullers don't have speed limits. If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 4:28pm
The AGCO parts book shows a TSX-486... But if it's not in your parts book, maybe the MS carb was only offered as a service replacement sometime after the CA was out of production? I.e. trash or lose your CA's Zenith carb in the 1970s and AC sold you a complete TSX-486 as a replacement? I am sure looking forward to cultivating with one of mine. You are more optimistic than me about getting this one running quickly, but I will certainly try. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
PaulB wrote:Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 4:28pm
------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: PaulB
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 6:40pm
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Yes, my mistake. It's the D10/12 tractors that only used a Zenith. How ever of all of the CAs I've acquired over the years, not one had a M/S on it when I got it. ------------- If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere. Real pullers don't have speed limits. If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2026 at 8:58pm
I wonder if they were only very late production, maybe? Or just used to fill in if Zenith couldn't keep up with demand? It would be interesting if anyone on here has a fairly original CA that they know or believe originally came with an MS carb, and what the serial numbers are. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: IBWD MIke
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 6:21am
| Nice find wjohn! Lots of good looking parts on that one. |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 9:06am
My original 1952 CA (13092) came with a TSX-486. ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: Trinity45
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 9:30am
| I have two CA's with snap couplers, if you can find the side weights for it, I don't think lifting it would be a problem unless this planter is super heavy. But for sure a tricycle front end without the side weights is a bit lite on the front end. |
Posted By: Hubert (Ga)engine7
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 10:03am
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Good find on this CA. It will take some $$$ to get it going and looking good but the satisfaction will be worth it. It will make a very nice tractor. ------------- Just an old country boy saved by the grace of God. |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 11:16am
And/or wheel weights which are pretty cheap and easy to find. ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 11:48am
| In my area the CA side and front weights are pretty scarce and not cheap even though there are a good many CA tractors around |
Posted By: Les Kerf
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 11:56am
CA tractors are quite rare in northern Idaho and accessories are even more scarce. Allis-Chalmers never attracted a large following around these parts  Judging from the used tractors around here it seems that Ford couldn't haul them in fast enough.
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Posted By: Matt Tallant
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 8:47pm
| I have a #3 mower on a CA if interested I’m in southern VA |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 10:58pm
Thanks Mike. Maybe 20 years from now I will have a CA that looks half as nice as yours. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 11:39pm
I am hoping to lift 4 #74 row units on a toolbar and I know that will be asking a lot. I do have a couple sets of front wheel weights laying around. I have a pair of C side weights but no CA side weights. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2026 at 11:40pm
Interesting, thank you. You're pretty confident it was never replaced? ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2026 at 7:06am
| C side weights can be made to work on a CA with a piece of pipe for a spacer and a longer bolt |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2026 at 5:42pm
Completely. The service manual seems to imply that MS was more common than Zenith. I tend to suspect that many of those with Zeniths were originally MS. If they have 161J part numbers, probably original, but if they have 12522 part numbers or similar, probably a switchout. I think that TSX-486 and 470 are the same except 486 has a drain petcock on the float bowl. ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2026 at 8:34pm
Thank you very much for that info. If I wind up needing them to keep the front end down I can make that happen. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2026 at 8:47pm
That is interesting. My CA owner's manual is Form TM46D (which must be a later one, since it has the later AC logo) and it only shows pictures of the Zenith carb, and only shows a parts diagram for the Zenith carb. Perhaps you are onto something and the earlier tractors had MS? ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2026 at 11:14am
Edit: AGCO website does not seem to corroborate the kerosene theory but does not provide any indication that a kerosene engine is available (like indicated in the service manual).
Don't know that this is correct or complete but several different sources show this same data. One site seems to indicate that Zenith 161 carbs were used primarily on low compression kerosene-capable engines and TSX on the gasoline only engines. You could get low compression engines for a CA as an option. http://norfar.com/pages/zenith-carburetor-cross-reference-guide?srsltid=AfmBOopi4gKf1bqPeoEbUtHenE8LaAUif_v-3JlukD_XkcDciqF3awJL" rel="nofollow - https://norfar.com/pages/zenith-carburetor-cross-reference-guide?srsltid=AfmBOopi4gKf1bqPeoEbUtHenE8LaAUif_v-3JlukD_XkcDciqF3awJL
------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2026 at 10:06pm
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I haven't seen a single list of carb application numbers for AC tractors online that I actually trust. I can poke a ton of holes in that list at Norfar (but I have had good experiences buying parts from them). I have two TSX-670 carbs that would only fit a CA if you had a different manifold with a larger mounting flange. I am fairly certain they came off of a D-series tractor of some sort (D14 maybe?), but that's not shown in the list. There are other numbers that are clearly wrong too. 161J7 is just a sort of a high level... model number, maybe, is how to think of it? I don't believe you will find any carb that actually has 161J7 on the ID tag. It will have the 11141 or 11142 numbers on it in my experience. The spec number on the tag is what varied as built by Zenith, with specific jet sizes, vent sizes, venturi sizes, etc. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 8:50am
I agree. I was having trouble with my TSX-486 and was unable to locate one. I did locate a 670 which the interweb said was compatible but it was very obviously NOT. I was however able to modify it by combining a TSX-486 rebuild kit and some other modifications to make it work. It actually runs fairly well with it even though I think it is a higher CFM than the 486. It ran horrible with a Zenith 12566 which one or two websites said was compatible but was not (ran good at idle but fuel starved in the extreme at anything above idle). The "universal" replacement is designated as a 12522. I've not tried that one. But that one is a horrible/kluge fit. The bolt patterns don't match which allows easy misalignment which causes the throttle plate to hit/stick if you aren't careful. You can partially solve that by using two (or three) gaskets. And then you have to cut off the throttle plate rod to keep it from hitting the block, which makes it non-returnable...I say no to crap kludges like that if at all possible. ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 9:21am
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The "161J7" is like saying "truck" as compared to "car , van , motorcycle"... just a VERSION as wjohn said... ------------------------------------------- A carburetor number of 161J7 identifies a specific Zenith 161 series updraft carburetor, commonly used on older agricultural and industrial equipment, most notably Allis-Chalmers tractors (such as models B, C, and CA) from the 1940s through the 1960s. Here is a breakdown of what the 161J7 designation means:
------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 10:05am
Yes, understood that. The service manual doesn't reference vendor specific PNs, only AC PNs and the Zenith "161J7" nomenclature. Finding complete documentation (online) to accurately track what fits what tractor is I think nonexistent. I once found a site that had lower level details/xref but I can't find anymore. ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 10:50am
Here's an extract from an old Zenith PN/price list. Seems to show PNs 09705 and 09706??  ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 11:46am
| Checked my two CA tractors,one has a zenith the other has a M-S |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 12:53pm
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i have used this site for MS carb / kits... https://carbdoc.com/marvel-schebler/tsx-numerical-index-01.html#gsc.tab=0" rel="nofollow - https://carbdoc.com/marvel-schebler/tsx-numerical-index-01.html#gsc.tab=0 ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 12:57pm
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I use this site when i find a carb to figure out what tractor it came off of... Not saying its 100% right, but i have not had any problems so far...... Look at the YEAR on the left, then verify the tractor model ---- carb manufacturer --- then carb number https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/TrackitsA.htm#TracAlli" rel="nofollow - https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/TrackitsA.htm#TracAlli ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 1:03pm
Yup, that's one of the sites where I did some of my research. I used just about every carburetor related site that comes up in the first 50 pages each using dozens of different search terms. I found many sites that contradicted each other in various ways.
------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 7:11pm
I believe the 9705 and 9706 carbs are from the C, not the CA, so they would be older. They have almost completely different sizes in the jets, vents, and venturi compared to the 11141/11142 that was used on the CA. I imagine those "sized" parts needed to be changed for the CA's higher engine RPM and power output.
------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 7:12pm
Do you happen to know the serial number of the CA with the MS carb? Curious if it is an earlier one. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2026 at 9:12pm
Mine is CA13092, 1952, TSX486.
Here's everything AGCO has listed: B/IB/ C tractor - Zenith 70206989 CARBURETOR (#0-8561) (Use 70216937) 70208027 CARBURETOR (#0-8691) (Use 70216937) 70211456 CARBURETOR (#0-9636) (Use 70216937) 70211457 CARBURETOR (#0-9635) (Use 70216937) 70211954 CARBURETOR (#0-9804) (Use 70212844) 70211955 CARBURETOR (#0-0805) (Use 70212844) 70212844 CARBURETOR (#0-9706, 0-10697) 70212845 CARBURETOR (#0-9705,0-10698) (Use 70212844) 70216937 CARBURETOR (S-864) (Use 70224641) 70218487 CARBURETOR (#0-10698) (Use 70224641) 70224640 CARBURETOR (#0-10903) (Use 70224641) 70224641 CARBURETOR (#0-10902) -------------------- MS 70222090 * CARBURETOR ASY. (TSX-305) ** CARBURETOR ASY. (TSX-154) (Use 70222090) ------------------------ CA Zenith NOTE: Qty. shown are for both Carburetor No. 70225621 & 70225622 unless otherwise noted. 70225622 CARBURETOR (w/drain cock) (Outline No. O-1142) (Use to replace gasoline carburetor 70225621 w/o drain cock, Outline No. O-11141) (Don't use on Carburetor No. 70225621) ----------------------- MS 70225679 CARBURETOR ASY. (TSX-486) (Use 70251516) ------------- 1952 CA13092, CA Pickup Plow, CA Cultivator, CA Two Row Planter, Dunham-Lehr GC78 Disc, Grader Blade, 3pt Fm180 Finish Mower |
Posted By: JEDDY82
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2026 at 7:41am
| I have 2 CA's, one with a MS carb(1953) and one with a Zenith(1955). The tractor with the Zenith runs like a scalded cat. The other I cant seem to get right. I'm planning on swapping to a Zenith if I can't get it figured out soon. |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2026 at 8:00am
Check out your carb my CA with the M-S has run perfect for over 20 years that I have owned it.Previous owner I knew well had the tractor for over 20 and don't think he ever touched the carb.On AC tractors and other brands of that era I'll take a M-S over a Zenith
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Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2026 at 9:39am
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Jed... what exactly does the CA with the MS carb do that you dont like ??... jet pluggage is a problem if you cant get full throttle.. Governor adjustments can be a problem if there is bad throttle response ... etc. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: JEDDY82
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2026 at 1:14pm
| It dosent seem to have the same power as the one with the zenith. It runs way hotter will spit and spudder. it has new plugs, wires, cap rotor, points, condenser ive been through the carb a few times. i have replaced the intake gasket, and torqued. the manifold is not warped. I plan on pulling the carb and swapping with the zenith to see if its the issue or something else. not sure what else it could be. |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2026 at 3:48pm
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swapping would be a good test.. Its possible there is nothing wrong with the MS, just has the wrong main jet, etc in it for the CA .. ... Lots of parts have been "SWAPPED" of the last 75 years.. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |