B Potato Special
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=50860
Printed Date: 24 Aug 2025 at 8:57am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: B Potato Special
Posted By: RockyBottomFarm
Subject: B Potato Special
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 12:08pm
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Anyone have a B potato special? anyone know how many they made and what years/serial #s? any specs reguarding tire sizes? what i've seen and read says only front axle and rear tire/wheel combination are different. Reguarding mounted cultivator, will a standard b cultivator work? or reach the ground???? or does it need to be one specific to a potato or asparagus special? We have a large garden and next year would like to make it even bigger, would be slick setup to have potato special with cultivator. wouldnt have to ever take cultivator off. anyone know how much higher a potato special sits than a standard B?
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38 & 41 B, sickle mower, 2 way plows, rear field cultivator, 2 row drill planter
40 Combine
66 Combine
Roto Baler
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Replies:
Posted By: ACEd2010
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 1:28pm
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Don't think its as simple as that - the Asparagus Specials had different front axles - (I believe both narrower and taller) and rears were 38 inch rims with adapters to fit B hubs - may have had different finals if width was narrower.
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Posted By: ACEd2010
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 3:22pm
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Also found Vegetable Specials with 28 inch rears - also unique front config, and a 36 inch track version - but did not find details of a Potato Special. But all of these were unique Front and Rear and Width. Also found a config with 4.00-18 fronts but no designation. Most of this is coming from a 1946 Dealer Master Repair Parts List - so nothing after 1946 in my reference.
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Posted By: GlenninPA
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 9:17pm
The Veg Special is the Potato B, as far as I could tell. The front axle is unique, as is the seat and fenders. Rear rims mount a 28 inch tire to std B wheel centers. From what I have uncovered, there were not a lot of Potato B's, all 5 that I know of are from 1940.
I have one of them.
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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.
From listening comes wisdom and from speaking comes repentance.
Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.
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Posted By: Dale H. ECIL
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 9:38pm
From what I have found all of the Potato Specials were made in 1940 as Glenn said. The front axle is different, also the seat is 6 inches narrower, they have short, straight fenders and came out with 7X28 rear tires. The new size of tire is 8.3X28. The angle iron fender brackets were reversed to make it narrower and since it was made in 1940 before foot brakes is why they have the short fenders so you can reach the brake handles. AC did not use serial #'s for the Potato and Asparagus Specials so we have no idea how many were made. I found out in the Dealers Parts Book they call the Potato Special a "36" Tread Tractor". I also have one that is correct in every way.
I have also found out that there are a lot more Asparagus Specials than Potato Specials out there.
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Allis Chalmers Museum, Paris, Il.http:// www.allischalmersmuseum.com 217-275-3428
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Posted By: acben20
Date Posted: 20 May 2012 at 10:06pm
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I have one that needs a lot of work it is a 1940 with the flat fenders narrow seat and narrow adjustable front axial. Got mine from new jersey state. I think there are about 5-7 know that are true potato b tractors. I also have a asparagus b also.
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Posted By: chllngr528
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 6:26am
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Can someone post a pic of what a potato special looks like? Thanks!
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Posted By: Steve in NJ
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 6:52am
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I believe Thad from AR just sold a beeeuty Potatoe Special that he had. Look under the "show us your B's" post. I think he has a shot of it in that post. Whoever got that one got a NICE one!!
mailto:Steve@B&B" rel="nofollow - Steve@B&B
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Posted By: GlenninPA
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 7:04am
When I started looking for a Potato B, I figured I would be spending a lot of time in Maine or Idaho.
Turns out that most of them came from southern NJ or PA that have been found so far. Mine came from south Jersey.
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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.
From listening comes wisdom and from speaking comes repentance.
Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.
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Posted By: RockyBottomFarm
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 7:21am
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41172888@N07/5560117178/" rel="nofollow - http://www.flickr.com/photos/41172888@N07/5560117178/ here is a link to a pic and short write up to a potato special
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38 & 41 B, sickle mower, 2 way plows, rear field cultivator, 2 row drill planter
40 Combine
66 Combine
Roto Baler
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Posted By: RockyBottomFarm
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 7:33am
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/41172888@N07/5560117176/" rel="nofollow - http://www.flickr.com/photos/41172888@N07/5560117176/ here is another link to a potato special. as you can see in this pic as I read somewhere the seat is narrower, the seat frames are switched to the opposit sides and the hand brakes are on the outside of the fenders. to you guys that have a potato or asparagus do they have a serial #??? if so what are they?
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38 & 41 B, sickle mower, 2 way plows, rear field cultivator, 2 row drill planter
40 Combine
66 Combine
Roto Baler
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Posted By: GlenninPA
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 9:46am
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The first picture is of Dales, and the second one is of mine, the day alan and I picked it up. They have regular B serial numbers.
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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.
From listening comes wisdom and from speaking comes repentance.
Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.
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Posted By: ACEd2010
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 11:02am
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It would still be nice to accumulate a list of the S/N of the odd B's - known Asparagus, Potato, Vegetable, High Crop etc and who has them. For example - were the few Potatoe B's made in a group - possibly with consecutive s/n - if so - it might at least start to answer how many there might have been.
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Posted By: GlenninPA
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 12:57pm
Kind of like those 260 IB's with B serial numbers, huh?
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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.
From listening comes wisdom and from speaking comes repentance.
Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.
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Posted By: Dale H. ECIL
Date Posted: 21 May 2012 at 9:47pm
Steve, if I am correct, I think the B that Thad from Ak. sold was a High Crop B not a Potato B.
I have since the photo put the correct rear tires on my Potato B.
The serial # on my Potato B is 39295.
The serial # on my Asparagus B is 37384.
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Allis Chalmers Museum, Paris, Il.http:// www.allischalmersmuseum.com 217-275-3428
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Posted By: RockyBottomFarm
Date Posted: 28 May 2012 at 7:54am
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what size rear tires do the Asparagus have? can anyone answer yet if they accept a standard cultivator or is there one built just for the potato/ asparagus/ high crops? Anyone have any silly ideas like I am about building there own high crop? for example I found some G rear tires and wheels 7.2-30 they would be too narrow from my experiance, but if the price was right.... I would modify some rear wheels to fit and then put tall skinny tires on the front or build a custom front axle.
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38 & 41 B, sickle mower, 2 way plows, rear field cultivator, 2 row drill planter
40 Combine
66 Combine
Roto Baler
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Posted By: Scott(SC)
Date Posted: 28 May 2012 at 8:04am
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Was there a different differential ratio for the larger tires?
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Posted By: Darrell, Jr. (MN)
Date Posted: 28 May 2012 at 9:51am
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RockyBottomFarm, I would a standard cultivator with longer shanks would work just fine. Just need to figure out how much higher the tractor sits and add that to the shanks...problem solved...lol
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Posted By: Steve in NJ
Date Posted: 28 May 2012 at 9:58am
Dale your correct! I was thinking that was a Potatoe B. Oops! I really like your Potatoe B. That little bugger is nice! I'd like to add one of them to my collection one day..
Steve
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