Allis Chalmer memories

Reading 79fordblake's post about his problem with his newly overhauled WD45 smoking and acd21man's post about snap-coupler bog harrows reminded me of a couple AC memories.

Smoking
In high school, there were a bunch of us farm guys that hung around and bragged about our tractors. One, all through high school, bragged incessantly about their "big M", to the point that we were all sick of it.

When we graduated in 1973, I had been involved, locally, in field stock pulling for a couple years. I chided him to take the "big M" to a local pull and I would take Dad's WD45. He finally agreed. Since the 5500 lb. class was the smallest, I had to add quite a few weights, but the "big M' had to go on a diet to get it in. He could only run a couple gallons of gas.

"Someone" (who shall remain nameless!) poured a quart of 2 cycle oil in the gas tank of the "big M". (Of course, a quart of oil was 50 cents back then.) When he came out to pull, it was smoking like a snowsled of that era. I trimmed him pretty good and that was the end of his pulling career. (When he got home, his father was sure he had broken something pulling!)

Bog harrows
Our (Dad's) farm was heavy clay.

When I was about 12 or 13, I went out and harrowed a field when it was too wet. The sun came out and baked the chunks of wet clay. The whole field was like cobblestones. Our little set of McCormick harrows would just roll over the chunks.

We had a neighbor (two bothers) that had a set of snap-coupler bog harrows. Dad arranged to borrow the bog harrows and sent me down with the WD45 to pick them up.

I was warned that they were heavy, but I didn't realize how heavy they were. I had to cross a set of (pretty smooth)railroad tracks on the way home. When I hit the tracks, the front wheels of the WD45 came in the air and the harrows hit the road. I about filled my drawers right there!

I was a little more careful after that!

I'm sure there are a lot of you that grew up on AC tractors that have stories!

Dad had a WD45 with a snap coupler 3 bottom plow he had stretched out to 16 in. and his brother had an M Farmall with 3-16 pull type plow. They of course both claimed to have the better tractor so one spring about 1960 they decided to see which one could out plow the other. The field was 1/4 mile long and Dad would lap the M about every 5 rounds. That was the end of that controversy. The M would do better disking though until dad put a set of duals on the 45. I've always thought the WD-45 and the M Farmall were the best sounding tractors. Seems like you can always identify them just by the sound.

A few months back, Dad (turns 80 next week) started talking about what we ran on the farm and one story came up about that tough little CA. I've relayed before about the Ford 5000 owner that was teasing him at the local garage while he was buttoning it up after the new clutch. Pulled it out of the shop after a few adjustments and went to re-mounting the loader, Ford fella was inside bragging to the owner about his new Ford as he drove over from his place next door. Ford owner went to leave and found his Ford 5000 rear up on blocks with the tires off the ground, Dad did it with his CA and just left for home.
The story he never told us was while us boys were at school one day, he decided to move a very large rock from the barnyard and flipped the CA on it's side when the front spindle broke. Called the local field welder everybody used for plow repairs and general farm stuff and together they tied off on the bucket frame, rolled it back over with the D15, welded it up and we boys never knew about it. We had about every attachment A-C made for it and it was only a few years old when he got it with the farm. We still chuckle at how the old CA used to "rock" and surge, pulling a NH 77 baler with Wisconsin engine in heavy windrows dropping bales on the ground. I don't know what us boys hated more, picking rocks or picking up those bales to load wagons on those steep hills.
That tractor is still running in that area but the mid/rear cultivators, SC plows, belly mounted sickle mower all went for scrap as we sold the farm in 79.
Wish I had all those attachments now.

My dad had a AC CA it help plow, planted and cultivated the corn and mowed the hay with a cycle bar mower, my Grandfather had a WC it had a mounted picker and also was used to cultivate& rake hay with aAC pto rake, my uncle had a WD it was used to plow and run the AC roto baler. I learned to drive on the CA, used to plow corn & mow hay.

With me it happened the time Harry Scheulen had me start his 180 diesel to take it to the farm in Freeburg, hit that button and that 301 came alive, never forget the moment,, she was turned up and had that awesome sound

my brother decided to buy my uncles 961 ford, he had it for a long time on the dairy farm he did a restoration on it, my other brother decided to take it for a spin and the steering wheel nut was not tightend, down the drivway he went until the steering wheeel came off. he bailed form the tractor becausse it was heading for the ditch. the 961 procedded through the neighbors fence and into a 80 acre corn feild, teh corn was 7 ft tall. the 961 was on its own doing circles a for about 20 minutes. it finnally came out to the ditch where it spun out trying to get on the road, one of the guys slimbed on and shut it down. looked like the largest corn maze in iowa. turned into insurance and covered the neighbors corn loss. funny now but was a little crazy at the time

d17brown wrote: my brother decided to buy my uncles 961 ford, he had it for a long time on the dairy farm he did a restoration on it, my other brother decided to take it for a spin and the steering wheel nut was not tightend, down the drivway he went until the steering wheeel came off. he bailed form the tractor becausse it was heading for the ditch. the 961 procedded through the neighbors fence and into a 80 acre corn feild, teh corn was 7 ft tall. the 961 was on its own doing circles a for about 20 minutes. it finnally came out to the ditch where it spun out trying to get on the road, one of the guys slimbed on and shut it down. looked like the largest corn maze in iowa. turned into insurance and covered the neighbors corn loss. funny now but was a little crazy at the time

It must have been about 1960, when I would have been 7 years old, Dad was gonna plow the garden patch with the CA. He had the pick up plow attached and I got on the left fender while brother Jim got on the right. I held on to the Heat houser bracket on the steering support and the fender. Jim held on to the hand clutch and the front of the fender. There must have been a tuff spot on the east end, cause Dad turned in and dropped the plow once, and the CA spun then took off. Well when it spun, Jim kinda lurched forward and when it took off, he lurched back. Of course when he went back, so did the hand clutch, and the tractor stopped, throwing him forward, which sent the CA on down the furrow. I think it did this 3 times, pulling the front end off each time, before Dad grabbed Jim by the back of his shirt and held him forward so the CA could finish it's work.That was probably more use than the hand clutch had seen in it's life time

   About 1970 dad was getting ready to plow the garden with the 856, I was on one fender and twin brother Mark on the other. Dad lets off the clutch and Mark dropped straight down under the tire. If dad had not hit the clutch pedal as fast as he did, we would have "planted" brother one way or the other. I can still see it happening as if was yesterday.

when I was about 12 years old, I was taking a wagon load of ground corn into the cow yard, passing one corn crib. got in, unhooked the wagon and on the way back out there were a bunch of PO'd swallows flying around that old crib, driving up and down, one was a better shot than the others and smacked me right square on the forehead. and with my eyes all teared up, ran that VAC Case smack into that corn crib! crushed the grill, and poked a hole in the radiator. dad wasn't mad....he was P*SSED! lol he fixed the radiator somehow with a pliers, and us boys pounded the grill sorta back out!  

Ted,

Cernunnos wrote: Ted, So would the shoe be placed under the tire (like a friction ski) and prevent the rear wheels from turning?  (Would the wagon then skid rather than roll down the hill)?  I think I saw something similar on old horse drawn wagons.

Yep Bob, you got it right!  You put it under the rear wheels and tie it off short, so it can't go past the tire.  Then the wheel can't 'free-wheel' and it acts similar to a brake.

I guess that is where the name shoe came from...it isn't a 'brake shoe', only a shoe...??

Oh yes!!!   It WILL NOT work on wet 'dew' grass.....don't ask me how I know.....

we gots some of them goat mountains too....and we either chose a bigger tractor, or a smaller wagon! me thinks you nor-easters are just silly! lol

Not an Allis story but when I look back it still makes me smile.  I worked for a farmer who had land a long distance from home.  It was a big job to put everything on trailers and relocate when needed.  He had a 20' implement trailer and he had placed all the packers etc. on that trailer which he hooked to a 66 Oliver.  His son headed out with that combination.  As he crested a hill he thought he'd shave off a few minutes by shoving in the clutch.  It took off downhill like a ballistic missile.  As it reached mach 1 he got scared and let out on the clutch which jack knifed the whole set up and threw him into a tree stump breaking his right arm.  It was a busy time of year and a week later supporting his new cast he decided he'd do some tillage with the JD 4430.  He would cross shift using his left arm to the console.  A rain came up so he headed for the shed to park.  Stepping out of the cab he slipped on the wet platform and being unable to grab the hand hold with his broken arm he lost his balance, he fell and broke his leg.  Thus ended the spring planting season.  Sometimes its better to learn life's lessons through the misfortune of others.  Not biblical but far less painful.  

When dad started farming after returning from WWII he first had a Johnny popper but that didn't last long and soon it was sold and he bought the WD45 with a Freeman loader, plow, disc, four row cultivator and rear dirt scoop. For many years it was the sole tractor so it did everything including dig two ponds for the hog lots. Several larger tractors came and went but he kept the WD45 as it was so handy and later it was used to run the bin auger and pull the gravity wagons during harvest. It was also the first tractor I remember riding on the tool box with dad and then when I was older I rode on the rear platform holding onto the back of the metal seat as dad drove. It was also the first tractor I drove. Still got the tractor and maybe my grandson will get it when I'm gone.