The Allis Chalmers WD tractor was an improvement on the previous Allis Chalmers tractors, the A, B, RC, U, UC, WC, and WF.
Production of the Allis Chalmers WD tractor began in 1948 and production continued annually through 1953. The WD was built to replace the WC models, which were discontinued in 1948.
After 1953, the WD was phased out and the WD 45, G, and D series were built in its place.
In 1948, when the WD was being made, the fuel of choice at the time was called “tractor fuel”. Tractor fuel is what today might be called kerosene. However, because kerosene does not burn or combust like gasoline does, it could not have been used to start the engine. Therefore, the WED was built with a small gas tank. This was used to start the tractor and then the fuel type was changed to the kerosene tank when the engine was warm. Today’s tractors that were designed for kerosene are now running entirely on gasoline.
All engines were made by Allis Chalmers and were initially designed for tractor fuel, and then later WD tractors for gasoline.
The WD tractor is distinguished by single or dual front wheel configurations. These tractors were not designed with the wide front axle configurations that are typical of today’s tractors. The single wheel used a cast “U” shaped bracket to house the single wheel, with a wheel hub between the two ends. The double wheel uses the single axle in the form of an inverted “T”, with the two wheels fixed at both ends. All WD tractors were two-wheel drive (2WD) machines.
WD tractors were equipped with a manual transmission, and these transmissions were designed with four forward gears and a single reverse gear. This was used to provide thirty-six (36) rear axle horsepower from the 540 rpm PTO.
The electrical system was typical of the 6 volt (v) DC circuits that were popular on early designed tractors. These systems continue to function today, however a significant number of farmers and other homeowners have converted the 6V electrical system to 12V systems. Allis Chalmers WD parts are easier to source for the 12V system than traditional 6V systems.
The tractor’s serial number ranges from 1 in 1948 to 131273 in 1953, when the tractor was discontinued. This serial number is located on the top left of the differential brake housing.
Although crank systems gave way to 6V starting systems, the Allis Chalmers WD tractor continues to provide motive power for thousands of farms in North America.
