Allis Chamber fans

I just got done watching some shows I DVRed and watched a show about a man in Southern Ohio with a mighty grand collection of Allis Chambers. My neighbor about two miles down the road is trying to pawn his off on me and I was wondering if its a good investment. I'm a Deere man myself.

Depends on what he has and how much work they need. I have a B and WC and both still have good parts availability. AGCO parts are reasonably priced and they both are relatively easy to start even with the hand crank. One downside to both I have is the hand brakes.

It also depends on what models. I would like to have an "E", "A", "L" crawler, "M" crawler, "IB", "WF", W-speed patrol, WD-45 Diesel, D-19 Diesel, and D-21 Diesel someday (Allis wish list).

I ran allis for years and found them to be good tractors,no real major hiccups.They do have some things you want to watch for on the "w" , models.They all had basically the same engine,and external parts for the most part will interchange on those.Nearly everyone when they were rebuilt put wd45 kits in them.So you need to know if you buy one rebuilt what was put in it as far as sleeves and things.Look on the side of block opposite manifold for cracks,they were bad to crack there nearly the whole length of block if they froze ,but even that is not real hard to fix.I ran one for years ,and the freind i gave it to still does that had a simple plate screwed over a crack.Took some getting used to having two clutches ,but once you got used to them they are really pretty handy.Brakes CAN at times be a real pain to work on.Mainly getting the pins loose but they work well and dont give much problems.Shake the steering and see how much play is in the u joints there.BIGGEST complaint i heard was they had another gearbox that bolted to bottom of transmission for the pto.and had a long external pto shaft that ran from there to back of tractor.any water in the gearcase settled in these and would freeze and bust pto case.The pto shaft itself was sort of weak being that long, and have been known to twistup if you were running a brushhog in really heavy stuff.Also they were bad to wrap up with stuff when operating.i ran about every model from a very early b to a d19 and thats really the only problems i could remember having.wc had hand brakes that was sort of strange.only real weakness in my book that i always had problems with was the exhaust manifold leaking (i hate that).but if they were fixed correctly that wasnt much of a problem either.The front pulleys on crank have been known to work loose so thats somthing to check.And the fuel tanks due to their shape were more prone to get pin holes in them than any other tractor I ever owned that would not really cause them to leak a stream ,they would just seep gas out the pinholes.overall, in my opinion, the w series were very reliable tractors. i wish sometimes i had a wd or wd45 again.parts are not hard to find. i would own one again if the oppertunity knocked.ive ran jds that quite honestly ive had far more problems with.

Please tell us thwe model of Allis Chalmers he is trying to sell you.

I would like to have a styled WC. First tractor I ever drove was a 1941 WC.

I have a WD, D-10 Ser. II, B with no electrics and hand brakes and 2 G's.

I am an Oliver man but aquired these over time. No real issues but mine don't get worked very hard - garden tending about it and keeping the brush cut back. Wish my WD had 3pth.

Ive heard them called Alice Charmers.Allis Chambers is a new one.

i always liked the looks of the unstyled better myself.i dont know why,maybe just more old fashioned or something.

As an investment they would not be that good. Most models of AC are not that valuable. The D-10,D-12, and G would be more valuable/collectible.

There are not many models of any brand that would be that good of an investment. It takes a rare tractor to really hold on to it's value long term. The different models and brands go through cycles and fades. What it high today most of the time will not be tomorrow.

If you are not giving more than market then the AC are a fun tractor to run and play with. The Ac collectors are a friendly bunch too.