Allis-Chalmers D17

Name: Allis-Chalmers D17
Brand: Allis-Chalmers

Row-crop tractor · 1957–1967 · Gasoline

The Allis-Chalmers D17 was the company's best-selling and most important D-series tractor, the direct successor to the WD-45 in 1957. Over a ten-year run it anchored the row-crop lineup as a roughly 50-belt-horsepower, four-to-five-plow machine offered in gasoline, diesel, and LP-gas forms. It popularized the Power-Director hand clutch and served as the platform from which the larger D19 was derived.

Compare this tractor All Allis-Chalmers models

Photo: Daniel Christensen. License: CC BY 3.0.

belt power: 52.7 hp
Weight: 4,670 lb (2,118 kg)
Displacement: 226 ci (3.7 L)
Total built: 84,914

Overview
Type	Row-crop
Series	D-Series
Production	1957–1967
Factory	West Allis, Wisconsin, USA
Total built	84,914
Original price	$5,400 (1967 USD)

Engine
Make	Allis-Chalmers
Fuel	Gasoline
Cylinders	4
Displacement	226 ci (3.7 L)
Bore × stroke	4.00x4.50 in
Rated speed	1,650 rpm
Compression	7.25:1
Cooling	liquid-cooled
Aspiration	Naturally aspirated

Power
Drawbar power	48.6 hp (36.3 kW)
Belt power	52.7 hp (39.3 kW)
Nebraska test	Nebraska Test 635

Transmission
Transmission	sliding-gear with Power-Director — 8 forward, 2 reverse
Chassis	4x2 2WD
Steering	manual (power optional)
Brakes	mechanical drum

Hydraulics & hitch
Hydraulics	Traction Booster (open-center)
Hitch control	Snap-Coupler
Rear PTO	live
PTO speed	540 rpm

Dimensions & capacities
Weight	4,670 lb (2,118 kg)
Wheelbase	93 in (236 cm)
Fuel capacity	19 gal (71.9 L)
Front tires	6.00-16
Rear tires	13-28

History

Introduced in 1957 alongside the smaller D14, the D17 replaced the WD-45 and carried Allis-Chalmers' row-crop line into the modern D-series styling era. Its signature feature was the Power-Director hand clutch, which let the operator drop into a lower range or split each gear under load without touching the foot clutch — a productivity advantage the company marketed heavily. The D17 was offered with a 226-cubic-inch four (gasoline or LP-gas) or a 262-cubic-inch six-cylinder diesel, and it carried the Snap-Coupler hitch and Traction-Booster draft-sensing hydraulics.

Across its life the D17 evolved through four series (I through IV) with rising horsepower, styling updates, and hydraulic improvements, though Nebraska only tested the original Series I. In 1961 the D19 was introduced above it as a larger, turbocharged-diesel flagship, but the D17 continued in production alongside it right through 1967. When production ended, the D17 gave way to Allis-Chalmers' next generation — the 170 and 180 series — that replaced the D-series row-crops.

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