Allis-Chalmers WD

Name: Allis-Chalmers WD
Brand: Allis-Chalmers

Row-crop tractor · 1948–1953 · Gasoline

The Allis-Chalmers WD replaced the venerable WC in 1948 and became one of the company's most important postwar tractors, introducing the Traction Booster hydraulic weight-transfer system and independent, two-clutch power control years before that flexibility became common. It carried the row-crop tradition forward until the larger WD-45 arrived in 1953.

Compare this tractor All Allis-Chalmers models

Photo: D Guisinger. License: CC BY 2.0.

belt power: 34.6 hp
Displacement: 201 ci (3.3 L)
Total built: 145,384

Overview
Type	Row-crop
Production	1948–1953
Factory	West Allis, Wisconsin, USA
Total built	145,384

Engine
Make	Allis-Chalmers
Fuel	Gasoline
Cylinders	4
Displacement	201 ci (3.3 L)
Bore × stroke	4.00x4.00 in
Rated speed	1,400 rpm
Cooling	liquid-cooled
Aspiration	Naturally aspirated

Power
Belt power	34.6 hp (25.8 kW)
Nebraska test	Nebraska Test 399

Transmission
Transmission	sliding-gear — 4 forward, 1 reverse
Chassis	4x2 2WD
Steering	manual
Brakes	mechanical

Hydraulics & hitch
Hydraulics	Traction Booster

History

Introduced in mid-1948, the WD kept the WC's proven 201-cubic-inch four-cylinder engine but ran it at a faster 1,400 rpm, lifting belt output to roughly 34.6 horsepower from the WC's 29.9. More significant than the power bump were the WD's mechanical innovations: a two-clutch "power-shift" system let the operator declutch travel while keeping the PTO and hydraulics engaged, and the new Traction Booster hydraulic system transferred implement weight onto the rear wheels for better pull in soft ground, a forerunner of the draft-control ideas that would spread across the industry.

Built at Allis-Chalmers' West Allis, Wisconsin works, the WD sold well over 145,000 units in its five-year run and cemented Allis-Chalmers as a serious competitor to John Deere and International Harvester in the row-crop class. It was succeeded in 1953 by the larger, more powerful WD-45, which offered a bigger 226-cubic-inch engine and, eventually, a diesel option.

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