Picking up my first Allis Chalmers this weekend..

I have a B, and they are great little tractors. One big thing with these is they are LIGHT for how much power they have. You will lift the front end if you are not careful. I use a ~450lb box blade, and had to add 350# to the front end to keep it on the ground. Yours appears to be a later model, based on the torque tube having the threaded mounting holes. Which means it has the CE engine 125 cu. in. ~18-20 hp (same as a Model C and CA besides compression ratio). They are good motors, will run on almost anything gas-wise. A few things I learned after I bought mine, the gear ratios are goofy. 1st gear will get you up to 2.5 mph, which is pretty fast for some tasks (rototilling comes to mind), and 3rd will only take you to ~8 mph, which makes for LONG trips down the road. The steering gearbox can be a weak point. Make sure you drain the oil out of it (hopefully it still has oil, and not grease...) and replace it with good 80w140 gear oil. The steering gears do NOT like being dry, it will make steering very difficult, and eventually cause damage. Owners manuals/service manuals are available online. I'd grab a set of those, they are very helpful with fluid types/capacities and maintenance recommendations. It does NOT have live PTO/hydraulics, this can make using the three point a bit of a pain. If you are not aware, this means the PTO/hydraulics are only active when the clutch is released on the tractor. To lift the three point when stopped, you have to let the clutch out. If you are planning on doing any PTO work GET AN OVER-RUNNER CLUTCH!! PTO driven implements on a non-live PTO tractor will push the tractor forward, when you try and stop. Replacing the brake shoes is a NIGHTMARE, but well worth the effort. Parts are readily available, Allis made 125,000 of these little tractors, and they have a bit of a cult following. Other than that, they are wonderful machines as long as they are not pushed to hard, and you remain aware this tractor was built back before safety was a major concern. She can and will hurt you, if you get careless! Enjoy!

Thank you for the tips!

Seems as though a lot of places have all sorts of different manuals available on-line. Looking for the owners, parts, and service manual. Is there a place that you guys would recommend looking?

My tractor no. stamp is B118610.

Is there a separate stamp and or plate where I can information on the motor? I'm looking for parts at the moment (new muffler, intake manifold, belt). Carb is being rebuilt at the moment.

Thank you!

joemckna said:

Thank you for the tips!

Seems as though a lot of places have all sorts of different manuals available on-line. Looking for the owners, parts, and service manual. Is there a place that you guys would recommend looking?

My tractor no. stamp is B118610.

Is there a separate stamp and or plate where I can information on the motor? I'm looking for parts at the moment (new muffler, intake manifold, belt). Carb is being rebuilt at the moment.

Thank you!

Click to expand...

I bought my manuals off eBay. High quality reprints are ~$20 each for the owners manual, and the small 'shop' manual.

As for the engine number, it is cast in the block, easily visible. For the life of me I cannot remember what side it is on. It will start with an 'AM'. Unless someone replaced it along the way (which is possible) your B has the CE engine in it.

If you PM me your email address, I have a PDF of the I&T shop manual I can send your way.

Ok, so I was able to find the stamping on the engine block: AM 2916 21.

On the opposite side I was able to find what I believe is the engine serial number: CE88070

Trans is stamped with: B118610

In looking at Yesterday's Tractors forum, I believe this is a 1949? The "21" on the block seems to confirm in what I've read. Question though, I realize that it's possible that these machines were overhauled, and based on my numbers, are they matching for what I have?

When looking for parts and or additional literature, I'm to reference "CE" model engines? I need parts. Big fan of part exploded diagrams that are broken out into illustrations. Would like to verify search terms just so I know that I'm looking at the right parts on websites etc.. Need belts, thermostat, new rubber all the way around etc..

Thanks in advance!

Yes, you have a CE engine. The only real difference between the BE and the CE is the bore size and compression ratio. Bore on a BE is 3.25" and compression 4.91:1, on the CE the bore is 3.375" and the compression 5.75:1. I don't believe I have ever seen 'BE' or 'CE' specific parts. Steiner Tractor Parts is a great place to buy parts. Huge selection, family owned, great service and fast delivery. Order a free catalog, and hide your wallet, you'll be tempted to replace just about everything looking at all the shiny new stuff!

I'm sure Uncle Ruckus will pick this one up, but figured I'd ask anyway.

Made good progress on the B over the weekend. Got the carb back from Mark at Carb Rescue. Did the lines, plugs, wires, intake, muffler, and set the timing. Picking up a Petronix kit this week to rid myself of points.

Question:

Previous owner installed a Motorcraft 3 wire alternator. Bracket mount is slightly different then the popular version I see painted orange on the internet. Instead of installing an alternator that works with the 5/8 v belt on the B, he decided to install an alternator with a 1/2 pulley. I'm sure it's just what he laying around.

I'd like to use the correct 5/8 v belt on the tractor, along with the existing mount. Everything is already wired correctly. Question is whether or not I could replace the pulley on the Motorcraft alternator? Or if I could find this particular Motorcraft alternator with a 5/8 pulley? Cast stamping are not visible, unless there's another place to look. I'm not opposed to completely replacing the alternator .

What would you all recommend? I've sifted through a TON of posts on other forums about alternator set-ups on the B, and I had to stop. Too much fluff, meandering, and a lot of conflicting information. Most of the posts just turned into disagreements over one wire vs. 3 wire, "call this guy," blah blah blah.

Thanks in advance!

Yeppers to the above about running a roto-tiller. A tiller should really only be used with a tractor that goes around 1 mile an hour or a hair less at 3/4 throttle. Most of these older tractors are just geared way to fast for a tiller.
We lost our son several years back from such a stunt. The tiller was yanking the tractor around, it lurched forward, pushing the tractor forward in the process. Sent my son backwards right into the top link and PTO shaft.
Doesn't matter the color, the older tractors just aren't meant to run a tiller.