Any D14 owners?

[slehrmann]

Does anyone out there have an Allis Chalmers D14? I know of one for sale, but i can't seem to find out a lot of info about them. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Steve

 

[wolc123]

We had one on my farm quite a few years ago. It was our main tractor for around 10 years and it did alright on a 14" x 3 bottom plow in most soil conditions, and was very good on the old jd 14t baler. It had a loader with a trip bucket that worked ok on manure and light tasks. Was dependable with few breakdowns. I remember getting stuck a lot with it, especially plowing / disking in the spring and pulling the corn picker in the fall. I sure do like the modern 4wd's a lot better with loaders that you can use to push or pull yourself out of the mud. Still though, I would say that the D-14 was as good or better than most of the competition of the era. Also, I think the D-series were the best tractors that Allis built.

 

[slehrmann]

Thanks for the info. I still haven't gone to look at it in person yet, but it looks like a nice old clean tractor. I just hope it will work good for what i want to do.

 

[Charlie175]

We had one also, it is very similar to our D-15.
Never had an issue with it, mainly did light chores around the farm. I don't think they had power steering so be careful!
edit to add I love the AC Hand Clutches!

 

[radman1]

Put lots of hours on a D15 which is similar. All the ACs of that series had a very common problem. The transmission with wear would pop out of gear going downhill under little to no load. Was worst in tractors used with loaders. Cause by frequent shifting and gear wear. Used to drive ours a lot with knee against gear shift to keep it in gear going downhill. Most commonly seen with 3rd gear which was used the most. If you drive it, try going down a slight hill at half speed. If stays in gear, they try varying the throttle speed going downhill. It can be fixed but requires replacing gears. Also make sure the high/low range shift lever on the side stays well engaged. The hand clutch can wear allowing them to kick into neutral. It should stay firmly engage and not "quiver" as though it may go into neutral when using it. Our D15 was a combination propane and gas burner. We ran it mostly off of propane. Put thousands of hours on it. Engine never overhauled or used oil.
Check the brakes. They don't last like modern brakes. Again, can be repaired but not an easy job.

Ours had the popping gear fixed, hand clutch replace and brakes redone. Then it got little use for several years before it was sold. It was owned by my father and uncle. When they had their farm sale, I had planned to buy it for sentimental reasons and it was in very good working condition. I started driving that tractor when I was about 8 years old. Dad made an extention on the foot clutch and brakes because I was too little to push them down all the way. (Talk about safety.) Like most auctions, it was me and one other guy left after bidding $2000. I ran him up to $4000 before I gave up. It should have sold for around $2500-3000.

 

[Charlie175]

Agree the with you on the gear issue although we never had that issue on the 14 or the 15.
We did replace the hand clutch one time as it wasn't staying in place.

 

[OrangeGuy]

D14 is a great hobby farm tractor. I have a 1957 wide front model. The snap coupler (2 point hitch) has been converted to 3pt with an after market setup (inexpensive setup-$500 or less). Some did not have power steering. Not a big issue unless you put a loader on it. The hydraulic system is a high pressure/low volume system somewhat unique to AC in the 40s and 50s. The standard hydraulic system will only support a loader with a trip bucket. An auxiliary hydraulic system is necessary for a fully hydraulic loader. The standard hydraulic is fine for the 2/3pt hitch and remote cylinder usage.

I have a New Holland 451 7' 3pt sickle mower on mine. Great for mowing road ditches and waterways.

Parts and service are readily available through AGCO dealers.

OrangeGuy

 

[Charlie175]

having to cross a creek occasionally, lack of PS was a real bummer

 

[GeneD14]

I have had my D14 for about 12 years now and it is one of my favorites. I have studied the history of the D-series Allis tractors in Norm Swinford's book and they were designed in part to out perform the Ford tractors of theat era. The advantages over the Ford tractor were: Traction booster, weight distribution putting 70% over rear wheels, power adjust wheels, wet hand clutch, hp, to name a few.

 

[GeneD14]

Here is a picture after I painted her in 1996. She has been in numerous parades and tractor caravans, the longest one was 232 miles. I have also used the D14 to plow snow, disc, bush hog, pull hay rides, pull back at tractor pulls, grade driveway, dig post holes and skid logs.