Our journey of "Allie" Started about a week ago. I was invited to take part in a local tractor parade for our Canadian Thanksgiving. I reached out to a local farmer that is very good friends of ours and asked if he had anything since my 1949 McCormack W4 is out on a field working away with other family members. Our local farmer was happy to have us take his fully restored Allis Chalmers Two-Ten into the parade. Ecstatic, We planned for the weekend to be running a "large" restored tractor for the whole community. The Friday before the parade, we found some injector issues with the Two-Ten and did not feel comfortable running the tractor through the streets just in case something did not go as planned. 

So, My Wife and I ended up with a very nicely restored 1955 WD45 as seen pictured below. It was an absolute blast to drive and we thoroughly enjoyed the day with the WD45. Here is a couple of photos of the parade tractor we had the pleasure of driving. 

Immediately following the parade, My other half turned to me and asked if we could purchase one to restore into that condition. My answer was definitely YES! so, We continued to look online for the best candidate. Luckily, We found one about 1 hour away in another small community. Here is a couple photos of the internet Ad:

We scheduled to look at the tractor 2 days following the original parade. Drove out there with the truck and the trailer in hopes it was good enough to bring home. 

The owner of the tractor was a great fella, Father and son duo that were looking to do the same thing as us but ran out of time and space. The tractor fired up and we drove it onto the trailer to bring it home. it came with a complete spare engine with all accessories including 5 blade fan and water pump. 

We mentioned to the father/son duo we purchased the package off of we would keep them in the loop with updates. Both Sarah and I figured this would be best done on a forum site or YouTube. 

Here "Allie" is on the trailer for the ride home

And after the first round of pressure washing. 

We pondered the name for a while, Talking about different names that were fitting to the tractor for humor. We actually settled on what the previous owner called it in an email after we picked it up. here is a clip from that email:  " I would like to follow with great interest your work on Allie. Enjoy. " There we had it. A running tractor with a fitting name! 

Keep following along for a winter/spring build to prepare for tractor show season next summer. I will keep it picture heavy as possible for all interested! 

Eric.

Awesome! Glad to see an active local! 

ours is #WD139778

here is the carb coming off the engine. pulling all linkage out and draining fuel.

It looks like we have ourselves a Marvel TSX-464 carb. I found the throttle shaft bent causing it not to see full throttle and the choke shaft has a bunch of play in it. Floats are in good shape. 

once all jets were cleaned, I put the carb back together temporarily to move the tractor under its own power until we have a nice spot to pull it apart. 

New carb kit is added to the list to repair. 

Here is a photo of the garage as it currently sits sort of explaining my predicament: 

So, We built one of those shelter-logic shelters. originally it was bought as a 10x10ft which with some modification and a couple extra lengths of steel, we were able to get it to 14ft long x 10 wide x 8ft tall. a new tarp at princess auto (the canadian version of Harbor Freight) and we're off to the races. 

Here is some photos of the inside of the shelter: 

And Sarah driving it to the shelter for the winter:

Now to get a couple of lights in the shelter for night time and get this pulled apart. 

I certainly appreciate that! 

Another progress update. I Have watched every episode of Sparks, Fire and bailing wire's youtube restoration and have started to dig in myself. wasting no time i started with the hood and radiator. I also pulled the spark plugs to see how things were doing. 

Everything got bagged up into ziploc bags for future use. You can see Sarah with the nicer writing marking and putting everything away here: 

And Myself, Getting ready to wrench some more: 

We were able to pull the radiator without any broken bolts (BONUS). Found the radiator was original to the tractor built in 03/1953 and is still in decent shape

And the problem was found here. Cylinder #2 spark plug is super wet, And the cylinder is clean of carbon. Indicating a coolant leak. internal to the engine. 

Looks like it is making oil also... weirdest color of oil i've seen recently. 

As it is nearing the end of the night, here is how it sits. 

I will get the coolant cleaned up tomorrow when the tractor is finished draining. Looks like our next step is to have the engine removed on the weekend and put onto an engine stand until we are ready to plug away at it. Haven't ordered any parts as of yet, but i have the feeling it will be coming sooner rather than later. 

Since the engine has to come apart, Maybe now's the time to install a WD45 crankshaft?

 I think we will be mainly using it in the parades and we would like to do 10 or so tractor pulls a year and be somewhat competitive in a farm "stock" class. 

You have a great project with the WD series tractor! You will have some work ahead of you, but lots of folks on here for support, advice, and also good Allis parts too. 

You do have a water leak into the oil system. It may have been easier to find through a water pressure test through the radiator, but you may be able to find it in other ways. That looks to be your main hurdle at this point. Having done one that had this problem it can be a challenge. But it has to be remedied. I just rebuild a Ford engine that had a internal block leak and was able to use some magic K&W sealer to stop the leak. One my first one I had to get another Allis block.

I like your writing style. Glad you and your wife are working on the tractor together.

 I can tell you a trick that is a lot of work but very rewarding near the end of the project.

Sometimes I do this sometimes I dont. Try to clean the parts going into the bags as you take them off. It is a lot of extra work, and they may need final touches before assembly be it helps speed up the end process. And you can see if something needs replaced.

Great job bagging and tagging items! You will have 75 of those. Well worth the time. Also take lots of pictures before you take things apart. It helps too.

Keep up the good work on Allie!

Regards,

 Chris

I will be on the hunt shortly for Persian #1 paint for the whole tractor. If i am not mistaken it should be Persian #1 with black lights and some features and silver rear rims. I will definitely check out your thread! 

I appreciate the color! Unfortunately, Vansickle paint does not ship to canada. May have to get a member here to order it up in the USA and ill pay the shipping to get it to canada. 

I have a couple spare camshafts, But i was looking for the Crankshaft to give it some more stroke. 

Whats the Cam differences between the WD45 cam and the 175 cam? Your telling me my machine shop should be able to grind it to 175 specs from the original 45 cam? 

here is before: 

and after

a little skim coat for all the pitting and we will be ready for primer on that piece. I will likely get the primer onto all the small parts and pieces during the winter before we paint things earlier into next year. 

Thanks for the tip! Its just a small little cabinet setup. nothing crazy. i did also purchase an outdoor unit for another winter project that we will be using during the next couple days. I will likely use the outdoor stuff for large items and the cabinet for the small ones like bolts, plates and covers. 

Here is some photos of the engine removal (Sarah looking super impressed) : 

We were able to remove the engine without removing the steering box or steering shafts. worked well and took about 30 minutes to remove once everything was in order

this is how it sits now, Back in its home and ready for more disassembly over the next week or so. prepping for sandblasting in the next 3 weeks before the snow flies! 

Check out the valve lash on this one! and crusty rocker arms! Good thing for spares!!! 

Got the engine onto a stand in the garage. I was curious as to what was inside and if the crankshaft was a WD45 or WD crankshaft. here are the results for yourself...

The cylinder head doesn't look too terrible and will be reused with a bit of cleanup and a valve job. 

Looks like we have a 4" stroke (WD) crankshaft with a set of aftermarket or original? WD45 power crater pistons. The ultimate low compression setup. 

Now onto the rest. Lets get the remaining items removed and prepared for sandblasting. 

I have not pulled the liners out of the block yet, but I have noticed one crack between cylinder 2-3. very minor but once i have the sleeves out i will check it over and go from there. I am not sure what the difference is with a series 40 block? Once pulled apart i will check over all part numbers before getting prepped for rebuild. 

We started to pull the engine apart to see what is making all that extra milky oil. and the results aren't too good... Crack between cylinder 3-4. definitely sucks! the top is absolutely perfect. just this one crack that deems it no good. Thankfully i have a spare block that has no cracks on the bottom but all the common cracks on the top. 

I also checked into the piston part numbers. 230578 is the part number on these ones.

Sleeves have a lot of coolant gunk and crud built up in the coolant gallery

The rest of the engine looks okay, just a lot of milky oil! 

 

So, While i wait to find a decent WD45 Crankshaft, I moved onto the tractor again. lots of little parts that had to be removed to prep for sandblasting. I have about 3 weeks before the snow starts to fly here in Ontario and would like to get the major parts blasted and primed before then. 

 I am impressed! Your right into it! I am sure a 45 crank is out there for you somewhere!

clean up of parts? Yes I had parts all over the place as I did these refurb projects Might look like this:

Your doing great! 

Thanks for posting the updates!

 Regards,

 Chris

I mis read your statement thinking cam but you are correct on regrinding a used one.  175 has more lift but don't remember how much. Ballpark of .050? Have no idea about duration timing.

I will be using the spare block (original to the tractor) for the engine rebuild. the engine serial number i have here is WD331048PA

I appreciate the feedback! hopefully have some new-looking parts shortly. some items are cleaning up great. I am just aiming to have the main chassis prepped before it snows! 

 Always a race with mother nature. Good luck!

Keep up the good work on the WD!

 Regards,

 Chris

the steering u-joint came out with ease. must have been a good thing being that it was covered in oil for who knows how long.. 

No broken bolts during frame rail removal, broke 2 bolts in the cast fender mounts, not the end of the world at the moment. will remove those later. 

this photo brought to you by our sponsor... ZIPLOC! 

here is how the rear of the unit looks at the moment. 

Transmission internals look okay, a little surface rust - likely from sitting for so long prior to us getting it. 

We should be good for sandblasting this weekend. I will be degreasing the transmission and frame assembly prior to that. more photos coming soon! 

 I did a 7 bolt front plate for my wide front Allis. Looks like youre is going to need some attention too. 

Your doing great! Wow! I have been hear before and its a lot of work. Hate to say that this is the easy part, but the clean up and repairs just take a lot of time. Sandblasting some of the items will help a lot. 

Are you doing and clutch work in there? Like hand clutch?? Yep now is the time. Some need it some are ok for a long time as is.

Hang in there. Colder weather is around the corner. Heading to the shop and hoping its about 68 degrees in there on this 44 degree morning!

 Regards,

 Chris

We are going to see, i dont think the hand clutch needs much work, currently it is working great and rarely wear out. I think we are just going to change fluid and run it as is. everything mechanically that way is good just the engine mainly. 

Sandblasting will give me a fresh starting point for the whole tractor. lets me start from the ground up and make sure we dont have much to address on the rebuild. 

Took Allie for a little pre-sandblasting bath. 

Then, off to the parents property to get setup for sandblasting. Under tent and all! 

And so we begin... About 1 hour into it and this is how far we've gotten. using crushed glass and about 70psi of constant pressure. Aiming to have this finished up on the next couple of days and prepped for primer on all the fresh metal asap. 

and, after sandblasting the crud off the shift tower, take a look at the twisted number "1". You could say its a "one-off" 

Now, I just need to get the correct Primer, What does everyone suggest? looking at painting in the springtime with PPG 60080 single stage (MTX) or the vansickle paint if i can get down to the USA sometime soon.. 

Its going to look real good in PO#1!

Thanks for the update!

 Regards,

 Chris

here was my cheap pickup from Princess Auto (canadian harbor freight). Cotter pin kit, "R" clip kit and the pin for $30. Cant beat that! 

The pin was suggested by a local farmer for the replacement hand clutch. He suggested to cut down one of these pins and drill a hole for the cotter pin as a replacement for the transmission mounted pivot. at $10.99, it was a much cheaper (and shorter) option than 7/8 cold rolled steel ($55 here for 4 ft) 

We also picked up the primer required for the cast iron. the local paint expert suggested epoxy primer since it will be sitting until springtime for paint. this was quite expensive but well worth it for the correct paint finish. $232.50 for 2 usable gallons. mixing at 1:1

Nice.

That cotter-pin kit should be required before being allowed to farm. Don't know how many nasty scratches I've had from some rusty nail bent to work as a c-pin!

I have started on the repairs to the transmission shift forks (that are bent) so i have removed the cover and set it on the bench for the time being. 

I also wanted to replace the hand clutch shaft while the cover was off. I got my punch set and a couple of rather large hammers ready. I heated it up with map gas as hot as i was comfortable with and started to pound the shaft out from the inside. no luck! didnt even move a tiny bit.. it looks like i will have to get things a lot warmer for it to expand enough. any tips from the ones who have replaced it before? it is beyond repair in my books and would rather it be replaced with new than repaired. 

 Sandblasting for clean up looks good. I did one pin replacement and did not do a good job. The hole in the case was wollowed out. I attempted to drill it and put in another pin. I did not have the tools to do it right and it still iss loose and leaks. I assume this pin really needs to be pressed out and in for a correct job. I have welded up several of them to my satisfaction and hand worked them back close to round. Mush better than they were in the worn state. And then also re bushed the handle. Took out 90% of the slop.

Keep at it! 
Regards,

 Chris

 

Hi Justin- GREAT WORK!!!

On that pin... either lay filler across it with a MIG, then follow up with a 4" angle grinder and a flap-disk to hand-form it back to round, or grind it DOWN to a slightly smaller OD, and make  a sleeve that will slip over.  Drill a hole in the sleeve about where the deepest divot is, then fill INTO the hole, which will not only fill the void, it will also secure the sleeve...

Then dress the hole you welded shut to round and smooth.

Do re-bush the inside of the lever.

Take the guys' advise on the hand clutch, and while you're in there, make certain that none of the pins can migrate loose and fall into the PTO gear housing.  Don't ask me how I know...

The pin was removed. a couple of good hits with the hammer and it started to move. 

Here is a side by side comparison of the original pin and the new pin that i made up. 

I ultimately had to finish splitting the tractor in half to get the new pin in place correctly. that required removal of the pulley and removing the front end to set aside. here is some not very pretty photos of that process. 

I will be disassembling the front end at some point, although this was just fine for the time being. 

I started on removal of the bushings for the clutch handle. they came out as expected. 

Might just have to repair these pins prior to reinstallation. they are quite worn. hand clutch linkage pins. 

I have also purchased the paint required. That was quite expensive but it is the correct color and finish type. I look forward to laying that down ASAP. 

Thanks everyone for the input! very helpful! 

And, As recommended by the body shop, this will be used as the final skim coat on the frame rails and tin. just to make things smooth and nice. 

 Looks like your work is progressing nicely! Paint looks proper too!

Stay at it. Do you have the weather to get it in primer? I spent a lot of time on some of mine and could have spent double that!

Regards,

 Chris

Thanks! I have some heat where needed for the primer to work correctly. should be good here in the next few days to get it primed and prepped for paint. 

Got the hand clutch pivot pin installed into the frame of the tractor. freezing this pin and heating the casting made this a 10 minute project. its even the correct length! 

I also plugged away with cleaning some remaining gunk from the small hard to reach areas. brake cleaned all the areas i needed to and got the unit much closer to primer. 

The plan was to use the brake cleaner to remove the gunk, then as requested by the proform folks was to lacquer thinner the whole chassis prior to priming. they say that is the best combo for my application. they also recommend to off gas the cast iron for about 1 day after the lacquer thinner.  

Pivot pin looks great! Your almost there. Prep is the biggest part of the project.  Stay at it! Fresh paint is a great accomplishment!

Regards,

Chris

here is a cool tip i learned back in the days when i was painting day in and day out. We used to mask all gasket surfaces with traditional tape, overhang the edges and use a standard rubber mallet at a 45* angle to the sharp gasket edges. it seals the edges with the tape adhesive and pinches the tape causing it to be cut perfectly to the edges. much, much easier than cutting with a knife. 

here is the start of the list. I pick it up this weekend in New york. 

check out that total! not including the majority of engine components or other front end parts 

after it was pressed in and cut down, they were test fitted onto the new hand clutch pin. fit perfectly! still need to fill the worn section for the clevis to the linkage rod. I have a new 1/2" clevis bushing ready to go. once installed this piece will be ready for paint. 

I have a handful of parts ready to be primed and painted. I am working away at the smaller pieces now getting them all cleaned of old paint, chasing threads and getting all the parts and pieces ready to go prior to priming or painting. 

 Thats what you have to do. Keep hitting at each little piece. I must say you did a way better job on the hand clutch rebuild than I have done on some of mine. You will be pleased each time you use it. Remember the orange wind chimes! There are 183 spterate parts other than the engine components! Your doing great. You will probably have parts all over the house? Maybe even hanging on the Christmas tree?:)

Thanks for the update on the Allis!

Is the bare metal treated? Or is that some light surface rust? 

Regards,

 Chris

Tons of parts EVERYWHERE! none on the Christmas tree though! 

i am working away at things, Just plugging away. the more i get painted at the same time the less cleaning of the paint gun i have to do right!? haha. 

That is bare metal at the moment, I really want to get it sealed up but waiting for the best time to do so. I may have put the cart before the horse on sandblasting but nothing a little surface prep can't handle. 

     Keep up the good work and keep sharing pictures, etc.

here is the hole i drilled and tapped for 1/4"-28 thread for a grease fitting on the hand clutch. I have since installed the fitting and tested. works well. 

I also received my package from DJS tractor. Great bunch of folks there. everything was shipped well. super packaged and no damages from anything i ordered. 

and, The Dish pistons i ordered with the rebuild kit. These are WD45 & D17 pistons. should work well with a WD45 crankshaft once i find one. 

I thought i would try to extract the brake pins on the rear of the tractor. I have soaked them in penatrating fluid for the last couple weeks. No such luck with the removal. Not only did my $75 tool from DJS break, i also ripped the head off the right side pin.. 

These are really stuck! Looks like i will be cutting it out with the plasma this weekend.. not entirely the way i wanted to have these done. but.. better now than later. I need to re-line the shoes regardless. lets see what else i can break! 

on another note, The starter rod was extra bent, Did not resemble the loop anymore at the top and the lower 90* bend was 45*. so, I used a bit of heat and bent it back. now it matches the choke lever. 

 One of the tougher jobs on these tractors for sure. Most of them only come out once in the life of the tractor. 

I had to torch one and the other fell out. I used a mirror to not have hot parts falling on my head. Cut out a small section, drive the outside pin inboard, cut again till its out. Get a hold of the inside piece and it should slip right out.

The pull handles look great! Its amazing how many details there are to getting one of these back to good working order! 

Thanks for the updates.

 Regards,

 Chris

starter rebuild. New starter switch, cleaned the starter and fresh paint ( i know, it is not orange, but i thought a bit of contrast would look good here. may change it up if needed. ) 

Carb rebuild went better than expected. media blasted the carb and cleaned thoroughly. installed my platinum kit including shafts and it now is better than ever. I will be pulling it back apart at some point to paint it orange. but for now its super nice and clean! 

And the hand clutch is finished until paint. I got the last bushing fit into place (did not want to braze it back together and couldn't weld the cast correctly so i enlarged the hole and installed the bushing with a special metal bonding epoxy that will keep it in place for another 50+ years! 

one of these days i will get the brake pins out. hopefully it goes smoother than it did saturday. will likely need oxy/acetylene to cut it out. my plasma cutter is only good for 1/2" unfortunately. 

Have you tried rattling the brake pin with an air chisel/hammer while and using penetrating spray between applications? It worked very well on my B.

I was actually just doing some reading, A lot of guys mention to do that. I will be grabbing some tools likely tonight and see if i can get it to budge. I have penetrating spray on it now for the last couple weeks. I burnt out all the mouse nests and have pulled the tires off to get access. hopefully i can get it to wiggle. I was also thinking of a slide hammer to make it move. 

currently it has pressure against it with a large socket and a 3/8" bolt pulling. maybe i can get it to move with the air hammer? definitely worth a try! 

I also cleaned the throwout fork and pivot rod as well. no pitting and is very clean. good for re-use.