Buda to AC Engines

I have several questions about the 6BD230 engine and how it evolved into the D262. I'm researching for an article in the "Tractor Talk" column in Diesel World magazine about the D-19. Dr. Allis seems to have a handle on some the engine stuff, so I hope he will chime in.

Allis-Chalmers farm equipment dealers had been using wet sleeves in their gas engines since 1934 in the WC tractor. To expect Customers and Dealers to now accept a new diesel engine that required boring the block at overhaul time would have been (in my thinking) unacceptable. So, A-C reworked an existing engine into a wet sleeve design. They owned the Company, so they could do whatever they wanted. I suspect much of the plant tooling didn't even change, as far as cylinder head bolt patterns and the lower end of the block (crankshaft/mains/rods, etc).  I know I've seen old Buda Service literature and am sure that is the history of the B-series engines, gas and diesel.  The cubes had to get bigger to be able to achieve 50+ HP for the D-17, so the 262 cubes was developed and was never a bored block version....only wet sleeves. The real disaster was when some genius engineer thought it was a good idea to turbocharge the D-262 for the D-19.  The sleeve lip was hardly enough as it was in the D-17 nat asp version, but the turbocharger saw to it the sleeves couldn't stay up very long and got pounded downwards allowing head gaskets to promptly fail.  In the case of the D-19, a bored block (with a turbo) would have actually been a better deal...............

Some interesting info but not what I was looking for. I'm trying to discover when the 6BD230 engine was introduced.  I have a gap in my Buda literature and documentation from '48 to 54. It doesn't appear in a '48 catalog, nor a '45, '42 or '39. Interestingly, some Cockshutt materials indicate the 6BD230 was wet sleeved in the late '52 era. The same materials indicate the 153 was wet speeded as early as 1947. Also, it states the 6BD230 that appeared in the Cockshutt 40 for 1950 was wet sleeved. the 6BD273 that appeared for 1953 was parent bore. The info I have is thatAC seal the deal on Buda in November of '53, so if wet sleeving was done to a parent bore in time for the intro of the WD-45 diesel, it was a world's speed record development. Anyway, this is all from the Cockshutt club's book, which is the only thing I have found so far that sheds any light at all. It's most likely correct but rather than rehash incorrect information, I'd rather verify with a second source. I know the WD-45 diesel was wet sleeved.

June 12, 1950 was the Nebraska Test date for the Cockshutt model 40. If all the B-230's were wet sleeved, then A-C didn't have anything to do with it. They didn't purchase Buda until 1953, I think.  The 230 and 273 Buda's were both 4 1/8" stroke. The A-C 262 was 4 3/8" stroke with a 3 9/16" bore. Maybe the sleeve lip flange on the 230's was adequate compared to the 262's.???

I am in contact with someone with some Buda expertise and will talk to him tomorrow. In digging around in disparate sources, it does appear that the 4BD and 6BD engines were all sleeved (except the 273) prior to AC's purchase in November of 1953. I will verify that tomorrow. I am featuring Jim Stammen's D19, who lives not too far from me, and his block dropped some sleeves back in the past and had to be welded. I'll keep you all posted...

If memory serves, there was a company in South LA that had an abundance of BUDA parts as they serviced the marine engines back to the 30's or 40's? I came across the info back in 2002(?) but cannot put my hands on it currently. At the time, they still had a contact number but were hard to reach. Reportedly had a very large inventory of older engine parts and had many drawings as they had a close relationship with BUDA prior to A-C. Maybe an internet search can ferret out some info.

Had not had my first cup of coffee yet!

Just wondering what page you saw the CA info on. Found out the Buda engine Co closed it's doors last week. I'm desperate to find parts for a Buda B-182 and was told they may have sold their stock to a place in Ca. Thanks for any help you or any other member can offer. Thanks

Jim Allen wrote: Just off the phone with Phil Heisey, who is a Cockshutt guy but knowledgeable about the Buda. The B-Series Buda started of in '46 with wet sleeves but there were parent bore versions in the family, notably the 273 and 182. First off, a question. In Allis-Chalmers official language, what were these engines called. I see people here referring to them a "D230" or "D262" but I don't see those designations on any official materials I have... which is not a lot. I don't have any Buda literature from '61-64 either. Just want to get the terminology officially right. Phil couldn't pin the exact date down, but in the late '50s, probably '57 when the 262 debuted, AC/Buda went from the B-Series to a "G-Series" engine. Some of the changes included changing the way the liners were sealed from having the seals on the liner to having the seals in the block. That's apparently the time when the spin-on filters appeared and the oil pumps were improved. This is also when the 175 four cylinder debuted (a four cylinder version of the 262). Maybe this is the "silly update" AC did that made dropped sleeves so much more common, eh? Other changes for the "G-Series" engines included the water pump being relocated to the block from the head. What say y'all?

Edited by DiyDave - 06 Apr 2018 at 6:49pm