The One-Ninety at Nebraska Testing

I enjoy looking back and reading Nebraska Testing info when I am bored, or looking for particular specifications. Because I know a little bit about A-C tractors, the test information sometimes turns up interesting things. The mighty One-Ninety was first shown to the world of agriculture in July or August of 1964. The oldest advertising literature I have is dated August. The One-Ninety was the replacement (of sorts) for the D-19, with all new radical styling and a brand new engine line, called the 2000 series, built in the Harvey, Illinois engine facility. The 2000 series engine was quite modern and wasn't lacking at all in features when compared to the competition. The diesel engine serial number was 2D-1042. Interestingly, the chassis serial number was 190-1041-D !!! People sometimes ask why diesel power overtook gasoline power in farming. This tractor clearly shows why: diesel power at the PTO was 77.20 while burning 5.4 GPH fuel. The new gasoline engine produced 75.37 HP and burned 6.94 GPH !!! A gallon and a half difference in fuel economy per hour was looking like a big deal to me and that was at 100% load.  Lighter loads I'm sure the diesel looked even better. The gas chassis s/n was 190-6955 and its engine was 2G-3003. The diesel model was tested in April of 1965 and the gasser not until November of the same year.  The test results also show that the original transmissions were 1-2...3-5...4-6...7-8... in their speed/range selections. That later got changed after s/n 9001 when the drivelines were improved because of the XT's greater torque/HP.

Edited by DrAllis - 11 Dec 2022 at 11:12am

D-19 turbo-diesel didn't fair very well against the non-turbo One-Ninety.  D-19 T.D. had 66.92 PTO HP and used 5.2 GPH.   The One-Ninety had 77.20 HP and only used 5.4 GPH.  Ten more HP and only another quart of fuel per hour !!

Edited by DrAllis - 11 Dec 2022 at 11:11am

I also enjoy reading the tractor data on the models we have on our farm. I mentioned in my post of wanting to add the second set of remotes on my 160 was so I could use our Enrossi 4 basket Tedder . One set is needed for the folding and unfolding of the wings and the other is needed for tilt fore and aft. I mentioned fuel efficiency as a reason for using the 160 instead of the bigger horsepower tractors. Although our 6060 and my XT are efficient, the 160 is far more efficient. I know the Nebraska data is based on working load, Tedding certainly doesn’t put that much load on a engine so its fuel efficiency would actually improve on each tractor. Each engine still needs to run at pto speed. But for comparison, let’s look at the results based on Nebraska testing and $5.25/ gal fuel cost. The 160 uses 2.7 GPH or $14.18/hr. The 6060 uses 4 GPH or $21/hr. The XT uses 5.7 GPH or $29.93/hr. Let’s say it takes me 3 hours to TED including travel time. That’s $42.54 for the 160, $63 for the 6060, and $89.79 for the XT. For me that’s a big savings in a year of hay production especially when comparing it to my mighty XT. If you throw in the fun factor of running a XT then this all goes out the window lol.

I was the youngest of 4 brothers. The one who is next in line is almost 8 years older than me. When he went into the service at 18, I was expected to fill in with that workload. I was 12 years old. Dad had a D19 which was our big tractor. I stayed home from school a lot to help. My oldest brother bought a One Ninety, I think it was about 1966. That thing was a cadillac compared to the D19. The operator sat up high on a platform. All the controls were on a console. It had a big fuel tank, 48 verses 23 gallons on the D19. When you met the neighbors driving another color tractor on the road, you could look them right in the eye instead of looking up at them. It is just to bad the 190 tractors had so many driveline problems. They just couldn't hold the power of that 301.

All of the published specs are checked by the lab before testing, if a spec is found to be out of tolerance, the manufacturer is given the opportunity to correct the problem, or the test vehicle is rejected.

I think the Nebraska Test people were pretty good about making sure no one had an ace up their sleeve. I have seen pictures of the WD tractor that was tested and they took the engine apart after the testing was done to verify cubic inches, carb sizes, etc...looking for anything that didn't meet the specs that was printed in the companies service manual.       As far as the driveline holding up, I don't remember ever working on an old original One-Ninety driveline. It was the genius in very late 1964 who decided the diesel engine needed a turbo-charger on it, is when the problems began. The One-Ninety was first and the XT came out later when the dealer organization complained 77 HP wasn't enough !! They needed a 95 HP unit. So, now there was the "XT". Whomever decided that was a good idea, without testing, cost AC millions of dollars in repairs and updates, while the market was being flooded with other 95 HP tractors that didn't have any serious problems. True, while the XT could out perform all the others in the field, it didn't out perform squat when it was in the shop for repairs.

Edited by DrAllis - 11 Dec 2022 at 3:29pm

I assume so. Same reason the series 4 D-17 wasn't tested either.

Leon I probably would have went that route after exhausting my efforts to stay factory. I was gonna give it a few more months, but luckily my brother came across a complete set in Alabama from a parts tractor. I’m in the process of cleaning the lines, and will begin the install this week. The parts are in really good condition. A great Christmas present to myself.

I will always be partial to my XT, it was a horse in its day and it’s still my favorite. Just as the WD put AC on the map, I feel the XT did the same in its heyday. It’s fuel efficiency/power ratio amazes me every time I use it.

Edited by AC7060IL - 12 Dec 2022 at 7:57pm

Ive stated this before, but in the AC crawler and tractor data book, Nebraska also tested the unstyled wc pulling more weight than a UC.  never could figure that out.

DrAllis wrote: The D-19 always had a "Buda" inspired engine. The first 50 or so One-Eighty gassers tried to use the G-226 compression code "V" and failed for engine vibration problems at 2,200 top RPM's.

...Yes. Sorry, had180 on my brain.

I went on the Nebraska website to see how they test and found very little info. I’ve seen video on how AC tested their tractors but I’m curious about the official Nebraska testing.