SALES # of 175 vs 185 Tractors

Overs the years I been curious about the numbers of AC 175 and 185 tractors sold new. According to sources I looked at like “Tractordata “ the number of 175 tractors was like 5485 diesel and 1009 gasoline tractors and the number of 185 was 14961 tractors. I realize they were sold for about ten years and the 170 and 180 models overlap the 175 and 185 models roughly three years according to “Tractordata “ information.

My curiosity and question is what was the reason the 185 outsold the 175 over the time it was in production ?
One thing I consider it was the want of more horsepower during that time period. Also I not found numbers other brands of tractors of similar horsepower sizes that was manufactured during that time period for comparison what was wanted horsepower size during those years.

Thought this be the place to reasons and thinking of buyers had for those two models back then.

The One Eighty / 185 is so much better- 170-175 were just a 17 with new sheet metal , which were good at that time  ; that 301 diesel ; hydraulics have better flow; great tractor!

I like the sitting up the biggest advantage, and the close to flat floor, looked at 175, didn't like straddling the transmission.

The Allis-Chalmers One-Seventy (and One-Eighty) came out in July of 1967. In late 1965, John Deere came out with their new 2510. Both tractors at 54 and 53 PTO HP.  By 1968 the 2510 was no more and was replaced by the new 2520 at 60 HP. The 60-62 HP A-C  175 was out in 1970, and the 170 model was still retained.  It was pretty clear to most manufacturers the 50 to 60 HP tractor class sales were drying up, in favor of 65 HP and up. I think in the end, A-C sold as many One-Seventy, 170 and 175 tractors as they did D-17 series 4's, but over a longer period of years. The Series IV was from the summer/fall of 64 to July of 67 for 3 years of production.  The One-Seventy, 170 and 175 were mid 67 to 1980 for 12+ years.

Edited by DrAllis - 17 Feb 2025 at 5:58pm

I like both tractors but the low seat was a drawback for me. I like the power director long handle on the  175  better than the column PD on the 185. Both would have been better with console control and a flat operators deck like my 190XT which was built before it and was a great design for its day. In my opinion they went backwards in operators comfort. Just my 2 cents

Edited by AC720Man - 18 Feb 2025 at 7:29am

A question about the model 185 came up recently on the Red Power Forum, this was my reply.

Have a 185, love it! Probably one of the best machines Allis built. Mine has hydraulic pto, not all do. It engages very smoothly. As mentioned, it does stop when you depress the clutch. Mine is a later model and has the 30" rubber which is nice. It also benefitted from two previous owners that took great care of it.

Side note; Dad bought a 175 new in the early 70's, not sure what year exactly but remember it being delivered, there was snow on the ground. My Dad was working with the 2nd owner at the time. I can just hear the conversation. Russ, "Dave, buy the 185!" Dad, " the 175 is big enough and is $xxxx cheaper!" So the 175 it was, it was the big horse here for 10 or so years then got traded for the 6080. At some point he bought a 185 with a cab but no A/C. He about cooked trying to bale hay with it so it went away and he got a 4230. Later years he found this 185 at Grinnell imp. When he found out it was Russ's tractor he bought it.

I should add that Howard Dunnick, (sp?) was the original owner of said 185.

Edited by IBWD MIke - 18 Feb 2025 at 10:18am

Sadly Lynn, he passed a number of years ago. I never got to meet him, just know he was a good Allis Man. I thought Russy bought the 185 new, found out later that Howard had.

The most neglected part of any tractor, when it comes to comfort, is the seat suspension. I cannot stand to climb onto a D-17 or 170 (or any other Allis) and plop my tush down in a seat that almost immediately goes to the bottom. You can have the nicest seat cushions ever made and if the suspension has a flattened out seat shock spring AND worn out bushings and shafts, it just turns me completely OFF !!