Allis-Chalmers started making mining equipment in 1847 and entered the farm equipment industry in 1914. Distinguished by their bright orange paint, these machines grew to represent the heritage of American farming, says Dale Haymaker, proprietor of the Allis-Chalmers Museum. The HD 5 was produced from 1946 through 1955 as a small tracked bulldozer. It featured many accessories for various jobs around the farm. Does this Spark an idea?
Base Tractor
A bulldozer is designed for heavy work. It has a scraping type blade attached to its front and can move large amounts of material in one pass. During the production years, Allis Chalmers produced almost 30,000 HD 5s. The last known unit bore serial number 29255. This model featured a 142-cubic-inch, two-cylinder diesel engine rated for 1,800 rpm.
Drive System
The HD 5 featured a track drive system. This served to more evenly distribute the weight over soft ground and give it over 10,000 lbs. of pulling power due to the substantially larger contact area. The downside of tracked propulsion is the damage it can do to asphalt if the operator is careless or the temperature too high.
Accessories
The HD 5 had both a belt-driven power take-off (PTO) and a hydraulically operated draw-bar. The PTO allowed the connection of cutters and grading implements that required separate power. The draw-bar was used to attach implements for plowing and digging as the tractor moved over the ground.
Fuel
The two-cycle diesel engine produced its power with 16-to-1 compression, significantly higher than the 8- or 9-to-1 of the gasoline engine. Thirty-seven gallons of fuel kept the tractor going all day as long as the operator ensured that the crankcase was topped off with 8 quarts of oil.
Tags: diesel engine
