Curious?

[Bob Bancroft]

When I was working on tractors in the 70s, the most prevalent of the older AC's still working on farms was the WD, followed by the
D17. Was this unique to central NY? Or was this everywhere? AC sold a lot of B's, but they had long since been retired here.

The two modern AC's which sold the most were the 185 and 200. Anything newer or bigger didn't sell much. I assume this was our
area, as the bigger, newer AC's were sold somewhere!

 

[Butch(OH)]

Pretty much the same time frame and experience for me. Allis had a solid following and dealerships around here from the WC until the 7000 series first came out then things went down hill from there. A LOT of previously all Deere farms around here had a 185 in the shed. That tractor was held in high regard by all but the most devout of anti Allis people.

 

[Ted in NE-OH]

Many B's got a Woods belly mower and mowed lawns.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

That's right. They became 'garden, or lawn tractors'! I had a couple, until it got too difficult to get on and off.

 

[rrlund]

Seems like anybody who had a pair of pliers and could sign a contract sold AC here in Michigan at one time. WC, WD, D series, 190, 200s then the 7000 series were everywhere you looked. Gleaner combines too.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Late 60's into the 70's our working line up was a CA,WD45,D19 and an Oliver 77.Early 80's bought a 180 and a couple more D19.

 

[Aaron SEIA]

In the 70s a 50 horse no cab tractor still had some real world usable value to it. After the 190 they got a reputation for tranny issues they never really recovered from.
AaronSEIA

 

[jvin248]

(quoted from post at 07:27:44 02/07/22) When I was working on tractors in the 70s, the most prevalent of the older AC's still working on farms was the WD, followed by the
D17. Was this unique to central NY? Or was this everywhere? AC sold a lot of B's, but they had long since been retired here.

The two modern AC's which sold the most were the 185 and 200. Anything newer or bigger didn't sell much. I assume this was our
area, as the bigger, newer AC's were sold somewhere!

many more WD/WD45s were sold and sold for more years than any of the later AC models -- that's why you saw them. New models in the 1980s in total sold only about what the WDs did in a few months.

We had a narrow front WD on the farm but it seemed to get relegated to sickle-bar mowing and belt pulley duty since it did not have the 3 point of the Ferguson TO35 we had then (that I have now). I picked up a wide front WD in December for this season's project tractor and the first parts I bought for it are putting together a 3 point to use the implements I have around here.

We had a silo filler, chopper, round baler (I never saw it run), and a pair of chopper unloading wagons that were all AC orange. I was the one who sharpened the mower bar. My brother has the old family WD and probably the mower. We had an Oliver 880 and a Farmall 806 that pulled our five bottom plow.

Since I was watching Craigslist and FB Marketplace for WDs and AC stuff I found most of them are in a band across the middle of Indiana, Ohio, and into PA. (many interesting ones but much too far to go get and haul back here). Very few in Michigan where I'm at. So the dealers must have been a lot stronger through there.

.

 

[Leroy]

Never many B or C tractors in my area, AC buyers started with the WC and then the WD followed up by the WD 45 and then the D series with most the D17, After the D series AC about lost the market here. One row cultivating tractors like the AC B and JD M never were a big seller here, When became avaible it was the AC C and later the CA and in Deere the MT then the 40, 420 & 430 as the small tractors but all 2 row tractors. When the farms went from a single row horse cultivator most had a larger row crop tractor that would take a 2 row cultivator so did not want to have a small single row cultivating tractor and when the WD came out so did the CA that could do a lot of the work of the orignal WC easier and cheaper. But then the new tractor buyer went with a WD and kecpt the WC as second tractor. Never saw a AC new after the D series.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

There were a couple of WD's and a couple of WD45's in our family. Obviously the WD45 did most of the work. What surprised me when I went to work at an AC dealer in 1972 was the preponderance of WD's and D17's still working. Not so much the WD45. There just weren't that many around.

 

[Leroy]

I Actually cannot remember any AC dealers after about the D series time and one was just a Dad and 2 sons and after the Dad passed they did not do very much anymore. The only remaining son passed away this past year. The other dealer was the local grain elevator that sold both AC and JD + NI. And JD was prominate. Everything has been gone now wor years and cannot remember when they closed, think grain bussiness lasted longer than the implement part. Never knew of any AC dealers in surounding counties.

 

[XT180]

I was taught to drive tractors on a WD, that was the small tractor on the farm(delegated to planter duty; pulling the ground driven NI manure spreader and hauling wagons of ear corn off of the field) while the D-17 was the big dog !!

 

[lugnuts2030]

In WI and IL Ac dealers in the late 70's were required to build new Stores and get bigger or get out, Many dealerships got bigger and Built new stores- shops. AC here sold pretty well for a few more years, Then the Bad 80's hit and AC and their Dealers folded. In the 80's all Major Tractor companies went bankrupt, but JD and they were struggling also.