LITTLE ORANGE

1961 ALLIS-CHALMERS D-15 SERIES I

- Jim Allen

Allis-Chalmers went all out in 1957 to start a total refresh of their tractor lineup. The first to appear in the new line was the D-14. You could call it a light-middleweight tractor, big enough to be the main tractor on a small farm and small enough to be a utility tractor on a large farm. It made 34 belt horsepower from a 149 cubic inch four-cylinder gas (or LPG) engine. It was part of a newly designed engine family for A-C, but no diesel was available for the D-14 at that time so we move on.

A-C DIESELS HIT THE DIRT

More relevant to Diesel World readers was the 1960 D-15, which was an evolution of the D-14. Besides some styling and color scheme changes, the big news was the availability of a 175 cubic inch, four-cylinder diesel. It was called a “3-plow” tractor, which was a very subjective advertising way of describing drawbar power. Following shortly after the D14 had been the D-17, six-cylinder tractor, which did have an NA diesel option, and you could call the D-15 the D-17’s little brother.