This entry is not going to interest most of my readers, but Cliff wanted me to share some pictures and information with our son, and this is the best way to do it. I also have some long-time Tractor Tales friends on Facebook who will appreciate hearing about our acquisition. Here is the Craigslist ad that caught our attention:
I am SO proud of this tractor. Cliff says the more he looks at it, the better shape it appears to be in. The Allis Chalmers D-17 Series IV was only built for three years. This tractor is from 1965, the first year they were made. He will be replacing that noisy muffler with an automobile muffler because you can't find the original; the one you see is a replacement piece of crap (Cliff's words).
This toolbox was made by the former owner. Cliff thinks he'll keep it.
The tractor has what is left of its original paint. It's never been repainted or restored. Sometimes that actually adds to the value of an old tractor. Cliff is thinking about leaving it like this, but my daughter and I rather hope he paints it. If he was going to resell the tractor, he would fix some very minor things about it and not paint it. You just can't get the money back that's spent on a paint job. However, he will only sell this tractor over my cold, dead body. Literally.
This home-made weight has to go. It's hideous.
It's two inches thick, so maybe you can imagine how heavy it is. You can see some flaws in the tractor's grill, but Cliff can fix that. Don't ask me how. He's a miracle worker.
This amazed Cliff: The tractor still has its original metal hydraulic lines. The lines on the D-17 Cliff bought back in the early 80's had been replaced with rubber hoses. He says you very seldom see the original metal hydraulic lines on these old tractors.
These forks were thrown in with the tractor for an extra $100: a nice added bonus.
I hate this: The guy from whom we bought the Allis screwed these ugly rusted metal things onto the fenders to support a sunshade. Who puts rusty pieces of metal on a fine tractor like this? Grrrr!
I shall use my considerable influence to see that Cliff does something about this problem.
This is the only really bad dent on the tractor. I don't know how he will do it, but Cliff WILL fix it.
This is a set of extra forks the guy threw in at no extra cost. We'll probably sell them on Craigslist.
A brand new alternator also came with it. Since the generator on the tractor is working OK, Cliff will hold onto this until he needs it. He may use it on the 550 Oliver he's restoring.
The tires are new radials, but this one has a pretty big scratch in it. Cliff doesn't care for the looks of the wide tires, but he can live with them.
And of course, the seats on all the old tractors are beat up. This is not the original seat; it will be replaced. Cliff likes it, so who knows, maybe we will find one like it.
This is a very well-built three point hitch. This tractor came out as a snap-coupler, and a very inventive fellow built the forks and the top-link. The lift arms are Ford, adjustable.
