Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1547091
By Jim Palmer Jr., Castalia, Iowa Everyone loves to hear a story of a family member finding a long- lost tractor that a loved one once had. Well, this is such a story where the tractor went a little farther away than most. Here is a story about an English B diesel in the United States of America. Seeing there was a demand for tractors in Europe, Allis-Chalmers started shipping tractors to the UK in the 1930s. From what my friend Wim has found, it is reported that 47 Bs were imported. Following that, they started building them right there. The UK-built Bs had a few differences -- the round drawbar became square, the bench seat became a pan-style seat with spring suspension, the steering column was 2 inches higher to accommodate the different seat, the battery box and dash were different, and the electrical system was 12-volt. To my knowledge, all the gasoline models had the kerosine manifold, as well. To be more competitive, in 1955, the transmission was updated to have four forward gears instead of three. Due to the ever- increasing price on gasoline in Europe, they decided to offer a diesel version and started installing a P3 Perkins engine to meet this demand. It is believed that there were 72 three-speed B diesel models built, making it an incredibly rare tractor. Conversion packs were also available to convert U.S. or English Bs to the diesel engine. There are no reports of any four-speed diesels being built. Roelof Baron was a farmer in Appelscha, The Netherlands, raising mostly potatoes, wheat and sugarbeets. For tractors, he used Fordson and Allis- Chalmers. Fortunately for him, the Allis-Chalmers dealer was only 3 miles away. In 1952, he bought a new B diesel. This was the first one sold in the north Netherlands. When it was delivered, it went to another dealer, where they modified it for spraying potatoes. They installed customized front and rear wheels, which were tall and narrow, referred to in The Netherlands as "small culture." They also installed two brass tanks on each side and a sprayer boom in the back. For years, it was used to spray on their farm as well as for custom spraying. In 1961, the tractor was traded in for a new FD3 and a used CA. A number of years later, Roelof and his son Eef became interested in restoring old tractors. They attended their first A-C show in 1985. While at the show, they spotted the old diesel B sitting on a trailer, showing its age and broken in two. Eef paid $175 for it and brought it home, where they began restoring it. The tall, narrow back wheels were in unrepairable condition, so it was converted back to the original rear wheels, but the unique spoked front wheels were still intact, so they were able to keep them. The bell housing needed repair from being broken in two. To keep it original to the tractor, they used extra studs and bolts to hold it together as well as make it stronger. After the tractor was fully restored, it was sold back to the original dealership that sold it. Enter Dean Byerly. Many A-C enthusiasts know or have heard of Dean Byerly for the books he has written and his involvement in the hobby. Dean is a collector from northeast Iowa who has worked as a mechanic, an Allis- Chalmers service rep and finally many years later, as an instructor for the farm implement mechanics program at a community college in Calmar, Iowa. (I was one of his students, poor guy.) In 1995, Dean, along with several friends, decided to take a trip to The Netherlands and visit several A-C collectors and Diesel 'B' makes Dutch round trip Continued on Page 16 6 OLD ALLIS NEWS