Tell me about WD's.

Mom went to a tractor show for the first time Saturday, and in the first class she watched pull, a lady pulling on a wd came in 4th. She's never been really into tractors but said she liked the "allis". So I figure next one I get will probably be one. Anyway, what should I know about them? I've seen some with narrow fronts, some wide, and some with 3 point. What's to like or not to like about these? Average price decent prices? I'm in MI a little south of Lasing. There's a few on CL right now ranging from $1000 to $4500, priced according to condition. Thanks in advance!
 
There is a lot here to read on them, but I'll ask a somewhat personal question. How agile is your mom? They require a bit of effort to get on and off of. They do also make you sut a bit goofy. Might want to find one not for sale and have her play with it before you start shopping.
AaronSEIA
 
They are a good, solid tractor. Very snappy governor response, good lugging engine. Very easy to find parts- between WD and WD45, something like 270,000 made. WD45 (and late WD) have the curved shifter, constant mesh gears- easier shifting.
 
For the older models (WD and WC) the operator mounts from behind the rear wheel. Starting with the D series (D10 thru D21) the operator mounted in front of the wheel on the left side. I have a 170 which also mounts in front of the rear wheel. I made a wood step (2 x 12) about 2 feet long that splits the difference between the ground the regular step. This make the tractor very easy to get onto and off of. I was a little creative with steel straps to hold the wood plank in place. If agility is a problem, go with the D series or later.

The D series tractors are nice--foot clutch with four speed. with a high- neutral- low lever. Comfortable sitting position. The neutral position provides the equivalent of live PTO. Has power steering. When buying a use D series with age on it, confirm that it will stay in all gears. That is a weakness on these high hour tractors. The wide front steers easier and rides better than the narrow front.
 
I'm 14, She's not "old". Drives my fords and Dad's MF 65. I do kinda know a guy that has one, I should go over and talk to him one of these days.
 
I would go with the WD45 and they are selling in about same price range and if your mom would like to try her hand at pulling the straight WD45 (226 ci) has more guts than a straight WD (201 ci) . Both will handle the same but I find the WD and WD45 are rough riders.
 
The seating issue isn't an issue unless you are going to spend long hours on it. WDs have good power, I usually pull in second in the stock antique class with a 6" chain. If you are new to ACs of that era here is a couple of tips, check/change the oil in the final drives, it can be overlooked and can be nasty. Keep a good boot on the shift lever or water will get into the transmission. If the boot is bad on one you are looking at suspect water in the transmission if it has been out in the rain. For pulling in the 3500 lbs. class as mentioned above I have added just enough weight to the back to make weight and it is about right. I don't run a generator and the front end doesn't seem too light. To make up for sitting off center you might put some extra weight on the left side.
 
If your 6'4" tall there is not a lot of leg room on a WD or WD45. I had to make 6" bracket to move seat back 6" so I wasn't setting with legs doubled up. If your 6 FT or shorter your all right.
 
Yeah, I am 6' 4" and extended it the same way, most folks aren't and I doubt if the mother in question here is.
 
Well as others have alluded to the WD and WD45 are ergonomically challenged to say the least.

I wanted one for my hobby collection as the motors are awesome. Found one and drove it. It was awful for me ergonomically at 6'5"height. Worse, I was still thinking about buying it as price was dirt cheap and it ran good. Asked wife to take it for a spin she looked it over and refused to even attempt to climb on it or drive it. Flat out said she was not driving that no how no way. (note: This is a girl who willing drives all my other junk like a Case DC, John Deere A, Farmall h, Farmall M, etc. so she not living the high life either).

Moral of story: Have the better half try driving before you buy. A D14, D15, or D17 would be a whole lot more likeable ergonomically....
 
I have a wd45 diesel. The wd series were good tractors.Good power, start easy.They are hard to get on and off. I'm a short guy and have trouble pushing the clutch pedal completely.
 
Does your WD45 diesel have the adjustable clutch pedal ? I have trouble with work boots( size12) not having enough room between axle housing and brake pedal if I have boots on foot rest. I have to wear snickers because they are over all shorter than work boots.
 
Yes, my 45 diesel has the adjustable clutch pedal. I have it set out as long as it will go. I have to push the pedal down with my toes and stretch my ankle out to completely push the pedal down.

I use the hand clutch in parades.
 

My gosh, how SOFT we have become....!!

We had 2 WD-45 Gas tractors and both pulled 4x14" and we could turn 50 acres in one long day..these were our "Big" tractors at that time..

We never had any complaints about the seating arrangement and the available POWER made all the difference when getting WORK done...

Maybe ya just have not spent enough "Time in the Seat", to get accustomed to it..actually the controls are perfectly arranged for when the front is off the ground and 14" of Blue flame is rising out of the exhaust ALL Night long...!!
Mom would go out in the early AM with the JD 116W Wire baler and punch out at least 1,ooo bales, come home, fix Supper for us when we got in..people were TOUGHER back then..they were Making a Living, doing it...with NO Complaints...
 
When we farmed back in 60s and 70s we farmed with a 48 John Deere A ,51 Farmall M and a 55 Allis Chalmers WD45. I could spend all day on the A ( seat over batteries with backrest) and not be sore at the end of the day and the M was not quite as nice riding as the A but when I got off the WD45 I could hardly walk for ten minutes I was so sore. The Deere and IH rode better over rough ground because they had 14.9x38s and the Allis had the 28 rims. You could stand up on the Deere and IH but couldn't on the Allis. The Chalmers was a good tractor just not made for a tall guy. I got plenty of time in seat of all of them as we milked 50 + head of cows and farmed a little over 300 acres with the three of them. We didn't usually start baling till noon and three of us ( wife, dad and myself) would bale and put in barn 750 bales in an afternoon. We never dropped bales on theground we had 3 8'X16' hay racks that we pulled behind a JD 14T baler.
 
I have a WD. Here's what I've noticed most about them. They are good tractors and a lot less expensive to buy than "collector" tractors. They have a live pto which is handy. They do NOT have a set of low and high gears, which would be nice. Plenty of power. Easy to work on. Parts are available. Parts tractors are available. Yes, hard to get on and off. But given that I paid $150 for mine and then got it working, I would not own any other tractor. I have a sub-soiler that I use to pull six-inch tree roots out with. Not a problem. I have a snow blower. Not a problem. I have a snow plow. Not a problem. They start easy in winter or summer. They sip gas.
 

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