Why did my family switch to Allis tractors and New Idea equipment?
As in a lot of cases it boiled down to the dealers. Did the dealer stock parts, did the dealer have a decent service dept, did the dealer treat you with respect.
In my families case the dealer just got old and had no sons or daughters he wanted to pass the dealer ship down to so sold it. The new owner I believe thought he was out in the middle of an ocean on a ship with nothing but men.
I have been in there with my dad to buy a part and heard my dad tell him to watch his mouth. The last straw was dad sending mom for a part for a hay rake we owned and mom came home saying there was no way she was ever going to step foot in that dealer ship again. Many farmers had wives pick up parts when they were busy in the fields.
A lot of the Massey stuff was sold on consignment at local farm auctons here and there. Dad paid attention to what other farmers were useing and talking to them and that is how we made the switch to the Allis line and New idea line of equipment. The massey dealer only lasted about 5 years and closed its doors so I believe many didn't care for the dealers fowl mouth.
We had a WC with a two row mounted corn picker for it, also did a lot of cultvateing with it, Used a New, rake and spreader we used the WC for. We used a Moline mounted mower on a !954 Case VAC exp dad bought for the live power to run thre IH T45 hay baler.
We had a WD with out the snap coupler you had to crawl under the tractor to put. big pin in the front hitch of the plow. I was as bad as the Massey dealer with that, trying to get it lined up and that pin in took up a lot of young boys patience.
When it is looking like rain you use every thing to get hay in the barn.
The WD with 45 kit about 4 years later.
That thing could nearly walk on snow.
My D17. I want to start a restoreing project this summer.
My favorite was a WD that was woren out when dad got it but we together was able to install a 45 kit in it and get it running. It would pull the 3/14 bottom snap coupler plow up and down our hills and thru the clay in many places. We also had two WD's with wide fronts, one had a front loader.
I started collection Massey tractors because I always liked them when we had them on the farm. I always thought they were unique, once I started attending shows with them I pretty much was the only one that had Masseys.
But I still have that thing for the AC tractors. When I got a new next door neighbour in the late 1980s I already had a line from thre little pony up to the 555 diesel.
I used my massey 30 to work uo thre area that was going to be his yard.
Used my 53 Mustang to plow his drive way every winter. Then when he wanted a pasture planted I used thre 555 Diesel to pull Autum Olive out of the ground the 44 standard to plow it, the 33 to disk it and the 44-6 to plant it with the massey grain drill.
He kept wanting a tractor of his own. I gave him a list of what I felt were decent tractors to look at. None were Masseys or Massey fergerson, I had the D series on the list Oliver 55 and 555 on the list and the IH 300 thru the 450 series because of live power mostly 3 point hitches or easy to convert to 3 point.
He called me one morning and asked if I would go with him to look at some tractors that were going to be consigned.
I liked 2 of then a Allis C with a lot of equpment with it and a D17 that looked good sheet metal wise and ran good.
he kept talking about the C, I told Kare when I got home if he buys a tractor it will be the C.
So when he called me Saturday evening I expected for him to say he bought the C. I was surprized when he asked if I could go and haul his Allis D 17 home.
Today I own the D17 he gave it to me in 2004 when he moved into a condo and sold the farm.
Said I did a lot to keep it working along with all the other stuff he had and failed to maintaine.
Al
As in a lot of cases it boiled down to the dealers. Did the dealer stock parts, did the dealer have a decent service dept, did the dealer treat you with respect.
In my families case the dealer just got old and had no sons or daughters he wanted to pass the dealer ship down to so sold it. The new owner I believe thought he was out in the middle of an ocean on a ship with nothing but men.
I have been in there with my dad to buy a part and heard my dad tell him to watch his mouth. The last straw was dad sending mom for a part for a hay rake we owned and mom came home saying there was no way she was ever going to step foot in that dealer ship again. Many farmers had wives pick up parts when they were busy in the fields.
A lot of the Massey stuff was sold on consignment at local farm auctons here and there. Dad paid attention to what other farmers were useing and talking to them and that is how we made the switch to the Allis line and New idea line of equipment. The massey dealer only lasted about 5 years and closed its doors so I believe many didn't care for the dealers fowl mouth.
We had a WC with a two row mounted corn picker for it, also did a lot of cultvateing with it, Used a New, rake and spreader we used the WC for. We used a Moline mounted mower on a !954 Case VAC exp dad bought for the live power to run thre IH T45 hay baler.
We had a WD with out the snap coupler you had to crawl under the tractor to put. big pin in the front hitch of the plow. I was as bad as the Massey dealer with that, trying to get it lined up and that pin in took up a lot of young boys patience.
When it is looking like rain you use every thing to get hay in the barn.
The WD with 45 kit about 4 years later.
That thing could nearly walk on snow.
My D17. I want to start a restoreing project this summer.
My favorite was a WD that was woren out when dad got it but we together was able to install a 45 kit in it and get it running. It would pull the 3/14 bottom snap coupler plow up and down our hills and thru the clay in many places. We also had two WD's with wide fronts, one had a front loader.
I started collection Massey tractors because I always liked them when we had them on the farm. I always thought they were unique, once I started attending shows with them I pretty much was the only one that had Masseys.
But I still have that thing for the AC tractors. When I got a new next door neighbour in the late 1980s I already had a line from thre little pony up to the 555 diesel.
I used my massey 30 to work uo thre area that was going to be his yard.
Used my 53 Mustang to plow his drive way every winter. Then when he wanted a pasture planted I used thre 555 Diesel to pull Autum Olive out of the ground the 44 standard to plow it, the 33 to disk it and the 44-6 to plant it with the massey grain drill.
He kept wanting a tractor of his own. I gave him a list of what I felt were decent tractors to look at. None were Masseys or Massey fergerson, I had the D series on the list Oliver 55 and 555 on the list and the IH 300 thru the 450 series because of live power mostly 3 point hitches or easy to convert to 3 point.
He called me one morning and asked if I would go with him to look at some tractors that were going to be consigned.
I liked 2 of then a Allis C with a lot of equpment with it and a D17 that looked good sheet metal wise and ran good.
he kept talking about the C, I told Kare when I got home if he buys a tractor it will be the C.
So when he called me Saturday evening I expected for him to say he bought the C. I was surprized when he asked if I could go and haul his Allis D 17 home.
Today I own the D17 he gave it to me in 2004 when he moved into a condo and sold the farm.
Said I did a lot to keep it working along with all the other stuff he had and failed to maintaine.
Al