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New London, Wisconsin | I spend several years doing tillage and chopping silage on one when I was young. The boss I had in my college days had one with the cab removed, pump turned up, and 23.1x34 tires. None of the other tractors I drove could come close to keeping up with that D21. It was nice to drive with finger tip power steering, and if you wore hearing protection. It was a loud beast if you didn't. At night on a hard pull the bottom of the straight pipe would glow a little. I have no idea how much power it was putting out, but it could tip a dyno on its side without any indication it was tired yet. A few years later I bought my first tractor, a 3 year old 1586 and I think they were close in power. By then the 21 was gone and we never tried them side by side.
I wasn't an Allis fan with the exception of the 21's and that one I drove was very reliable too. The boss finally got tired of the noise and bought a quieter tractor but it had a lot of life left in it when it left.
Driving that D21 was the first time I experienced a machine that never ran out of horsepower. 3rd was the only tillage gear we ever used, but with all that power it was the only one we ever needed.
I later owned a Mack 237 with a 5 speed in a straight truck and it reminded me of the D21. Not too many gears, and no need for any more of them. | |
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Allis d-21 greatness
