The Wonderful Wall is Tractors

Route 4, Morrison, Illinois 61270

In the Jan-Feb. issue of G.E.M. we find, on page 7, a picture of
a Wallis tractor owned by Gary Wolters of Ocheyedan, Iowa. These
little tractors are thought of by many to mark a change in the
history of farm tractors. This series, the Model K and the Model J
that preceded it (see center top picture on page 15 of same issue)
were the first farm tractors to have removable cylinder walls or
‘wet’ type of sleeves. They also are said to be the first
to have all of the transmission gears enclosed and running in oil.
Not only were they ahead of the parade in design, but were also far
ahead of their day when it came to power output per cubic inch of
piston displacement, or motor size. The Model K and the J were much
the same except for the J being a three-wheel job. The design dates
back to 1916.

The first Wallis tested at Nebraska State was a Model K rated at
15-25 horsepower. It developed 16.06 -27.57. To pull its 16.06 on
the draw bar, it pulled 2365 pounds at a speed of 2.55 miles per
hour. The pseed with no load was 2.98 m.p.h.

Probably the best way to judge the worth of the Wallis is to
read the accounts on the tests run by the University of Ohio. In
these tests, a tractor was hooked to a plow and then rated on both
normal and maximum loads. At the Middletown, Ohio test, the Model K
pulled 2300 pounds at 2.45 m.p.h. and developed 15.05 draw bar
horsepower. At maximum pull, it hauled the three-bottom plow 8.58
in. deep. In this test there was only two other tractors that got
above 15 drawbar h.p. Both of these were crawler type. A note is
made on the test sheet telling of the west condition of the soil
and stated that it was raining when the Reliable and the Wallis
tests were run. Here is how some of the better known makes compared
with the Wallis at this test:

At the Fostoria, Ohio test, the spunky little K had good
traction and pulled its three bottom plow 3.25 m.p.h. at 9.42 in.
deep and put out 19.82 d.b. h.p. These Model K jobs pulled their
loads with a motor 4-1/4 x 5-3/4′ turning 850 rpm. (on the
Fostoria test it would have to have exceeded this to do 3.25 m.p.h.
under load). Normal, no load 3.98 m.p.h.

Just for a bit of spice, at the Columbus, Ohio test they had a
Fordson that pulled its two bottom plow 7.86 in. deep and put out
10.78 h.p. at 3.09 m.p.h. Henry must have done a good job on that
one, for sure.

The second Wallis tested at Nebraska was the model O.K. in 1923.
This one ran 1000, developed 18.15 – 28-60 and was rated 15-27.
This one weighed in at a bit over 4000 lbs. (The Model K weighed
3500).

In 1927 the O.K. ‘Certified’ was tested. This model had
a motor with 1/8 inch larger bore 4-3/8 x 5-3/4. Belt h.p. went up
to 35.29 and drawbar up to 27.01. By way of comparison I will
compare it with the McCormick-Deering 22-36 that replaced the
15-30. The Certified pulled 2625 at 3.77 m.p.h. and the 22-36
pulled 2846 at 3.69. The 22-36 had a motor 4-3/4 x 6 inches and it
outweighed the Certified almost 1 ton. Both motors ran 1050 r.p.m.
and both burned distillate for fuel.

In 1929, Case came out with the Model L tractor which was sent
to Nebraska test unrated by the company. It created quite a
sensation in tractor cicles by pulling enough to rate as a 26-40.
The Model L was a ‘tractor’ and there are still a few
thousand left to prove it. This tractor had a motor 4-5/8 x 6
running 1100.

In 1937, the Wallis, then known as the Massey-Harris 25, was
sent to Nebraska for test. It had a motor that measured 1/4 inch
less in bore and 1/4 inch less in stroke than the L Case, but it
whipped the L hands down. This motor ran 1200 r.p.m.

In 1938, Case sent an improved L for test that ‘took the
25’ by about 1-1/2 h.p. on the belt but still fell short on the
drawbar by about the same margin.

The extra 100 r.p.m. was on the side of the Wallis but I feel
that the real reason was that the ’25’ was using about
1-1/2 gal. of water per hour, while the L had no water injection. I
have seen many Model L Case tractors on hand pulls using kerosene
or distillate that would have done much better with a few drops of
water coming their way.

In 1929, the Wallis brought out the 12-20 which ended up as the
Twin Power Challenger and Pacemaker models for Massey-Harris. There
were two of these Twin Power jobs tested at Nebraska 1937 test. One
pulled 42.73 h.p. on the belt and the other 43.27 on gasoline.
These Twin Powers ran 1400 r.p.m.

Two years later, McCormick Deering brought out the Model M with
the same size motor (3-7/8 x 5-1/4) and there were also two of
these tested at Nebraska. One developed 38.75 and the other 39.23
but ran 1450 r.p.m. on gasoline.

Throughout their entire history, the record shows us that when
it comes to power output per cubic inch, the Wallis could top the
list when they were compared with the best.

Good as they were, these old jobs did have their faults. The
boiler plate frame, that at the start, was a step ahead, later
became a serious drawback, saleswise.

It was necessary to lift the motor and transmission out of the
frame in order to tighten the main bearings.

Another fault that many former owners can well remember is that
on occasion the oil pump would lose its prime and this was often an
expensive thing to put up with. One former owner of a Model K
complained that his tractor ‘had awful poor bearins’. I
mentioned that I had heard that the oil pumps on some were not so
good. His reply was that he never had any trouble with the oil
pump, but those ‘blame connecting rod bearins’ were forever
going out. He would likely have been ahead to have bought a new oil
pump.

I like to read the record of these old tractors. There were
other jobs that were outstanding also in their day. One of these
was the Wetmore, made in Sioux City, Iowa. These tractors were sold
with a few different makes of motors but finally settled on the
Weidley – a good make with a long stroke and overhead valves. Some
had Waukesha motors and some, the first ones I believe, used the
Rutenber motor. I have heard that the motor was designed in
Germany.

I have never seen a Wetmore tractor and have not been able to
get much information on how they performed in the field, but they
had the reputation of being strong on power but weak on traction.
According to test reports, they had three speeds of about 2-3-1/2
and 4.75 miles per hour. One man claimed he had seen one plowing
with a two bottom plow set at nine inches deep which it pulled on
third gear. This could have been possible since the Weidley engine
pulled from 27.50 to 29.50 horsepower on kerosene. This should be
good for about 32 h.p. on gasoline if the manifold had a heat
control (which the Weidley engine used in the Cletrac).

The Wetmore tractor was built much like a narrow tread, four
wheel Allis-Chalmers, W.C. in regard to transmission, rear axle and
final drive position and type. If anyone has one or ever has seen
one in operation, I am sure it would be interesting to hear
about.

Does anyone have a Fordson with, or know of the replacement rear
end that was built for them? I believe it was called either the
Hanson or the Hamilton? This transmission did away with the worm
gear drive and the terrific heat and friction that went with it.
With this rear end the Fordson was said to have been able to pull a
three bottom plow as well as it could pull a two bottom with
standard gearing, or pull a two bottom, much faster than with the
worm drive.

I’ve never seen one of these jobs and always doubted the
claims made for them, but one man told me that with the
transmission you got a set of high, sharp spade lugs, a Waukesha
high compression head, a cold manifold and a gasoline carburetor. I
did know of a man who owned a Fordson that always astonished me by
its power displayed in the field on a plow on 7 ft. disc with drag
behind. One time I met this man and thought to ask him about his
Fordson. He told me that it had a Waukesha head and a gasoline
manifold and carburetor. He had the fast, or standard second gear,
and he said that he could outpull a standard Fordson with the slow
speed second without any trouble. His main trouble was the heat
from the boiling grease in the rear end. Later on, I owned an Irish
Fordson and on a hot day, the oil would boil in the rear end. My
brother owned a 1926 American Fordson with a H-C head and gasoline
carb. and once he succeeded in doing the same thing. When the
engine stopped, the transmission sounded like it was still
going.

So, it could be that with a transmission that did away with this
terrific friction on the worm drive, a set of high spade lugs and
the Waukesha set-up, a Fordson could turn out an amazing lot of
pull.

These Fordsons with the special transmissions must have put on a
good show. At DeWitt, Iowa they brought out a crowd of between ten
and twelve thousand and up between Freeport and Rockford, Illinois,
there were between twelve and fifteen thousand came to see the
Fordson pull three bottoms. I wonder if the last named place could
have been the old Track Bridge plowing match, rather than the
Fordson alone.

Then along with all of these things, there was one more thing
the high compression Fordson needed and that was a water pump. One
man I knew bought one for his tractor and it made such an
improvement in power that he refused to install a Bosch magneto,
after he bought it, when he found that one was in the way of the
other.

The best demonstrations ever put on as to the worth of a water
pump was put on by the two cylinder John Deeres when they came out
with their high compression jobs. This was once that John Deere
slipped up and put out a lemon. The water has to get away from the
head before the temperature goes up to a boil, or beyond. I rather
doubt if the high compression heads for the Fordson were over 4.50
to one. (The Model A Ford and the 1928 Chevrolet, 4 cylinder were
both less than 5-1). The Waukesha may have done better since the
shape of its combustion was patented, but being made for thermo
siphon engines, I doubt it.

There was one more tractor motor that seemed to be a marvel.
This was the Midwest. The smaller size of this make had a
4-1/8′ bore and a 5-1/4′ stroke, which would be about
280-290 cubic inches displacement. It had a 2-1/2 inch crankshaft
and run 1100 rpm. This little Midwest pulled from 29.78 h.p. in the
Bates Steel Mule and 33. plus in the Allis-Chalmers 12-25 to a high
of 37.38 in the Lauson 12-25. This compares with motors of 4-3/4 x
6 up to 5 x 6-1/2 running at 900-950 that put out from 30 to 34
h.p. The Lauson was tested in 1921.

The larger Midwest (4-3/4 x 6) pulled 47.00 in the Huber Super
4. The Midwest became the Waukesha valve in head and is best known
by their performance in the Oliver Hart Parr 28-44 and 18-28. The
old tests were run with gasoline. The Olivers burned kerosene and
still run 1100. (The larger motors mentioned were also kerosene
burners).

I sure would like to hear from someone who knows about the
Wetmore tractor and the special Fordson transmission.

I got this engine out of a junk pile a little over a year ago.
It was partly in the ground, the wood skids were all rotted away,
no coil springs on governor or igniter, no gas tank, gas line or
any of the gas feed was on it. The babbitt was all gone and there
was no connecting rod bearing cap. I poured all the bearings, made
a connecting rod bearing cap from an old main bearing cap from an
old Chevrolet motor, used an old shut-off valve for the gas
regulator and I had it running in about three months time.

Piston is 5 inch, Stroke is 10 inch and the flywheels are 36
inches in diameter, 3 inch face. Pulley wheel is 24 inches. On the
engine it states ‘Ever-Ready Iowa Spreader and Engine Company,
Waterloo, Iowa.’ I would like to know the horsepower of it and
what color it should be painted. If anyone has one like it, I would
like to hear from them.