Cockshutt Influence on The Allis Chalmers 190XT

 

Style is something that comes and goes. Almost every decade has its own. Clothing, appliances, cars, houses, you name it. Some decades really stuck out in their memorable style; the Fabulous Fifties, for example. Styling can be rehashed in a what's old is new again manner.

By 1963, Allis Chalmers tractors were looking a little dated. Something... just wasn't right. The D10 to D19 tractors looked a little drab by this time. The 1960's were a decade of lean speed and power, and the polite, friendly look of the D10, D12, D14, D15, D17, and the industry's first turbocharged tractor, the D19, just weren't dynamic enough. A restyle was in order to bring them up to date. And, boy oh boy, did they ever get it. 

The company flagship, the D21, or Big D or Big Ace, as they were often referred to, was a total departure in styling, as sometimes the top model of the line was, such as the Ford 6000, or the John Deere 8010, or the Case 1200 Traction King. The D21 looked like nothing else, then or now. It had a style all of its own. A big, Monarch-y style. But the D21 was a different class of tractor; a big, heavy, slow, plodding draft horse of a beast. The smaller tractors did not follow that concept, especially the new power class, industry leading turbocharged D19. 

The early 1960's cars really leaned out in their style. They got lighter and wider and cleaner; almost chiseled in appearance. And the sheer power came on. By 1963, Chevy had their mighty 409, optioned all the way up to 425 horsepower. Ford had their fearsome 427, again available up to 425 HP. Dodge had their 426 Max Wedge, also available up to 425 HP. The legendary 426 Hemi was just around the corner... 

So, the order of the day was lean and mean. Tractors take their cues from the automotive industry, so we were sure to see it. And see it we did. In spades.

1964 came, and Allis Chalmers sprung the leanest, meanest tractors upon us we had ever seen: the 77 PTO horsepower model One Ninety. Every aspect of those new tractors exuded power. Fast, modern power. They totally set the tone for the rest of the 1960's in farm tractors. Their slabbed, chiselled, and wedged look was All Business. No fancy curves, grilles, or chrome. Just a boxed-off appearance that looked like a F4 Phantom II jet engine intake. The grille was a square box, totally all about getting air to the radiator. There was a new, much higher operator's platform which allowed cool air to circulate underneath it and prevent heat buildup. You sat IN the D Series tractors. You sat ATOP the One Ninety. You were up out of the dust, with a commanding, unobstructed view all around you. The hood ended towards the operator in a raised wedge instrument panel and steering console. Gone were the mufflers of old. Now the only thing sticking up above the hood was a straight exhaust stack. The fenders were minimalistic with a wedge shape that was carried over from the instrument pod. The whole effect implied speed and power. 

The really BIG News, however, was the One Ninety XT. A new 301 cubic inch, turbocharged engine was dropped in the 190... and a legend was born.

The One Ninety XT was the 389 Tri-Power GTO of the Allis Chalmers line. Lean, mean, fast and powerful.

It can easily be argued that the new body style was intended for the hot XT from the get-go, and the One Ninety was only the added model, rather than the model added to. The turbo hopped the XT (XTra) all the way up to 93 horsepower on the PTO. 

The One Ninety XT listed for only about $1500.00 more than the One Ninety. For that XTra fifteen hundred dollars, you got the XT's all new 301 cubic inch engine over the 190's 265, an XTra 16 horspower, and that had-to-have bragging rights turbo. It was a power bargain and buyers jumped all over it. The One Ninety XT/190XT ended up selling almost 5 times as many units as the no frills One Ninety/190.

Diesel, gas, and even LP versions of the One Ninety and One Ninety XT models were offered, although the Diesels were far and away the most popular. Different chassis styles were available as well, including the most popular row crop wide front, plus row crop narrow front, industrial, hi-crop, and low profile beachcomber units. Limited production combination tractors such as row crop narrow front gas, and hi-crop LP models are highly prized by collectors today. 

Many options were available for the XT, including several different configurations of wheel and nose weights, and AC's Traction Booster weight transfer hitch system. 

A factory cab was made an available option on the One Ninety XT Series II in 1965, bringing it right up to date. 

The hot One Ninety XT was a whole new class of tractor, referred to in the industry as a 'Runner'; it could take a smaller implement and run it at a higher speed, resulting in the same acres covered in a day as a larger tractor with a larger implement. John Deere largely copied the One Ninety XT in its later 4000; a stripped down 4020 that could cover as much ground in a day with a 4 furrow plow as a 4020 could cover with a 5 furrow one. 

Speaking of the 4020, they were ahead of the One Ninety XT in one particular aspect: You could order a 4020 with an 8 speed full power shift transmission, whereas the One Ninety XT (or the One Ninety ) was only available with the venerable AC Power Director 4 speed transmission with 2 power shifts available in each gear. They were out-paced there, and that's why the 4020 out-sold them over 8 to 1. 

The One Ninety and One Ninety XT soon became the 190/190XT models, and that's what I'll use from here on in to save typing.

Unfortunately, some guys just have mess with a good thing, and those ones turned up the pump on XT's to 120 horsepower and even more. The engines held together, but the rear end failures on heavy draft equipment like plows and subsoilers started. Allis responded with an updated model with a heavier rear end in the 190XT Series II, and many earlier XT's were upgraded to the new rear end as well. 

The 190XT wasn't perfect, of course, and one particular shortcoming was the power take off system. A problem that was never addressed was the One Ninety and XT didn't have a truly independent PTO due to their Power Director transmission. PTO power was live, but it was not independent. The PTO had to be shut off to shift from any forward gear to a reverse one. That didn't make them nearly as suitable for round balers when they came around as other tractors that had transmissions and power take offs independent from each other. Any PTO implement that overloaded or plugged meant the PTO had to be shut off before the tractor could be shifted into reverse to back away from whatever was feeding it. That would have felt like an unneccessary inconvenience or even a nuisance in a tractor as otherwise modern as it was. 

The 190XT did not fair well with gear grinders, either, and that showed up with their tendency to jump out of gear after being abused by that kind of operator.

Now, as the Runner aspect of the 190XT, Allis Chalmers found themselves in a rather awkward spot when it was quickly discovered and proven that the 190XT could out-perform their flagship D21! If both tractors were placed in the field with their appropriate-sized implements in the morning, at the end of the day their new 301 cubic inch power star 190XT would have covered more ground than the big 426 cubic inch D21! Not the same amount; MORE. And for less fuel to boot. Allis had to do something or all of the tooling and everything else that went into and with the D21 would be wasted as it would never sell when its own smaller, cheaper sibling could out-perform it! Hence, in 1965, the D21 (Series II) received its own turbocharger, and its horsepower jumped all the way from 103 at the PTO to 127. Had they not done that they would have had to cancel the D21 project altogether because the lean, hot 190XT walked all over it. It was a unique situation in the industry.

Style-wise, the industry was completely caught off guard. There was a scramble to catch up to that lean, square, chopped off, all business look. John Deere never really did, but Case followed mightily in their 70 Series tractors with their huge departure from the 'Eagle Eye' look of their 30 Series. They took the box grille look and gave it even more boldness by hacking it downward, providing it with an aggressive, forward looking, raked appearance. Oliver responded to Case's rake by updating the eggcrate grille of their 50 Series to a raked eggcrate grille in their 55 Series with headlights in the top of it. IH tried the boxed grille look in their 656 and 706, but they were rather bland by comparison. They updated their entire new 66 Series line to having having a styled grille, but applied a new contrasting silver, egg crate look, with headlights in the top, somewhat similar to the Oliver 55 Series ones already in place, but no rake. That style became their signature appearance, almost right to the end. Massey Ferguson took a modest approach in mixing boxiness with accrument style. Ford raked their grille in their 8000, 9000, and 8600 and 9600, but added a slightly softening taper at the top. 

The turbocharger of the 190XT, and its predecessor D19, of course, was a sensation. This was one place where the agricultural industry led the automotive industry. But not by much. The turbcharged D19 came out in 1961. Oldsmobile put a turbo on their little 215 cubic inch aluminum V8 in 1962 and installed it in their midsize F85 and called the resulting model the Jetfire. It made 215 horsepower; one horsepower per cubic inch: an industry first in a full production car. 

So, tractors had to have turbos. This was the 1960's after all, and it was the horsepower race that ruled the day. Allis didn't need to put the word, 'Turbo' anywhere on their 190XT, because every farmer of the day knew it was there by the unique 'XT' moniker. It was the hottest thing on tractor tires.

Massey Ferguson very quickly responded with their turbocharged 1130 in 1964. International Harvester followed with the 1206 in 1965 with a big 'Turbo' script boldly emblazoned on the front sides of the hood in strongly contrasting white to the tractor's blood red body. Case introduced their big, turbocharged 4 wheel drive 1200 Traction King in 1966. It bore no reference to being turbocharged. In 1970, however, they debuted their two wheel drive Agri King 1170. It had '451 TURBO' on a narrow black panel on each side of the hood. The 1170 was quickly updated to become the 1175. The 1270 and 1370 followed in 1971 with '451 TURBO' and '504 TURBO' respectively on their hoods. When the 1175, 1270, and 1370 received their new coats of brilliant white paint in 1973, the 'TURBO' lettering disappeared. Oliver introduced their 105 PTO horsepower 1950-T in 1967, the '-T' obviously standing for 'Turbo'. John Deere stepped up with their turbocharged 4520 in 1969. In 1970, Ford brought out their turbocharged 9000. None of them has ever looked back and said, "That was a bad idea..." 

Back to Allis, the 190/190XT style completely took over the entire line. It formed what is known in the industry as the Family Appearance. The uniquely styled D21 Series II really showed its age as the Sixties rolled on, so the Big D became the snazzy 220 in the same style as its smaller siblings. The success story 190XT ran until 1971. In 1972 it was updated to become the 104 PTO horsepower 200. The 190 carried on until 1972. The concurrent D17 and the rest looked uninspired and almost antique compared to the 190 models, so they were all restyled into new power sizes in the 180, followed by the 170 and the 160. Later versions were given a very mild restyle of removing the two horizontal bars across the grille. The fenders were updated to flat top, hand hold versions with the headlights protected in them more like Massey Ferguson or Ford or John Deere. Then came the 175 and 185 in Land Handler or Crop Hustler versions. The  groundbreaking 1964 190/190XT style lasted until 1981 in the final 185 Crop Hustler, still in the vein of the XT in that it was a Runner, designed to operate at higher ground speeds. 

This article started out about style and it is going to end with it. In 1964, the Allis Chalmers 190 and 19XT started a whole new style in the tractor industry. 

Or did they?

In 1958, Cockshutt introduced their "Powerific Line"; the 540, 550, 560, and 570. Gone was the snazzy, two tone look of the Deluxe line of the 20 Deluxe, 35 Deluxe, 40 Deluxe, and 50 Deluxe, and in was a monochrome Cockshutt tan. The colour wasn't new, but the style sure was. Designed by none other than Raymond Loewy, the sleek, rounded, streamlined appearance of the earlier 20, 30, 40, and 50 and the Deluxe Series was out the window, and in by strong contrast was a very minimalistic, squared-off, all business look. They made their appearance in an ostentaticously boxy style with a square grille and hood, and a wedge covering the steering shaft going up to the instrument panel on the operator's platform. The 'Cockshutt' name and corresponding model number was carried on a raised, wedge-shaped placard running down the side of the hood. Very simplistic, and quite aggressive for the time. They were very mildly updated with a 'Red Belly' paint scheme later on, but mechanically remained the same. 

With the sudden aquisition of the Cockshutt line in 1962 by White Motor Corporation, the construction of all genuine, thoroughbred, Canadian-built Cockshutt tractors sadly came to an end. White apparently liked that name and model placard and put it on almost all their tractors bearing the Cockshutt or Oliver name from then on until both their ends in 1976.

But the look? The new 1964 Allis Chalmers 190 and 190XT were all Cockshutt Powerific. As King Solomon said, "There's nothing new under the sun." Every cue was picked up and ran with. The grille was inverted and made slightly more minimal and thereby more aggressive. Two bars were added across it instead of the expanded checkerboard of the Cockshutts. The Cockshutts had a small, round model insignia offset to the top left. The AC's had a small diamond with a round inset in it with 'Allis Chalmers' offset to the top left, along with a plain text of 'One Ninety' beside it. Rear wings were added to the hood and the bodywork was shortened at the rear to allow for an open, front mounting operator's platform. The inclined wedge no longer had to cover a steering shaft so it just was employed for the instrument panel, and much more angular fenders were added, but the overall look is all Cockshutt 550, 560, and 570. And the 580 which got 'Shutt down by the White takeover. 

There's no ignoring or escaping it once you see it. Once you see it you really can't unsee it: The Cockshutt 190XT.

Did Raymond Loewy design the Allis Chalmers 190 and 190XT? It doesn't appear that way. Or, did AC just capitalise on an opportunity? That's certainly how it looks. They got all the style without paying a cent for it.

Maybe Allis Chalmers thought the very sudden disappearance and much lower overall industry profile of Cockshutt would allow them to adopt practically their entire look, but it's pretty obvious where that look came from. And, of course, Cockshutt made much less inroads to the USA so was far less well known. So it was pretty easy to pull off. AC saw a style they liked from a defunct manufacturer and went with it.

Interestingly, the Cockshutt 560 was built with a Perkins L4 270 cubic inch engine, producing 48 PTO horsepower. In 1967, Allis Chalmers introduced their 170 model, powered by a Perkins 4.236 engine, developing 54 horsepower at the PTO. It's far too much of a stretch to say the Cockshutt 560 was back, but the parallels are hard to ignore. 

For you Cockshutt guys out there, regard the whole dynamic appearance of the AC 190 and 190XT and the following models as feathers in your cap, because that's where they originated. Right here in good ol' Brantford Ontario Canada.

It all really makes you wonder what the new Cockshutt tractor line that they had in the concept stage at the time of the takeover might have ended up looking like. And what Allis Chalmers would have had to do instead because Cockshutt was still there.