Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company was created in 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, through the merger of several industrial firms, including the Edward P. Allis Company, whose foundries had built steam engines since the 1860s. For the first half of the twentieth century the company supplied mills, mines, utilities and farms with heavy machinery, and it later became one of America's best-loved builders of farm tractors.

In the farm-equipment world Allis Chalmers is remembered for its distinctive orange tractors and for engineering that was often ahead of its time. Notable lines include the small Model B introduced in the 1930s, the successful WD and WD-45, the D-series machines such as the D14, D15 and D17, and the larger 190 and 7000-series tractors. The company also built its own gasoline and diesel engines, including the overhead-valve Power Crater engines that powered many of its most popular models.

Allis Chalmers manuals document the full machine as well as the engine: overhaul procedures and fuel systems, transmissions and final drives, hydraulic systems, PTO and belt drives, steering, brakes, and complete electrical wiring diagrams for lights, starting and charging. They include torque specifications, tune-up and timing data, diagnostic procedures and the maintenance schedules required to keep vintage machines working reliably.

These manuals are a vital resource for collectors and restorers of classic Allis Chalmers tractors, for farm workshops that still operate the older iron, and for independent mechanics who work on this respected American marque.