Allis-Chalmers/Cooper Winch Tractor

Allis-Chalmers/Cooper Winch Tractor. . Allis Chalmers/Cooper winch tractors date from the late 1930's. Allis Chalmers was a U.S. machinery manufacturer. The Fred E. Cooper Company was an oil field drilling and service company in Tulsa, Oklahoma which also built rigs such as the example displayed here. Cooper used Allis Chalmers tractors as a platform upon which to build drilling and service rigs. The rigs used to drill most of the wells in Borger's early oilfield were wooden and were constructed on site, but the discovery field also served as a testing ground for new ideas and innovation. Cooper's winch tractor was the result of innovation obtained from knowledge acquired "on the job" in this relatively-new profession., These rigs were self-propelled units and could be driven to the well site. This design was much more efficient, convenient and cost-effective for drilling and oil field service companies. This model could also be used to service wells. Oil wells require constant repair, cleaning and maintenance. Owning a piece of equipment which could perform most of the company's heavy lifting was very attractive to owner-operators. The ad, (lower right) appeared in a 1941 issue of The Oil and Gas Journal, a trade magazine which reported on machinery, events, places, people and what was happening world-wide in the petroleum industry. This ad appeared in the journal just prior to the attack on the U. S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which started World War II., The rig's color today is much like the color Cooper painted their rigs," "Persian Orange.", Captions , Lower Left: The jacking ring and two large wrenches shown above were used to screw and unscrew pieces of drill pipe as it was going into and out of a well. , Upper Right: Before stabilization by museum volunteer Don Thompson and crews from D.E. Rice Co., a local industrial contractor. , Lower Right: New tires were installed after restoration which were donated by local tire retailer Harvey Tire Company of Borger. , Lower Right: July 24, 1941 Oil and Gas Journal