@jake38311
Can't say if the 4G153 or 4D153 series was used in a farm tractor or not.
Was the 153 series engine used in AC farm tractors as well? I'm familiar with the lift applications because we own one (circa 1970). The engine performs flawlessly and maintenance is limited to pulling a strip of folded fine sandpaper thru contact point faces when lift sits unused for a while in humid environment.
@jake38311
To answer your specific question. No I wasn't in Engineering at the Harvey plant or the Mattson, Il plant when that engine change was made. But I do know the details behind that engine change (I was a Product Sales Manger/District Sales Manger at that time. To begin the AC lift truck division in Harvey moved to a new facility in 1969. The largest customer for the Aliis-Chalmers 4G153 & D153, plsu the G262/D230 was the US military. The engines were used to power generator sets. The gen sets were widely used during the Vietnam Conflict. As the Conflict began to wind down so did the order for gen sets. In 1975 the US bailed out of the Conflict With any product you have to maintain a given production volume to keep cost under control. The cost to buy the engines for lift truck use went up and up and up. At the same time at the Mattson plant there was a corporate edict to reduce costs. It was called CRAM (Cost Reduction At Mattson). See David C Scott waned/needed tons of cash to fund his pet and ill fated coal gasification project. The lift ruck division choose to go to the flat head engine while the US competitors were switching over to OHV engines & Japanese models were hitting the beach in California.
PS: The Vietnam Conflict was declared a War until well after the US pulled out.
Around 1980 A-C returned to the OHV AC branded 4 & 6 cylinder engines (gas/LP). Late '81 I was asked to leave and in a few years the plant closed - it died the death of a rag doll as an old boss of mine, the late JR Barber, would say.
I just referred a man to this site who's in search of an engine manual for an AC lift with a Perkins Diesel. He had posted question in AC tractors facebook group. Are you the person who worked in engineering at Harvey, IL that some time back shared the details of how newer AC lifts had flat head Continental engines because the ag div quit making the overhead valve Buda?
1. Are your spark plug wires correctly installed in the correct firing order. Does the coil & condenser check out good?
2. Was the distributor removed and properly installed? - could be installed 180 degree out of time.
3. Proper distributor timing setting??
4. Tilt cylinders probably need to be repacked
5. This A-C truck is older than dirt - well over 52 years old - I joined AC in 1967 & that model had been replaced by the F40-24 & the engine was an 4G153. Probably why no one has hear of it. You will have to get creative to try to keep this "antique" running. Your best bet is to get what you can for it at the scrap yard and invest in a newer model. Not many old time former A-C dealers left on the West Coast to help you - the Komatsu dealer in Oakland might help you and possibly Cal Lift in the City of Commerce. After that you are SOL