(first posted 7/15/2015) I’ve been infatuated with old Oliver tractors since my childhood days driving tractors, especially the 70 (and later 77). Why? In addition to wearing their late-30s Streamline Moderne styling so well, the 70 and 77 were unusual in their size-power class to have a six cylinder engine. My first time driving one brought that point home, compared to two-cylinder John Deere “poppers” that gave a deep, slow massage and the four cylinder Farmalls which just caused one’s hands to tingle after a day holding its steering wheel. Not so the silky-smooth Oliver.
A year and a half ago, I wrote up a post on one of or many visits to Hentze Farm, where we get eggs and fresh produce in season. One of the featured tractors was this Oliver 66, a bit younger and a class smaller than the 70, and with a four cylinder engine. It’s visible in the background of the top shot.
But this visit was shortly after July 4th, and a neighbor’s recently re-painted 70 was still visiting, after having been used in the nearby Harrisburg, OR, Independence Day Parade, which I hear is worth coming to see for its small town flavor and old vehicles.
This 70 is called “Standard” to differentiate from its more slender and narrow-front track “tricycle” row-crop version that was generally more popular with Iowa farmers, since it was more versatile for cultivator and other field tasks. The standard version was more typically used further out west, for plowing and pulling combines on the large wheat fields and such. There was also an orchard version which covered the rear wheels.
Here’s a row-crop 70. Oliver streamlined its line of tractors in 1937, among the first to do so, and it made for an exceptionally fine looking machine in my eyes.
Let’s lift up the the engine covers and see what’s inside. International and John Deere also redesigned the styling of their tractors about the same time, but didn’t use engine covers, for practical reasons; understandably so. But it does make the Olivers distinctive if a bit annoying.
The ohv inline six has a small 3.124″ bore and a very long 4.375″ stroke, resulting in 201.3 cubic inches (3.3 L). Like all tractor engines, its governor severely limits engine speed, to 1500 rpm in this case. Horsepower was tested independently by the rigorous Nebraska Field tests, which yielded a 31.52 hp on the belt, 30.37hp on the PTO, and 28.63 at the drawbar. The rather small updraft carburetor gives testament to the “throttled” nature of these tractor engines, which are designed to run wide-open at their rated speed all day.
Why were almost all tractor engines overhead valve, when most American cars had flatheads? Fuel efficiency was very critical to a tractor’s owner, and those Nebraska tests measured fuel usage very precisely. OHV engines burn fuel more efficiently, and thus flatheads were the exception rather than the rule. Ford naturally used flatheads on its N series tractor, but switched too ohv in 1953.
“Clean Air Filter Daily”. As if. These oil-soaked steel-mesh element filters were very effective, but messy to clean, in kerosene.
Built in Charles City, Iowa; and well built at that.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to relive my memories the day I helped out at some neighbor’s farm driving their six-cylinder 70. But the distinctive sound and smooth thrumm of that Oliver six are still vivid in my memory.
Related:
Nice article. A six cylinder would have been preferable for the long haul. Mine is a flathead four from the seventies and I found it to be pretty unreliable. Acted like a fuel problem but turned out to be in the wiring. Guess that could happen to any of them.
Interesting article. Don’t know much about that brand. IIRC my dad always liked Massey Ferguson.
Growing up on and among Ozark hill country small farms, I’m not sure I ever saw an Oliver in the wild and I don’t remember any dealerships. We were more Massey-Ferguson, Ford, International-McCormick-Farmall, and John Deere people. In the 60’s, Massey-Ferguson 35s, 135s, and Ford 8Ns and 9Ns seemed to predominate. We had, at various times, a 9N, a John Deere Model G, an International 424, and an Allis Chalmers Model B (great with a hay rake). Were Olivers mostly mid-western and/or north of the Mason-Dixon? I first became aware of them when my Pops attended some seminar in Charles City in the late 60’s and came back with a brochure from the company museum depicting every model they ever made (I may even still have it). I was struck first by the steel-wheeled machines from the 20’s (a revelation to me) and then by the streamlining in the 30’s and 40’s. Much more elegant than what we were used to, though those side panels would be pretty annoying on a 100 degree day like today fiddling with the engine in the middle of a sweltering hay field.
I love this genre of tractors and the Olivers in particular – beautiful. Earlier models (of numerous brands) came to be known as “unstyled” tractors.
Oil bath air filters are more efficient than paper elements (if I recall correctly), but yes, they are messy to service, and don’t provide a recurring parts revenue stream to filter manufacturers, either!
My 1966 AC 190 has a (smooooth) gas straight six, and it’s a joy to listen to when at full chat running the baler. Styling by this point was starting to square off, and would quickly return to simple fabrications with a few molded fiberglas or plastic panels here or there.
Streamlined tractors?? Hilarious!
I hope that seat has a hole or two in it so it won’t collect rainwater. The Soviet T-72’s well-shaped, steel driver’s-seat lacks a hole, which put me off from sitting in one whose hatch was left open after a rainstorm. Now I’ll never know if I’d fit (supposedly they need short guys to crew their tanks, not a problem to find in a polyglot country of that size).
Most of these old stamped pan seats are hinged at the rear so’s you can flip it upside down when not in use. Keeps the seat clean of rainwater *and* bird poop!
Makes sense, thanks!
Also worth noting: A “Standard” (or occasionally “Wheatland,” after the main crop grown where these tractors were commonplace) tractor would generally not have an adjustable front (and sometimes also rear) axle. Row crop tractors were usually narrow front (tricycle), could be wide front, but they always had adjustable axles for different row spacings.
The advantage of having a non-adjustable standard axle meant the whole tractor could be built heavier and with a more powerful engine. Until 4WD tractors became commonplace in the 1970s, standard tractors were the pulling kings on medium to large farms.
John Deere’s comparable tractor at the time would’ve been the AR (or “A Rigid”).
?
My Ferguson TO-30 ‘standard’ tractor has an adjustable front end.
I didn’t think that was unusual in a four-point set up.
Why would you adjust the width of a row-crop?
For the various spacings for different row crops, which were not all the same. That is for the rear axle, if the front is narrow. But some row crop tractors also had wide front ends, in which case the front spacing was variable too.
But “standard” tractors had no spacing variability on either front or rear axle.
Because not all crops are planted on the same row spacing. A lot of my older implements are set up on 36″ rows, where newer stuff will often be 30″ or even narrower. To cultivate my field corn, I have to flip my wheels around so they run down the row properly. The front axle width is also adjustable if needed.
pic didn’t load
The 8N and all the competing tractors that came after (JD M, etc.) are utility tractors, which may or may not have adjustable front and/or rear axles depending on application. Their lack of height/ground clearance means they’re usually not suited for row crop work, but it gives them a lower center of gravity for loader work.
Several years ago we picked up a JD 1020 and 2020 as “working toys”. The 2020 is actually a low utility (LU), 4 inches lower than the normal, and the 1020 is a high utility (HU), 3 inches higher than normal. Neither has adjustable rear axles, but you can flip the wheels in/out. Mostly we use them for raking hay and moving wagons and racks around.
There was a pretty big aftermarket for the Ford N Series tractors, which included high crop conversions (super-tall wheels), orchard models (smooth fenders covering the wheels so the fruit tree branches won’t be damaged), and even the BNO-25 aircraft tug with truck tires and a very low height.
Delightful! With a 201 cubic inch six, this Oliver ran a bigger engine than a lot of cars, including the ’39 Studebaker Champion, whose six was only 164 cubic inches. The Ford V8 was only 221 cubic inches.
I am a big Oliver fan, having spent many hours in the seat of my father’s 1961 550.
I would’ve gotten one instead of the Ferguson, but price-point comparisons pushed the Oliver Streamliners out of my meager budget. I had to settle for the Ferguson as the closest thing to a Studebaker Tractor — he was a Scott, and Studebaker later produced the Scottsman!
Although produced in far fewer numbers than Farmalls , Olivers earned a reputation as rugged, reliable, premium workhorse. A fact that is reflected in their prices today among tractor buff/ collector hobby. Another brand that falls into this category perhaps to a lesser extent is Minniapolis Moline. I have warm spot for them as a boy age 12 & 13 operating a Minni Mo for a neighbor I worked for.
A nice piece of machinery indeed, but I can think of one Oliver that was not so smooth or quiet: The Super 99/990. While it’s GM 3-71 diesel made the 990 one of the most powerful tractors of it’s day, the noise and vibration was typical Detroit Diesel. Even after Oliver developed their own 6 cylinder diesel, GM 2 strokes were still available in the later 1950, though the 3-71 had been replaced by the 4-53.
Nice memories. I can recall (barely) my great-uncle Clifton Geeting swore by Olivers for his Indiana fields in the early ’40s. They were not uncommon in eastern Indiana and western Ohio back then. My mother (now in her 99th year) recalls that my granddad, back in the 1920s, had a McCormick-Deering.
As for the “Johnny Poppers” or “Poppin’ Johnnies”, they sold a ton of them for several decades. My understanding is that the two-cylinder fired, spun 180 degrees, fired again and then spun 520 degrees! They must have some flywheels….
They sold so well because they had the lowest fuel consumption.
Larry, you are right about those JD flywheels. In the late 60s, my father was given a 30s Model B by my step mom’s Uncle Cal who had no use for it anymore. Dad used it to pull a mower and a plow blade on some rural property in northwestern Ohio.
The flywheel ran off a shaft that was perpendicular to the engine. It was close to 2 feet in diameter and looked like it must have weighed 50 pounds. It also served as the starter – you got up close to it, grabbed ahold, turned it till you could feel compression, and gave it a mighty spin. Sort of like a wheel of fortune, where a winning spin resulted in the thing firing and blowing the metal juice can off of the exhaust stack.
Similar to Harley Davidson nice sounds
having grown up on a small farm in the ’50s and ’60s i enjoy these write ups on the old tractors. my first one to drive was a Super C farmall. then Daddy got a second tractor, a WD Allis Chalmers. neither of these had 3 point hitch so they would eventually be outdated. but at the time of the Super C Daddy still had a team of mules so he was transitioning and the Farmall was a great advance. but then we went to 620 John Deere, 50 JD, 560 International,ect. i drove tractor for some neighbors the year the JD 4020s with the automatic transmissions came out. boy, we thought they were really something. that was probably ’64 or ’65. this was in east central Arkansas. i started driving that Super C when i was about 8 or 9 i guess, had to really strech to clutch it. sitting up on that platform between those tall skinny tires, with no fenders, pulling a 6 ft disk or a 2 bottom breaking plow. yea, those were the days.
Oliver engines were manufactured by Waukesha but were designed by Oliver and i believe some of the castings were poured in Charles City and transported to Waukesha for machining. Hart-Parr, the predecessor to Oliver, actually was a pioneer of the internal combustion tractor and coined the word tractor rather than traction engine. The post war Oliver’s were very advanced and with live pto and 6 cylinders and diesel optional they predicted the standard tractor of the ’60s. Oliver’s headquarters was in Chicago and i think that kept the senior executives too far away from their customer. unfortunately White’s acquisition of them in ’60 bled them to death. Tractor sales are very dependent on the dealer network and i don’t think they had much presence in the south.
There are some good Oliver books out there written by ex-engineers and employees. They were an enthusiastic and creative group.
BTW Ed the Allis 190XT was one of my favorites. That Persian orange and cream combination with a little chrome is killer.
During WWII there were no tractors available for sale, so my dad made his own, out of an old Pontiac.
Later, our family acquired an International. We had orchards in California, so row spacing was not an issue.
“There was also an orchard version which covered the rear wheels.”
Why was it necessary to cover the rear wheels?
So that the low branches would gently ride over the fenders and not get caught in the wheels or be damaged by the tire tread.
Two things:
The idea of a streamlined tractor seems a bit ridiculous, if you equate streamlining with high speed.
And I am surprised no one tried to ” recommend ” this excellent sounding tractor to Mr Douglas of Green Acres.
The brand name and the look of the tractor sounds familiar, perhaps from the older issues of my Dad’s Farm Journal magazine?
The Ford-Lincoln dealer that my father bought his cars at for over 40 years, also sold Ford tractors (and still sells them). With the cars, trucks, and tractors, they truly are a full line Ford dealer.
No more ridiculous than the streamlined styling on buildings, appliances, typewriters, adding machines, etc.. It was a major styling theme; Streamline Moderne. Maybe it helped the Chrysler Building to better withstand wind storms.
Don’t forget streamlined refrigerators – preferably with a clock in the door.
I can’t see a Norge refrigerator without thinking about the old Saturday Night Live skit about the Norge repairman. Funny stuff.
Streamline vacuum cleaner, Electrolux 1937
Streamline Raymond Loewy pencil sharpener: (more on the Moderne side of Streamline Moderne):
The Oliver’s were very easy to spot, the streamlining was very distinct but a pain if you worked on them. The farm I worked on was John Deere all the way. Must have had at least a dozen of those twins working there.
Growing up in a city I don’t know much about tractors but I have retired to a small town and a neighbour who lives about 2 km down the road has several Olivers. I don’t know him but I see his tractors. He even has one outfitted with a snow blower and a homemade cab. He blows out a number of drives in the area. It seems he might be selling his collection. I saw an ad for a 59 880 diesel shown below. The ad also lists a 770 NF Gas and an 880 Wheatland Diesel for sale. There can’t be too many Oliver collections in a small town so it is probably his. I will miss seeing him next winter.
That Standard 70 is a beautiful piece of machinery. Looking at the grille and radiator shell by itself, it could just as easily belong to a race car.
I actually see some minor practical advantages to sculpting the sheetmetal, too… looks like it would be less likely to snag branches vs a square-edged design in orchard applications. Also handy for mowing in areas where you have to sneak under and around low-hanging branches and brush.
Raymond Loewy streamline pencil sharpener.
Either that, or it’s Marvin the Martian’s Ilyudium Q-36 Explosive Space Mod-yoo-lay-torr (Mk.2).
What type of transmissions did tractors of this era typically have?
Typically manually selected sliding spur gears, often designed with provision for through-shaft PTO at rear of tractor; input via friction clutch at engine end, output to final drive providing further gear reduction.
“Typically” because there were 101 ways to skin the cat.
I have been into Oliver’s now for 20 years and have a few oddities heres my 1941 Oliver 70 Tugg
Also we have the 7th Oliver 77 made in the family