Oliver Heritage Issue #105

Oliver Heritage Issue #105 - Oct/Nov 2021

• FEATURING: Hart-Parr Row Crop - The Merger Machine. Hart-Parr and Oliver merged in 1929 and it didn’t take long for them to come out with a new tractor model. Upon the completion of testing, the Row Crop was also referred to as an 18-27. Feature tractor owner: Karl Jansen - Sigel, IL.

• Ask the Oliver Mechanic: Question and answer with Larry Harsin.

• Super 77 Repower:  While repowers have become quite popular in the tractor world, you don’t see many in an Oliver unless it’s the later series. Rarely ever do you see a Fleetline or Super that has been repowered because that Oliver/Waukesha engine was about as reliable as they come. This summer, we stumbled upon one as unique as we’ve found. 

• Hydra Hitch vs. Power Traction Hitch: The Best Fit For You. In the late-1950s, Oliver came out with two different hitches. While they may seem to be fairly similar, they are also very different. The following will enlighten you as to the best implement to use with each hitch, assuring the best performance of each.  

• Flex Back Plow: Having a big tractor on the farm helped cover a lot of ground but it also created other problems. White had outgrown the plows in production so the easiest thing to do was to hook two of them together. The result was the Flex-Back plow. In the winter of 1977, White introduced the largest plows the company ever produced. Marketed as the 2549 and 2588 plow, they were offered to match the high horsepower of the bigger two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive tractors. 

• Plant Tour Books: Once upon a time, manufacturers were proud to show their customers around the plant. As a souvenir or thank you, they were often given booklets to tell the history of the company, along with specs about the plant. Oliver had a wide variety of booklets printed throughout the years for their different plants.

• Arnold Braun: Arnie is the name most locals know him by in Cologne, MN, and his reputation is synonymous with tractor mechanics. His knowledge and expertise covers mainly Oliver and White tractors and machinery.

• Another Oliver User: David Stumpf. When I was a kid, we had different makes and models of tractors at home, but I chose Oliver because of the live PTO. I started out with a 77 narrow front and then added an 88 diesel wide front with a loader. Eventually, I moved up to an 1800 diesel and then to an 1855 diesel."

• Lanesville Heritage Festival. For forty-six years, the small town of Lanesville, Indiana, swells with people and tractors to celebrate this region’s agricultural heritage.