Oliver 550

Originally posted 29 October 2011

Last weekend was quite a weekend for me.  I was able to bring home a tractor that I have wanted for some time and also will be posting about a wood ‘find’ that I was able to experience.

My Dad always ran Oliver tractors when I was growing up on the farm. So, even though I work for a company that would be in competition with the company that holds what little remains of the Oliver heritage, I have wanted to own an Oliver ever since we got the acreage in 2007.

I espescially wanted an Oliver 550, because it is a utility tractor, similar to the Ford 8N that I bought soon after we moved out here.

A few weeks ago one came up on Craigslist within about 10 miles of our place here, in Eagle, WI. The price looked right and after looking at it and waiting for the owner to get it running, I bought it and brought it home last weekend (22 October 2011).

So, the advantages over the 8N are live PTO and live hydraulics – in other words, one can engage the PTO with out stepping on the clutch and the three point hitch will lift at any time, whether or not you have your foot on the clutch.

And, the tractor is a lot less  ‘worn out’ that the 8N. The steering is much tighter and the linkages on the three point hitch are much less worn.

It came with a International Harvester flail mower that i will try to sell (in fact, I posted it on Craigslist this morning – we’ll see how that goes).

And, we were able to find in the owner’s shed the drawbar and a belt pulley attachment. Neither of them seem to have any wear on them at all. And last, and certainly not least, a set of heavy-duty tire chains.

Unfortunately, all is not perfect in Oliver-land.  The engine runs with a miss.  I’m hoping that it is simply a stuck valve and that with a little luck we can get it running without a major tear-down. I plan to perform surgery on it quite soon.

Other than that, it has fluid in the rear tires, and the wheel rims are rusted pretty badly. And, it needs a paint job.  It will probably get one, even if it is just a rattle-can paint job.