PTO lever on either the left or right hand side. Engineer Herb Morrel was against this change. He felt that gave the operator the opportunity to just rev the tractor up to maximum RPMs and then engage the PTO, putting quite a bit of stress on the system. Early Fleetline tractors used a decal to indicate the shift pattern. These did not hold up well under weather and field conditions. In March 1949, the decal was replaced by a metal tag and decals were no longer supplied as a replacement. In November 1949, another feature was released for the Fleetline series. Radiator shutters became available for installation. This required a little cutting and drilling to install but full instructions came with the kit. These were primarily for the KD engines but worked with the HC as well. No mention is made of installing them on diesel engines because those were not yet available. When Oliver promoted their new tractor fleet, they advertised a choice of three engines. The HC and KD were available from the beginning but Oliver stated that the diesel would be available later. It was actually 1950 before that happened. In 1951 they introduced the factory LP engine. LP tractors prior to that were field conversions and Oliver had to be “approved” before LP tractors could roll off the assembly line. In the early 1950’s, gasoline was only eighteen cents a gallon. Diesel was twelve cents. When you consider that the diesel used 1/3 less fuel for the same horsepower, it seemed like a no brainer but the diesel engine was not an easy sell at first. It took a while for farmers to warm up to the new method of power, but by 1954, Oliver was selling 43% of all diesel tractors on wheels. Oliver did their research when they
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Oliver Heritage
When you consider that the diesel used 1/3 less fuel for the same horsepower, it seemed like a no brainer but the diesel engine was not an easy sell at first.
Model
# Cyl.
B&S
CID
Comp. Ratio
DB HP
Belt HP
22.3
26.05
66 HC
4
3 5/16x3 ¾
129
6.75:1
66 KD
4
3 1/2x 3 ¾
144
4.75:1
66 DSL
4
3 5/16x3 ¾
129
15.5:1
22.05
25.03
77 HC
6
3 5/16x3 ¾
194
6.75:1
34.2
38.82
77 KD
6
3 1/2x3 ¾
216
4.75:1
77 DSL
6
3 5/16x3 ¾
193.9
15.75:1
31.28
35.79
88 HC
6
3 1/2x4
230.9
6.75:1
38.4
44.66
88 KD
6
3 3/4x4
265
4.75:1
88 DSL
6
3 1/2x4
230.9
15:1
patterned the diesel engine. This was not an engine designed to burn gasoline that was switched over the diesel. It was truly intended to burn diesel and hold up under higher compression. The first fifty diesel engines used the Richardo combustion chamber system and a single plunger pump manufactured by Sundstrand. Bosch did not offer a single plunger pump at the time. When they found out what was going on, they quickly got to work. The result was a Bosch single plunger pump with the Lonova combustion system that was used throughout the Fleetline production. One of the revolutionary features
of the Fleetlines was the directdrive power take-off unit that was independently operated. Initially, engineers set out to have the belt pulley and PTO operate as one unit off the rear of the tractor. During the failed tests, it was decided that they should be separate units in separate locations, thus the belt pulley was moved in front of the transmission. When the three beauties were introduced, they were equipped with a power lift just like that on the 70. This was a necessary feature that worked well with the pipe-mounted implements, but not so well with
18
28
38 38.30
43.53
drawn implements. Oliver’s solution for this was the Hydra-Lectric system which was introduced in 1950. With a hydraulic pump and reservoir located on the operator’s platform, implements could be controlled by switches mounted below the steering wheel. This created a minor problem on tractors with a belt pulley. When the operator pulled up the lever to engage the pulley, the lever came in contact with the hydraulic controls. Oliver sent out a service bulletin telling dealers how to bend the pulley lever to a 90, which would eliminate contact until a new lever was designed.
ISSUE 41 • February / March
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