Much as the pork industry used the slogan, The Other White Meat beginning in 1987, to tout its “healthy” white meat as compared to chicken, Oliver tractors are often considered the other green tractors. John Deere almost had a lock on this color, but this Oliver 77 Orchard from an unknown model year is green, and it’s listed here on Tractorhouse.com with a $14,900 asking price. Thanks to Mr. Green Jeans himself, Driveinstile, for the tip!
Oliver’s styled Fleetline Series of tractors was the stuff of dreams for those of us who were into all things vehicle-related as kids in the ’60s and ’70s. My brother and I had an Oliver “styled” tractor toy like the regular row-crop (narrow front wheels), and it’s still hiding somewhere. It wasn’t a fancy, space-age-looking Orchard model as seen here, with the big rear fenders to keep tree branches from being caught in the rear as you drive through harvesting apples, and other tree crops.
These photos are incredibly small, so they’re a little pixelated when enlarged to be even remotely visible here. You can see a good view of the rear of this tractor in the photo above, showing how much of the messy and dangerous bits (wheels, axles, gears, etc.) were covered, so your precious tree harvest went smoothly.
Oliver offered the “Styled 70” models from 1937 on, and the 77 Series was a replacement for that line. The 77 Fleetline Series from the late 1940s through the early 1950s, and they came in three different configurations: the 77 Row-Crop with a narrow front end and two front wheels next to each other, such as what most people think of when they think of the iconic tractor design. The 77 Standard had wide front wheels, and the 77 Orchard, as seen here, had covered rear fenders, and they were a bit lower.
We’ve only seen two other Oliver tractors here on Barn Finds, one in January of 2017, seen here, and a 1952 77 Row-Crop in 2018, as seen here. Oddly, I wrote both of those up. We have seen two Oliver bulldozers, one as recently as a few weeks ago. The seller says this 77 Orchard is a very nice restoration and it sure looks nice in the tiny photos. The engine is a 3.2-liter inline-six, gas-powered, I believe, although an LP gas and diesel version would have been available. It had around 33 to 39 horsepower (28.4 PTO horsepower) and is backed by a manual with six speeds forward and two in reverse, sending power to the rear wheels. Are any of you into vintage tractors?
Scotty!!! You wrote up my tip!!! Thank you very much for writing this one up. I’ve never seen an Orchard model. I know a guy who has an early 50’s 77 Row crop ( like the second one you have the link for). It’s been some time since I had a chance to drive it around a bit, I do seem to remember that 6 speed with that funky shift patern. When
they get tired and the shifter gets sloppy its what I used to call the “Pick a gear….. Any Gear……” system. It can be a bit tough figuring out which gear you’re in at times. Frank Rymon and sons was an Oliver dealer in the Washington, NJ area back many decades and is actually still there ( not selling Olivers) at the same location
today. In fact they’ve been in business
since 1910. Very nice people to deal with.
I really liked your beginning line from the Pork industry with the other white meat. You hit the nail on the head. Oftentimes I’d see little kids mistake an Oliver at a tractor display at the County fair for a Poppin’
Johnny. This one looks great the “Tin work” on it is very straight, and nice to see. Also, I think I had the same toy “Oliver like” tractor when I was a kid too, it was my older brothers ( like everything else I got from him….. Including that red pair of Toughskins Jeans from Sears lol). Great reasearch here Scotty, and……. ( this is the part I say great find too…..(( Insert name here)). I really enjoyed this and am really glad you wrote it up. Thank you!!!
-Dave
I hope this comes out. This is a picture of the gear shift patern.
You’ll have to click on it to open it up. Can you imagine driving a truck with a shift patern like that???? Yikes!! Only 2 different neutral positions, no problem…..
Looks complicated but it’s not since you would change gears while stopped, not on the move. In the 50s and 60s growing up in Eastern Oregon pea country there were tons of these Olivers. Most were swathers fitted with a sickle bar, a reel and a canvas draper on the back, run by the PTO. They were set up to drive backwards and cut the peas (vines) and leave behind a windrow for a loader to pick up and fill the pea trucks. As a teen, I spent hundreds of hours on those old Olivers. :-) Terry J
I’m a third generation owner of a 77 row crop. I still use it but only for bush hogging. One of the smoothest running engines ever.
Terry, when I would take the Olly down the road, I’d start in 3rd and then shift into 6th on the fly. Never tried it in any other gear.
We ran oliver tractors into the 60s. You could also get a row crop tractor with a single wheel in the front, which was the only kind you saw in our area.
Beautiful tractor. I think the manufacturer should have sowed the neutral in the center between the 2 neutrals shown in the pattern as per the cars of today and yesterday. Then it’s forward left backward for the 4th gear, forward right backward for the 3th gear and so on. It was a bit confusing anyway.
Thanks for the tip, Dave! Most manufacturers made those orchard tractors. Here’s a McCormick-Deering model from a vintage tractor show way back in 2012, ouch.
I know its supposed to be functional, but I always thought the extra tin work on any orchard tractor looks great, nice flowing lines. I enjoyed finding the tip Scotty, I really need to do that more often.
The extra sheet metal on this was fine tuned during extensive wind tunnel testing.
I know nothing about tractors, but this is cool. The fenders give it an art deco look. That shift pattern is crazy, I wonder why it is this way. Fun write-up Scotty.
Maybe the shift pattern is the original anti-theft device
Ummm….I’m pretty sure the Ford Model T is the original. But this one is quite amazing.
Excellent surfing there, Dave! Very unique tractor, never saw any like that around here.
“Oddly, I wrote both of those up”..a little tongue-in-cheek from others perspective if you ask me Scotty🤣. You have a propensity to find stuff like this and it’s interesting to read about.
Thank you, sir.
Kurt
Thank you Kurt. I’ve seen a number of other Oliver tractors, mostly “77” row crops, but never an Orchard model like this. I’d imagine that tin work has would get banged up brushing up against tree branches all the time, that’s why I was so impressed with this one. And I agree, Scotty has a good eye for finding unique stuff and researching it.
-Dave
Wait, Dave, YOU’RE the original Mr. Green Jeans? Did you get my letters? In case you youngins’ don’t know, Mr. Green Jeans(Hugh Brannum) was Capt. Kangaroos( Bob Keeshan) sidekick/lackey on the wildly popular childrens morning show of the same name, from 1955 -1984, almost 30 YEARS!!!.
We didn’t see many “Olie-vahs” ( Eva Gabor) in cow poop flats, and certainly none with orchard garb, that was the 1st thing to go, if one even had it. It makes a tractor look sharp, but honestly, farmers generally aren’t concerned with appearance, and those guards probably looked pretty shabby after a spell.
There were a couple farmers that thought outside the JD/Case/IH/A-C/Ford box, but very few. I don’t even recall an Oliver dealer anywhere.
Dave’s shift pattern reminds me of that 20 hole shift pattern on the internet. For the record, it’s not like a truck RoadRanger, and splitting gears all down the field. Usually, you’d pick one gear you knew would handle whatever load, and never shifted. The gears were pretty close, with the exception of the last gear, we called “road gear”. Nice find.
I remember shifting on the go between the upper and lower gears while in the go.
Well, it’s no Hoyt-Clagwell.
Looks prettier than a brand new firetruck going up the side of a green hill.
> Haney, who sold “Olie-vah the “Ofer” farm…:)
Hey Howard. Nope, not the original Mr. Green Jeans, although I do remember him lol. If it were me, I would have acknowledged your letters lol. Its true about not shifting on the fly, you’d have to try to double clutch or slip shift, and all the gears were pretty close in ratio from what I remember. The “Road Gear” is a bit high and could be a bit rough to launch. Thanks again.
-Dave
Very nicely done! They also came as a wide front row crop and a “high crop” or sugarcane tractor. The transmission is actually a 3 speed with high/low range, Oliver just put it all on one stick. One of the nicest things about Olivers is the independent or “live PTO”, a lot better than Ford and Massy 2 stage clutch.
Thanks Jim, and the “live” PTO made all the difference. In case some may not know why, putting in the clutch on a “dead”(?) PTO, stops the attachment from turning, and is a huge PITA. Most tractors I drove had a live PTO, except that Ford 8N on the farm didn’t.
And how many guys got pushed through the fence bush-hogging with an 8N and no overrunning clutch on the PTO?
Thanks for the reminder on the 2 stage clutch on my Massey Feguson Orchard tractor. I have a 1958 Massey Ferguson “65” that was ordered for orchard work. Mine has massive fenders to cover the tires. No need for the very cool aero fenders like on the Oliver. As the Massey tractor sits very low. (Wide low profile Ag. Tires) Standard Massey “65s” sit as high as this Oliver one. But the orchard version is approx. 16″ lower. The Massey does not have the “back door” rear entrance to the seat. So having to climb around the massive orchard fenders to “grab a seat” is a major pain. Luckily I also have a 1957 Massey Ferguson model “50” that had standard fenders. So a swap was completed for easier use. (1957 is yard art now) Adjusting that 2 stage clutch has never been accomplished after memorizing the shop manual and many tries. I use my “65” almost dailey, grading, dragging, lifting, and punching holes. (I swapped the front end loader off the “50” ) and towing on the property. Takes a beaten and keeps on tickin’ !
I’m a third generation owner of a 77 row crop. I still use it but only for bush hogging. One of the smoothest running engines ever.
Terry, when I would take the Olly down the road, I’d start in 3rd and then shift into 6th on the fly. Never tried it in any other gear.
I think some of the Olivers had the flathead 6 Chrysler motor in them. I knew a guy that had several orchard tractors and he had one with a narrow front. He bypassed the governor to open it up, he said it would do 60 on the highway. But you had to remove one of the steer tires or otherwise it would go into the death wobble at higher speeds
Hi timothy, well, farmer stories are a lot like truck drivers stories, you can believe them if you want, but I’ve never had a tractor that would do 60. Most tractors just aren’t geared for that and don’t have the power.
Take a front wheel off to cure “death wobble”, of course, why didn’t I think of that? Do you think a Jeep with 3 wheels will draw any attention? :)
It seemed reasonable when he explained that the governor would limit rpm to 1400 to 1500 but when he went around it, it would turn 4000 plus. It was a car motor so it was capable of turning that. It was a long time ago also so my memories might not be entirely accurate. There were some ford tractors that had a 223 motor in gas and diesel
Howard, having been the “go to guy ” for death wobble problems in the Reno area, I have this to say about that. Most death wobbles on solid axle front ends are “allowed” to happen by not enough caster (king pin inclination) And then amplified by worn parts. I think I explained the whole process a few weeks ago and I’m sure that most Barnfinders fell asleep trying to read it. I don’t see how removing 1 wheel would help other than cutting the wobbling in half! My Massey will go 18 mph in 3rd high range. And even that is somewhat scarry depending on the road and limiting RPM to about 1,600.
Never saw one with a Chrysler engine, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Unlike most tractors where the engine is part of the frame, Oliver had a cast frame or “tub” and a guy with a little mechanical skills could put most any engine in there. Saw a 200 cid Ford in a Oliver 70. Latter swaps include B series Cummins to replace old Waukesha engines. Larger later models ran 354 Perkins, 4-53 Detroits and the biggest 2255 ran 3208 Cat engines.
I’ve heard hundreds of stories of baler twine to the throttle linkage (just not while Dad was around!)
The wheel/tire fenders are much more than for an art-deco look.
Years ago, the old man who was my landlord at the time told me about his nephew who was bush hogging an orange grove with a regular Ford 8N and got swept off the tractor by a branch and ended up getting run over by the bushhog.
He said there wasn’t much left of him and that he could have been buried in a shoebox.
Back in the 70s we had a small Oliver tractor that I as a teen would bushhog with. One day coming back from cutting a pasture down the rd. I was coming down a big hill on the blacktop and all a sudden the steering wheel pops off…
In a frantic mode I got it back on but man that was a few seconds I thought I was a gonner.
I never found the big nut or knew how it came off without me knowing ?
Brings all new meaning to the phrase, “take the wheel!”
Jesus got confused & took the nut instead.
True because the bigger nut there lived to knock an 8-N ford into jaw-jaa overdrive off an even bigger hill and by the time I got to the bottom of that hill the death wobble alone had almost took my arms off. I learned a true lesson that day, once in neutral at a hight rate of speed, it’s no going back in gear lol
Greeeeeen Acres is the place to be, faaaarm livin’ is the life for me…😁😁😁
And I have a Green Acres road just done the road a’piece!
Mr. Douglas had a “Hoyt-Clagwell”, a fictional name for the show and was actually a 1918 Fordson Model F, that he bought from none other than Mr. Haney.
When i was a youngster our neighbor had A big Case orchard tractor.That thing looked cool
The later “white nose” Olivers are absolute beasts because of the Detroit you could get in some of the bigger ones. But the “yellow nose” are by far the most stylish. A pure exercise in no excuses art-deco beauty. Sadly, we will never see a time where style penetrates every nuance of even the lowliest forms of machinery again.
My brother Dan had a Oliver Bulldozer , all worn out when he got it , threw the tracks every other time he used it , motor was smooth!
Where we’re going, we don’t need ROWS.
Pretty futuristic.