Oliver 70....project time.

txhillcountry · Apr 9, 2013

Pulled my grandfather's old Oliver 70 out of the barn. Think it's about time for a resto.

MIKE R · Apr 9, 2013

That is a great looking tractor. I think a mechanical restore would be best for it. The paint looks to be original.

txhillcountry · Apr 10, 2013

MIKE R said:
That is a great looking tractor. I think a mechanical restore would be best for it. The paint looks to be original.

I've got a matching Oliver Superior grain drill to go with it. While a mechanical resto would be good, I'm considering a paint resto on both for a (mostly) static display.

Oliver Superior Grain Drill (Donkey won't be part of the restoration... :laughing: )

I've had a couple of pictures for a while that show a restored Oliver 70 and a restored Oliver Superior grain drill, matching colors, and it's inspired me to paint both during the restoration.

ovrszd · Apr 10, 2013

Very cool old tractor. One of the oldest Oliver dealers was in my hometown of Ridgeway Missouri, Shepard's Equipment Company. So I grew up around Olivers. A guy near me has quite a collection. He restored a sweet little Super 55. Do you have the engine side panels too?? Keep us posted on your progress of course!!!

txhillcountry · Apr 10, 2013

ovrszd said:
Do you have the engine side panels too??

Those side panels are long gone. It was my understanding that they were one of the first things on these Olivers that farmers ditched in the Texas heat to help them cool. Knowing my grandfather, they probably became part of some other cobbled-together item like a chicken coop.

mjcountrybumpkin · Apr 10, 2013

It has such a nice patina though. Those really are some nice old machines

ovrszd · Apr 11, 2013

txhillcountry said:
Those side panels are long gone. It was my understanding that they were one of the first things on these Olivers that farmers ditched in the Texas heat to help them cool. Knowing my grandfather, they probably became part of some other cobbled-together item like a chicken coop.

In our country they were ditched because the farmer got tired of opening and closing them everytime they needed access. Your Grandfather sounds like my Dad. Dad used ours to fill a ditch that washed under the fence allowing the little pigs to get out......

kevin37b · Apr 11, 2013

By all means paint the tractor and drill . One of the nicest paint schemes as far as machinery goes . I started out on a super 88 when I was about 8 . And yes those side panels seemed to disappear very early in the life of the machine . They were always in the way of general maintenance . Keep us posted , good luck .