You know the axiom, Bob; /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif "Buy the best tractor that you can afford." In other words, it's cheaper to pay a little more up front than have to bush the bearing bore in the main transmission, overhaul the engine, and search the U.S. for a front end casting that isn't washed out. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gifWe paid top dollar for our John Deere "A", and I've not been sorry a moment since. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Oliver Super 55 Diesel
- Thread starter Bob_Skurka
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Von
Veteran Member, Advertiser
Bob, I sold the Oliver 550 that I had with a FEL for $4500 about 7 years ago. I paid $2600 for it at auction and used it for 5 years with no problems. Gave it a paint job and new decals and the first guy who looked at it paid what I wanted! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
When I was a high skool kid one of our neighbors had a Super 55. I occasionally used it to pull my Model 55W baler and found it was A LOT more tractor in just about every way than the four-speed Fords like another neighbor had that I ALSO used to pull my baler occasionally. I loved that dual-H pattern transmission!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif So many folks just seem to want a Ford, but their only real asset is the thre-point hitch.....that and their resale value. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
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Bob_Skurka
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I owned that Oliver for years and it never let me down. There are several farms near me that still use Olivers in the field on a daily basis, granted they are using larger Olivers than the Super 55 now a days, but they are still out there. I paid $2450 for mine. I put some new sheet metal on it, painted it pretty and gave it decals. But mechanically that tractor was untouched while I owned it. It just worked, and it worked every day I had to fire it up.
The Ford 8n set the design pattern for utility tractors, but they were far less capable with less torque and fewer gears and I think that the prices people pay for Olivers today prove that they still are better tractors even after 50 years in the field. From what I can tell around my area, and from what I saw on Ebay, Ford values are based very largely on the IMPLEMENTS that go along with the sale. If you put a newer finish mower on a painted up Ford you can get $2200 to $2500 for it, but 1/2 of the value is in the mower deck!!! The Ford, left to sell alone, will sell for $1200 to maybe $2000. Other parts of the country might be different?
The Ford 8n set the design pattern for utility tractors, but they were far less capable with less torque and fewer gears and I think that the prices people pay for Olivers today prove that they still are better tractors even after 50 years in the field. From what I can tell around my area, and from what I saw on Ebay, Ford values are based very largely on the IMPLEMENTS that go along with the sale. If you put a newer finish mower on a painted up Ford you can get $2200 to $2500 for it, but 1/2 of the value is in the mower deck!!! The Ford, left to sell alone, will sell for $1200 to maybe $2000. Other parts of the country might be different?
