Oliver Tractor Factory To Be Demolished

[MossRoad]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=off&Number=191007&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=&vc=>Here's a link</A> to a post in the Off Topic forum that I posted. It is very interesting and has a link to the Oliver history. Enjoy!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I grew up on the "Jest" coast, and it is difficult for me to get accustomed to how many Oliver tractors I see here in the Midwest. For some reason they didn't have such a presence in CA. I never actually knew where they were built, and it's ironic that they came from the same city as Chew-ta-backer did. In 1949 my dad bought the only new pickup that was available in our small town in CA......a Studebaker. It was a HUGE 3/4 ton model with truck-type wheels, but with a microscopic engine and a three-speed transmission. Talk about useless!

 

[Kodiak]

I'll bet that he wishes he had that Studebaker truck right now.

 

[professor]

The majority of the buildings at the South Bend plant have been demolished. According to the president of HPOCA(Hart Parr Oliver Collectors Association) two buildings are left. The association may have the opportunity to restore these buildings for an Oliver museum. It will take a lot of money but I feel the expense and effort will be worth it for historical purposes. OLIVER GREEN SURE LOOKS BETTER THAN THE OTHER GREEN!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

My dad has been gone to that big farm in the sky for about eight years now, but if he COULD be asked, I DOUBT if he'd want the Stu-deeee back. It was....on top of all else.....a lemon. The engine had to be rebuilt by the dealer after just a few miles. The cab was real nice, but that's about it. I ran into a guy here in SE Iowa not long ago who collects Chewtabackers....cars, pickups and trucks. You know, of course, that Studebaker made army trucks? You didn't? They were the ones which had the axles with the split differential housings......I can't think of the name of the axle........OH YEAH, SPICER....Spicer axles. We sent a slew of Studebaker trucks to the Ruskies in WWII.