Oliver Model O.C.-46 Loader

A couple of years ago I drove past the Kissimmee Auction Company in Spartanburg, SC and spotted several old pull graders parked in front so I went inside the office and asked permission to have a look and take some pictures. This old Oliver OC-46 Loader was parked among the Adams and Cat pull graders serving as a kind of lawn ornament. It’s still sitting there today looking like it could really use a restoration. There’s no for sale sign on it but Kissimmee is in the business of selling heavy equipment so the right offer might motivate the seller.

The Oliver Corporation produced the OC-4 series crawler tractors from 1957 to 1965. The OC-4 was the agricultural model while the OC-46 variant was designed and built as a compact loader for construction and industrial applications. The OC-4 was offered in four track widths 31 inches for tight work areas, 46 “ and 60” and 68” for farm, swampland and snow work where maximum floatation was crucial. The shipping weight was around 5,000 pounds. The OC-46 came with  46” treads as standard and due to the extra weight of the loader equipment shipped from the factory at around 7850 pounds.

Both versions were offered with a 130 cubic inch 3 cylinder Hercules engine in either gasoline or diesel option. Cylinder bore measured 3 ½” with a stroke of 4 ½”.  A six volt electrical system was standard on the gasoline version while 12 volts were used on the diesel models. Fuel economy was touted in the sales brochure, “ runs all day on one tankful.”

Both versions were shipped to Nebraska in 1958 and were evaluated in test number 655 and 656. Maximum drawbar horsepower was recorded as 23.14 and 25.34 hp. On the belt. Gasoline and diesel results were about the same. The standard transmission provided four forward speeds from 1.5 to 5.2 miles per hour.

The OC-46 was designed by Oliver as a loader tractor with special attention to mounting the loader that was built by Ware Machine Works to Oliver’s specifications. Ware had a close relationships with Oliver for a number of years and is still in business today. The Oliver brochure claimed that the position of the loader resulted in perfect balance and stability and reduced counterweight requirements by hundreds of pounds. Oliver claimed a breakout capacity of 6000 pounds.

With an overall length of twelve feet and relatively light weight ( compared to a full size dozer ) the OC-46 filled an important market niche. Judging by the popularity of the Bobcat style mini loader / dozer you see at nearly every construction site today, the OC-46 might have been slightly ahead of it’s time.

Resources:

Most of the information used in this post came from an Oliver sales brochure for the OC-4 crawler and OC-46 loader that dates to the early 60’s. You can view this brochure and other interesting documents at www.cletrac.org .

Tractordata.com has posted a downloadable file with the report for Nebraska Test  number 656 conducted in June 1958.

1936 John Deere Model AR

Charlie Story’s nicely unrestored Johnny Popper is apparently a regular at the Foothills Antique Power Association of NC’s   annual show, thing is, I didn’t realize it when I started  working on this post. I like machines that are left in their original colors so I decided to use some photos from the 2017 show. Problem was there wasn’t any identifying information displayed on the tractor.

No doubt there are plenty of EXPERTS out there who can identify a tractor right down to it’s model, serial number and the day and time it rolled off  the assembly line by looking at a single nut or bolt that you’re holding in your hand but I’m not one of them.  I have to do it the hard way. With luck you might find a data plate like the one in this photo behind the flywheel. In the original file it can be enlarged on the computer until the numbers are just almost readable.  I say almost because I still couldn’t tell for certain if the serial number was  251882 or 254982 but at least it was a start.

The Model A was one of Deere and Co.’s greatest hits with 300,000 units produced during production that that ran from 1934 to 1952. The row crop version was easily the favorite but a number of variants were also available. These include the AR : regular or standard front axle,  AO: orchard model, AOS: a narrow orchard version, AW: adjustable wide front, AN: with a single front wheel, AWH: adjustable wide front high crop, ANH: single front wheel high crop, and AI: standard front industrial. No doubt there are other versions but these were the ones I’ve been able to find reference to. This tractor clearly isn’t a row crop or  single front but it could be among one of the standard tread versions.  Time to look for a serial number list.

List I found at www.yesterdaystractors.com and www.greencollectors.com and both have AO and AR models beginning at 250000 in 1936 and running to 255416 in 1938. While browsing the current issue of Antique Power Magazine I chanced upon an ad for an upcoming Mecum Auction where a 1936 model AI sn 252781 was going on the block. By this point I felt fairly confident that this tractor fell within this bracket but I still wanted to check what should have been the definitive information source.

The number one source for information about Deere products should be visitjohndeere.com . After all, who has better access to company documents? If you’re looking for information a visit is sure to disappoint because you won’t find it here. Really John, is this the best you can do for all your loyal fans?  

It was about this point that I remembered that I had seen this tractor before. I opened the file that contained the photos from the FAPA 2015 show and sure enough, there it was, complete with a sign that read 1936 John Deere AR. Ok, now it’s time to go look for some info on the 36 AR.

The standard tread versions: AR, AO and AI were in production from 1935 to 1952 with a total of 34,074 units built. The price tag on the last year model in 52 was $2,400. Physical dimensions: length, 124 inches, width, 83”, height, 60” weight 3783 pounds.

The A row crop version was shipped to Nebraska in 1934 and evaluated in test number 222. It was powered by a John Deere horizontal two cylinder liquid cooled engine with a bore of 5 ½” and a stroke of 6 ½”  for 5.1 L or 309 cu in. Maximum horsepower ratings were 16.22 drawbar and 23.52 on the belt at 975 rpm. Valve port dimensions were, inlet: 1 ⅞” , exhaust: 1 ⅝” . It was fed by a Schebler carburetor model DLTX 8.  A Fairbanks-Morse mod. DRV2A magneto provided ignition. The air cleaner was a Vortex No. 2071D oil washed wire filter. It rumbled along at 2 ⅓ mph in first, 3 mph in second, 4 ¾ mph in third and 6 ¼ mph in fourth. Reverse was 3 ½ mph.

Additional resources:

www.johnnypopper.com

www.tractordata.com

University of Nebraska Lincoln Test No. 222

www.blog.machinefinder.com