Today, we start the adventure of bringing this Oliver Super 88 back to life! From cleaning the barn out, to dragging the tractor out of hiding for 20 years, Can we get it started and restored? Be sure to subscribe for this build series on this beauty of a green tractor called an Oliver Super 88!
With prosperous post-war America humming and farmers hustling to keep pace with a population boom, an agriculural equipment horsepower war was raging and Oliver was working to put its products on every farm in the land.
Its revamped Fleetline series of tractors, first hinted at with the debut of the 88 in 1947, was three models strong: the 66, 77, and 88.
These Fleetlines made their splashy debut at a celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Nichols and Shepard Company of Battle Creek, Michigan--an early manufacturer of threshers and one of the four companies that merged to form the Oliver Farm Equipment Company in 1929.
Of the three Fleetline tractors, the top-of-the-line 88 was a standout. Its Oliver-Waukesha inline-six was available in 230.9-cu.in. and 265-cu.in. versions--the former being a gasoline or LPG fueled engine known as the HC, the latter a kerosene or distillate engine known as the KD. The 88 could also be had with a 230.9-cu.in diesel.
Behind the I-head six was a six-speed transmission with high and low reverse gears and a PTO that was independent of the transmission--a first for Oliver.
Six years later, Oliver trumped the Fleetline tractors with the Super series. The model designations were the same, but there were eventually six models to choose from, and engines in the 66, 77, and 88 were larger. The 129-cu.in. inline-four in the 66 was increased to 144-cu.in.; the 194-cu.in. and 230.9-cu.in. sixes in the 77 and 88 were increased to 216-cu.in. and 265-cu.in., respectively.
For smaller jobs, Oliver added a Super 55 to fill the void left by the 8N's departure from the marketplace in 1952. For heavy work, there was the Super 99 available with a screaming three-cylinder supercharged GM diesel that put out 58.27 drawbar horsepower with 213-cu.in.
In 1958, the three-digit series of tractors, so named because of their three-digit numerical model designations, replaced the Super Series. With a couple of exceptions, the three-digit tractors bore the square-shouldered shape and green- and-white color schemes that would be characteristic of Oliver tractors until the last of the breed rolled off the line in 1976.
Among collectors, the Art Deco styling and vibrant colors incorporated in the streamlined Oliver tractors is very popular. The Model 70 might be the most popular collectible Oliver tractor, but the larger 88 and Super 88 have a strong following. Solid Oliver 88s can be had for upwards of $2,000, with restored examples commanding $6,000-$8,000.
Though they've never generated excitement among collectors like another brand of green machines, Oliver tractors remain a good choice for both work and play.
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