Update S-88

Donald Lehman

Well-known Member
Marc drove the S-88 home today. She purrs like a kitten! Those old Olivers sure are smooth runners. Got some small stuff to do yet, it's stuff we can do. It needs new PTO clutches, attach some of the sheet metal, couple gauges need to be replaced yet. Key switch isn't working properly and will be replaced. Was about 12 miles from the shop to our place. Marc was pretty cold by the time he got home, but he was gonna drive it home no matter what! $4300 and a bit in the motor, $3500 labor, plus two front rims and a rear rim and 4 tires, and a battery. Oh yeah a new seat assembly from Korves, too. She's ready to go back to work around the farm and the sugarbush. Pop bought this one new in 1959. Sweetfeet would love! Pretty much the original paint yet. (that is to say, rust) Nice to see it resurrected. Now he'll move on to the 88. That one runs, but is in need of some TLC.
 
Yup, thought I needed my head examined with what I spent on rebuilding the OC-4. Three years down the road, I can say it was some of the best money I ever spent.
 
WOW, that is far more money than I would spend even on a Case 400 of that vintage. Hope you can put it to work. Tractors like that have marginal ability to power a modern tedder or rake here on the farm any more.
Loren
 
Sounds like it would have been cheaper to buy 4 of them back then and put three in storage. More profitable too. LOL
 
I collect Oliver tractors (I'm just not a serious collector, I guess) and I've heard lots of people at tractor shows comment on how smooth those Oliver tractors run.
 
Do your Dad say what he gave for it new??? Money values have really changed. I bet you spent more on the motor overhaul than he gave for the entire tractor. Maybe not if you adjusted for the real time value of the original money.

A close friend of the family hauled a load of hogs to Dubuque on a smaller straight truck. I would say not more then 30 hogs. He bought a NEW Farmall "H", plows, cultivator and a disk and had some money left over from the one load of hogs. No that is "real" purchasing power.
 
Loren, the 77/88/S-77S88 tractors had very good hydraulics for their day. We much preferred the 88's on our hydraulically operated stone picker to our 4020 or 4010. The JD's would lift heavier equipment, but the Olivers moved more volume which worked much better on the stone picker. Had a neighbor who had a 400 case. it was his "big" tractor and he used it until he retired. He loved that tractor! Seems like eons ago that 50 hp tractors were the BIG boys on the block, doesn't it?

To address the cost issue, a new 50 hp. tractor is in the $40,000 plus range. Marc figures he'll have the Super and the 88 both up to snuff for under $20,000, and he has two tractors. Besides they were my fathers tractors.
 
Pop paid around $4,000 for it new. So yes, we have a bit more in the motor than Pop paid for the tractor. A bare bones 2wd 55 hp. tractor would maybe $30,000+ nowdays if you could even buy a 2wd? What would a 720 diesel sell for new today? They would be about the same size and time period as a S-88.
 
Hey Randy, it WOULD be nice to go out to the shed and have a few extra and new S-88's, 1650's, 1850's and a couple of 2255's just sitting there waiting to be put to work wouldn't it? A couple of 2-155 4wd's wouldn't be bad either would it?
 
If I'd bought two when I bought the only new tractor I ever bought,I'd have used it and wore it out too. LOL
 
You're OK with two way cylinders,but on something with single acting,you're partially right. They didn't have a whole lot of capacity in the reservoir.
 

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