Questions regarding an Oliver 70

Hello All,
The other day I posted several questions concerning a narrow front end 70 we used to have on our dairy farm back in the late 50s, early 60s. Perhaps I should have done what I am doing now and start a new topic. I posted it in the topic of "Oliver Firsts". I have copied it to here.

[color=green:01cdab171d]Hello All,
Several people here in this (Oliver firsts) post have mentioned "front wheel assist". Is this a front wheel drive assist or a steering assist? I ask this because back in the late '50s and early'60s on our dairy farm, we had an Oliver 70 with a narrow front end. My younger brother accidently drove the tractor over an embankment and the front wheels ended up snapping off in a cement culvert. While in the process of replacing the casting that supported the front wheels (I can't think of the proper name for this casting right now), I noticed two arms that were attached to the steering gear (another improper term) if I remember correctly. What I seem to remember was that these were an option that allowed the individual brakes to be applied, depending on which way the wheel was turned. Is my memory somewhat correct on this or is this just something that I, as a 14 yr. old mis-interpretted? I think the manual showed cables running back to the brakes and somehow turning the wheel in either direction all the way activated corresponding brakes. Our 70 did not have this though.

Also did the 70s have 6 forward and 1 reverse or 6 forward and 2 reverse gears? I remember only one reverse. My brother remembers 2. My recollection is reverse was in the "lower" neutral along with 2nd, 4th and 6th. I know this is Off Topic but I've been meaning to ask this for quite some time and the above postings got me to ask now. Thanks. [/color:01cdab171d]
Thanks for any information you may have.
LaVern Skarzenski

You are correct regarding 6 forward and 1 reverse speeds for the Oliver 70. Note: The Hart Parr Oliver 70s had a four speed transmission but the 5th/6th gear could be added.
Regarding the steering brakes: The Hart Parr 70s did have the automatic steering brakes which were actuated by the front steering mechanism which you describe. The connection from the front to the brakes was a rod and not a cable. When the 5/6 gear was added to an early 70, the steering brakes were disconnected by cutting off the connecting rod. This was a safety issue because you did not want to apply braking to one wheel at the higher speeds. The kit which added the 5/6 gears also included a master brake pedal. The individual brake pedals were still functional.

Lee Thank You for your response. Now I guess your answer creates another question. What did the Hart Parr 70s look like compared to... I guess just a Oliver 70? What years were these tractors made? Did the Hart Parr 70s have the name Hart Parr painted, stenciled, stamped or some other visisble means to tell it was a Hart Parr 70 vs. an Oliver? That tractor is long gone and not part of our family any longer. The one we had also had a 6 cylinder engine.

I guess I need to find some reference material on Oliver history. Thanks again for your response

The Oliver Hart-Parr 70 was introduced in 1935. In 1937 (Mid year) the Oliver 70 was introduced as an update to the Hart-Parr 70. The Hart Parr 70 was streamlined to the extent that it had full engine covers and a grill in front of the radiator core. The radiator core was mounted in a casting that had OLIVER HART-PARR cast into the shell above the grill. The basic engine underwent several refinements over the years but it remained much the same which was a design cooperation between Oliver and Continental Engines. The 1937 redesign further streamlined the 70, retaining full engine covers and the "nose cone" was formed from sheet steel rather than a casting. The mesh grill was painted bright yellow to contrast with the green tractor and red wheels. The Oliver 70 remained in continuous production through 1948 with about 75000 total Oliver 70s and Hart Parr 70s being produced (all models such as standard/row crop/industrial)
You can look under Galleries here on Yesterdays Tractors (under Tractor Photos) and select OLIVER. There are something over 1700 photos. Only a few are of the Oliver 70 but if you persist, along about photo 1630 you will find a finely restored Hart-Parr 70 which is probably much like you remember.

Wow!! This Forum is a great place to visit . There are so many knowledgable folks and a wealth of information available here. Thanks for all the information.

Now for a few more memories of the 70 we owned. My father bought this sometime around '58 or '59. He bought it to use on our small dairy farm and it replaced the only other tractor we had at the time, a Farmall steel wheeled tractor. Not sure of that model either . This Oliver was a power house compared to the Farmall, and fast too :lol: . That's how the narrow front end got snapped off. My younger brother was going a bit too fast along a rutted farm road when the front end jumped into the right hand rut and he ended up going over a small embankment and into a cement culvert snapping the front end clean off. He didn't get hurt though or at least he never let on if he did. My folks had gone out of town for the day and left the three of us boys in charge of milking the cows and getting the rest of the chores done while they were gone.

Any way this tractor had two small arms one on each side in the front of the transmission if I am not mistaken. These arms would rotate if you pulled back on a lever. Not sure of the location of the lever, but if I remember that there had to be weight on these two short arms for them to rotate. I think they would rotate 180 degrees at a time :?: One year my dad did borrow a set of cultivators that bolted up to the tractor and these levers raised and lowered the cultivators. He only borrowed them one year though. A lot of work putting them on and off.

The tractor also had a space between the bell housing and transmission with a coupler that connected the engine and transmission. I believe this coupler had just one bolt going through the middle clamping it on the shafts. I seem to remember replacing this coupler after it broke. The reason I remember this particular coupling is that this was so much different than the next tractor we got which was a VAC Case. The Case had the direct bellhousing to transmission with no gap between like the Oliver.

Anyhow I've rambled on enough. Lot's of great memories for me .

LaVern