Oliver 66, 77 Barn Find

I looked at a 1650 a few weeks back, and this gentleman also had a 66 he was working on. As I looked over the 1650 I could not help peeking at the 66. I finally asked him the history on it as it was 1 of the straightest tractors I have seen in a long time. Oh, he says. That tractor was never used. Ok I will bite I tell him. He proceeded to tell me about a salesman for an implement co. that was a dealer for Oliver, and there main business was plow parts and such. Well there was too many 66s and 77s that were not selling. So, the salesman was worried that if they did not sell some tractors the plow business would suffer. Apparently he bought a couple 77s and a couple 66s, and just parked them in his barn for 40 years. As he is telling me this the wheels in my head are turning 150mph, and before I could ask he said he got the last 2, a 66 and 77.

He turned the 77 into a puller with about 500ci and sold it before it threw a rod out the side of the block. He kept the 66 stored in his barn, and now just started restoring it. The engine was stuck, and a tire was shot, needs paint as it sat out side at some point for a few years.

Just wanted to share what I found to be very interesting about how the dealerships operated back then. My Dad worked at a Oliver dealer in the 60s, and I keep forgetting to ask him about this, and if he knew the dealer. I love hearing stories about tractors with a history, and better yet finding 1.

There's one right up the road from me that's still all original. I've seen it out of the barn maybe twice in my life. The old gals nephew said it might even have the original battery yet. She's about 106 years old,still lives alone. Her husband bought it new just before he retired from a factory. He fooled around with it for just a few years on a 60 acre farm. I guess her sons and grandsons get it out on rare occasions to haul wood. Other than that,it sits there in the tool shed. I told the nephew I'd like to have it. He asked his cousins about it and they said no,they didn't want to get rid of it.

Maybe I'm alone but I would never turn a never used tractor into a puller. Too many other wrecks that can be modified into a puller. Why not leave an original tractor with a story like that the way it is. Take another wore out tractor to modify.

Sounds fishy to me. How do the pedals and hole in the drawbar look?
Josh