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Gents, Here's the scoop on these Olivers. I received my degree in Ag Engineering at UW and was a student at the time these tractors were purchased. I should know since I did most of the restoration, painting, mechanical work, etc. These tractors were purchased in 1995 from separate auctions in Wisconsin and repainted that winter. Their purpose was to demonstrate tractor roll-over accidents. These demonstrations were to be performed at county fairs, Farm Progress, etc. At the time, two senior design teams were initiated to do the following: 1) design electronic controls to remotely operate the tractors and 2) design structures to protect the sheetmetal and engine on each tractor. The idea was to strap a 'dummy' into each tractor and then deliberately roll it over. Diesels were chosen to reduce the risk of fire during roll-over. In my opinion, fortunately the program lost funding and never got off the ground. I was never a proponent since there is nothing predictable about rolling a tractor in front of a crowd of people. Anyway, when the tractors came to the UW, they obviously needed some work and a definite facelift. Since this was my first restoration project, I thought my team did a pretty nice job at painting these for the most part (we even pounded out the dings best we could----no offense taken). A high-end urethane paint was used and still looks okay after 9 years. The tractors did sit under a roof for their whole tenure at UW. Both are mechanically sound---the cam gear on the wide-front was replaced and that was it. Someone mentioned that the narrow front was an RC 88 with a Super frame---you get an A grade for your observation. The RC frame was replaced with a Super to offer better mounting for a protective structure. I'm afraid the gentleman selling these is really talking up a storm. From his dialogue, it sounds like the UW bought these from Charles City back in the '50's and they never sat outside. What upsets me more is that he is trying to exploit what was a sale of these for a good cause. The UW Ag Engineering students are involved in a national 1/4 scale tractor design competition and the sale of these two tractors is helping to fund that program. This gentleman hasn't owned these for a month and he is trying to triple his money by bending the real story behind them. Anyway, sorry for being long-winded and feel free to ask more questions. By the way I restored another 88 (my puller) after these two and got out most of the dings. How do I post a pic? Thanks, Brian.
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