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By the mid-1950s, the writing was on the wall. Farmers, particularly those living in the West and Midwest, wanted more horsepower from their tractors. Looking to expand its market share, Oliver responded to the call with a new generation of machines that set horsepower standards the industry would follow for the next decade.
Oliver already had a respectable line of mid-sized gas tractors. Company leaders wanted to build on that success growing into an entirely new high-horsepower segment.
The company’s march toward building industry-leading powerhouses began in 1940 when it pioneered the first use of a diesel engine. That year, the company brought out the Model 80, which employed a Buda 4DT226 4-cylinder diesel. Eight years later, a 6-cylinder Waukesha-Oliver-built 99 was introduced. Beefy diesel was made available in the company’s Fleetline models 77 and 88. And in 1952, the Model 99 was operating with a Waukesha-Oliver 6-cylinder diesel.
The Roar of a 2-Cycle Diesel
A sound began to be heard on farm fields in 1954, the year the Super 99 was introduced. Beefy in appearance and big by any measure of the day, the Super 99 came with a choice of gas or diesel engines. It was the diesel that caught everyone’s attention at the time.
Built by General Motors, the unique 3-cylinder, 2-cycle diesel turned out a whopping rated 71 1⁄2 hp at its belt. Under a drawbar load, the tractor offered 58 1⁄2 hp, which justified its rating for pulling a 5- to 6-bottom plow. The General Motors’ 2-cycle had a relatively small cubic inch displacement (CID) of 213 (4¼- x 5-inch bore-and-stroke per cylinder). This compared to 302 CID for 6-cylinder diesel powering the Oliver regular Super 99.
Yet the General Motors engine ran at a blistering 1,675 rpm. Although it had just three cylinders, the engine developed as many power strokes as the regular diesel. And thanks to a supercharger that forced air into the cylinders during the beginning of the intake and compression strokes, the 3-cylinder diesel developed more horsepower than a 6-cylinder engine.
Power for the regular Oliver 99 came from an Oliver-Waukesha-built 6-cylinder diesel with 65-belt hp. Both the Super 99 and Super 99 GM were equipped with a 6-speed transmission, independent PTO, belt pulley, and hydraulic system. And although both tractors featured the same styling, the Super 99 GM hosted twin air stacks and a singular supercharger protruding from its engine that lent it a distinctive look in the field.
Meredith Operations Corp.
Oliver’s Beefy Bull
Oliver continued to push the horsepower envelope in the 1960s by equipping their most powerful diesel tractor, the Model 1950, with unique high-flotation tires. The motivation for this innovation, an industry first, came from the fact that Oliver had ceased building crawler tractors and wanted to provide customers with a tractor with tires that could match the performance of tracks.
To get more horsepower to the ground, Oliver offered the option of rigging the 1950 (sold with a mechanical front-wheel assist drive) with Goodyear Terra tires.
The front rubber consisted of 66 x 43.00-25 (43-inch-wide) 6-ply tires, while the rear rubber were 66×43.00-25 (66-inch-wide) 6-ply tires. This combination offered outstanding weight distribution (that also helped reduce soil compaction) while boosting traction.
Because of its massive pull, it was nicknamed “El Toro,” or, “The Bull.” Powering the El Toro was a General Motor 4-cylinder, 2-cycle 212-cubic-inch diesel equipped with a turbocharger. At full screaming power (two-cycle engines sound like they were being over-revved) the 1950 generated 105 PTO power.
Built from 1964 to 1967, the Model 1950 was sold with a 6-speed manual or the Hydra-Power 12-speed partial powershift transmission, which allowed each gear to be downshifted on-the-go.
In 1967, the 1950 was upgraded to the 1950-T, thanks to the addition of a Waukesha-Oliver-built turbocharged 6-cylinder diesel. A notable advance with that upgrade was an optional 18-speed partial powershift hydra-power transmission.
Powerhouses of Their Day
By today’s standards, the Oliver Super 99 GM’s horsepower (a maximum 79 hp at the Nebraska Tractor Test evaluation) seems piddling. But in the 1950s, rarely did wheeled tractors produce more than 60 hp.
The only competition for the Super 99 GM (on a rated belt horsepower basis) was International Harvester’s McCormick Super WD-9 (57 hp), John Deere’s 80 diesel (57½ hp), and Minneapolis-Moline’s GB diesel (56 hp).
Meredith Operations Corp.
The Super 99 GM stood alone as the undisputed king of farm horsepower, overshadowed only by the massive construction crawlers of that time. Oliver built on the solid foundation laid by the Super 99 and Super 99 GM by introducing successive diesel-power models until its horsepower technology was absorbed into White Farm Equipment in 1969.
Even then, the Oliver name continued to be used by White until 1976. That was the last year for the most powerful Oliver tractor ever built, the 147 hp Model 225.
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