Do memories get hazy over time???

I know the answer but the other night I was reading an article
in one of my old Antique Power magazines I just got. Article
was about a 1935 Oliver 70. The farmer had been using a JD
D with a three bottom 14" plow and thought it was time to
upgrade. So he invited the local Case, IH, JD, and Oliver
dealers to bring a tractor out for a demo. Oliver brought a 70
and IH brought a F-20. Didn't say what the other two brought
but I assume they were similar hp tractors. The farmer made
each salesman drain the fuel tank and then add one gallon of
gas to see how far each tractor would pull that 3 bottom plow
before running out of fuel. To summarize the F-20 was
clumsy, the Case and JD ran out of fuel way before the Oliver.
The article goes on to state the 70 pulled the 3 bottom as
easy or better then the D. So is there farmland out there that
can transform a tractor rated for 2 bottoms into a 3 bottom
tractor without using 1st gear. I'm sure somewhere there is
but still. Also I owned a 70 for a short time and currently own
several JD Ds. I just can't see a 70 hanging with a D. I think
in some other issue of Antique Power somebody was claiming
Ford 8ns could out work a farmall M and JD G.

The 8N deal was the 3pt, with the weight of the implement and the suck of the plow transferred to the tractor they had better -traction- generated than other tractors with pulled equipment. In some cases that was worse, but for traction and lugging along it was better and certainly featured as 'more pull' and if folks got confused and thought that made it a more powerful tractor I'm sure the dealers/manufaturer didn't mind.....

Oliver's were well liked by my ancestors, both my dad and moms side of the family. I have cousins on both sides that clollected them, as in 23 sitting in the sheds..... They were a good tractor in their day, a little mismanagement and drift and bad cycle in the ag economy took them out, but they had some good engineering in their day with features before the others had them.

Interesting to watch the devotion to 2 cylinders a bit too long maybe by one manufaturer, and another going to 6 cylinders before that maybe was really needed.

Competition was a good thing back then, good features and progress came about. Now as we move to one or two global manufacturers, we are left with whatever they want to sell us, take it or leave it.

Paul

I would never think of an F20 being a 3 bottom plow tractor. An F30 was supposed to be a 3 bottom plow tractor. When were Oliver 70's and JD D's made? Didn't think those models were made in the 1930's and competed with the F series. If they were made in the 40's they should have competed with an M. Probably others know the time line better than me.

D was made from late 20s to early 50s if I remember correctly.

I can see the 70 plowing faster than the D,but they were pretty much a 2 plow tractor around here. Maybe nobody had a three bottom to try on one here,I don't know. My uncle had an 88 diesel and only pulled 2x16s with it. He bought his first 70 in 37 and pulled 2x14s with that one.
Did the article say whether the 70 was a Row Crop or a Standard?

It was a rowcrop.

Different stuff for different areas I guess. I think a 77 is only rated for 2 bottoms, but we used to pull a 3-16 Oliver trailer plow with it in 3rd and 4th gear in a clay/sand mix. I will say that tractor seems to run very well for a 77, better than some of the other 77'side we have had.

I pulled 3x14s with mine. So did Archie to the south of me and Frank to the north of me,but it was all it wanted in good conditions.

(quoted from post at 10:44:18 10/31/16) I know the answer but the other night I was reading an article
in one of my old Antique Power magazines I just got. Article
was about a 1935 Oliver 70. The farmer had been using a JD
D with a three bottom 14" plow and thought it was time to
upgrade. So he invited the local Case, IH, JD, and Oliver
dealers to bring a tractor out for a demo. Oliver brought a 70
and IH brought a F-20. Didn't say what the other two brought
but I assume they were similar hp tractors. The farmer made
each salesman drain the fuel tank and then add one gallon of
gas to see how far each tractor would pull that 3 bottom plow
before running out of fuel. To summarize the F-20 was
clumsy, the Case and JD ran out of fuel way before the Oliver.
The article goes on to state the 70 pulled the 3 bottom as
easy or better then the D. So is there farmland out there that
can transform a tractor rated for 2 bottoms into a 3 bottom
tractor without using 1st gear. I'm sure somewhere there is
but still. Also I owned a 70 for a short time and currently own
several JD Ds. I just can't see a 70 hanging with a D. I think
in some other issue of Antique Power somebody was claiming
Ford 8ns could out work a farmall M and JD G.

Click to expand...

Something doesn't smell right about that story. Why would a dealer allow himself to test his tractor against a bigger tractor? The 70 was at the drawbar 22 HP (claimed) compared to 19.6 (claimed) for the F20. Smells to me like someone trying to claim that the tractor he likes the best was a better tractor.

As far claiming that the 8N could outwork an M? I own both, I doubt it. The M is rated for a 3-14 plow as opposed to the 8N at 2-14 and smaller in tuff soil.

Guess I wouldn't waste my time reading a rag with that much questionable info. I like the 8N better than the M today for actually performing work. That because implements can be bought both new and used where implements for an M are getting hard to find. Heck the early M was 10HP bigger and twice the weight!

Rick

That's easy to believe. According to the Neb tests the 77 had the same drawbar hp as the Farmall M. If you look it seems like any tractor of that era that was rated 3 bottoms had north of 30 db hp something the 70 didn't have.

Do memories get hazy over time?
YES

[i:80a209c9fb][u:80a209c9fb]

(quoted from post at 23:12:07 10/31/16)

(quoted from post at 10:44:18 10/31/16) I know the answer but the other night I was reading an article
in one of my old Antique Power magazines I just got. Article
was about a 1935 Oliver 70. The farmer had been using a JD
D with a three bottom 14" plow and thought it was time to
upgrade. So he invited the local Case, IH, JD, and Oliver
dealers to bring a tractor out for a demo. Oliver brought a 70
and IH brought a F-20. Didn't say what the other two brought
but I assume they were similar hp tractors. The farmer made
each salesman drain the fuel tank and then add one gallon of
gas to see how far each tractor would pull that 3 bottom plow
before running out of fuel. To summarize the F-20 was
clumsy, the Case and JD ran out of fuel way before the Oliver.
The article goes on to state the 70 pulled the 3 bottom as
easy or better then the D. So is there farmland out there that
can transform a tractor rated for 2 bottoms into a 3 bottom
tractor without using 1st gear. I'm sure somewhere there is
but still. Also I owned a 70 for a short time and currently own
several JD Ds. I just can't see a 70 hanging with a D. I think
in some other issue of Antique Power somebody was claiming
Ford 8ns could out work a farmall M and JD G.

Click to expand...

Something doesn't smell right about that story. Why would a dealer allow himself to test his tractor against a bigger tractor? The 70 was at the drawbar 22 HP (claimed) compared to 19.6 (claimed) for the F20. [b:80a209c9fb]Smells to me like someone trying to claim that the tractor he likes the best was a better tractor[/b:80a209c9fb].

Rick

Click to expand...

/u:80a209c9fb][/i:80a209c9fb]

So you don't think the 70 was the best tractor?? And if the farmer in question liked the 70 the best wouldn't he think it was the best tractor out of all of them. I don't think there was anything fishy. The F-20 was rated for 2 bottoms just like the 70. If the 70 has 2 1/2 hp more then the F-20 that's just too bad for the Farmall. What was the farmer suppose to do? Make the Oliver guy pull a plug wire to even it up some. Maybe the IH guy should have brought a F-30 so it would be "fair". Besides I don't care which tractor you would have rooted for, the 70 with its styling, its one piece transmission/finals with bar axles, and 6 cylinder high compression engine made the F-20 look obsolete. Heck it made all of them look old and outdated. I'm not blaming the farmer for buying the 70. Just questioning a 70 being able to pull a 3 bottom plow.

Also, don't knock the magazine until you have read it. Lots of good info and articles from fellow collectors of tractors you've never heard of. The part about the 8n and Farmall M wasn't written by APM. It came from the Letters to the Editor section so it was written by another collector just like you. Be no different if you wrote in claiming the 8n was a better tractor then the M and people taking issue with that.

Soil can very a lot in northeast Kansas. I have heard the saying that that piece of ground has wore out many a good horses. Dad had a F-20 that we pulled 3-14, but dad said it had MW pistons in it. Again we plowed the ground every two years. Neighbor had a 77 and I think he pulled 2-16 (think). The neighbor had a brother-in-law that had a JD A and they would be plowing in the same field and dad would say that A is hanging right in there with that 77.

Why would any dealer let alone several try to sell a 2 plow tractor to replace what was a 3 plow tractor. To compete it should have been an Oliver 80, not a 70 and a F30, not a F20. Now if it was a John Deere GP tractor then yes those would have been in same size range. The D was considered a 3-4 plow tractor and the GP was considered a 2-3 plow tractor. And the Oliver was considered a 2-3 plow tractor but never heard the F20 was. But those 2-3 plow tractors in my area were only a 2 plow, could not pull a 3 bottom plow. Could the memories of the artical writer have faded and it was actually a GP and not a D?

Doesn't have any impact on this story but I had an old uncle who has long since passed away, who said that in our area of Louisiana (where John Deere has ruled for decades) that Oliver would have been #1 if the dealership had have been as aggressive as the JD dealership was in selling their product.

Those 8ns repowered with a truck engine would definitely out plow any thirty something horse power tractors. I wonder how long that drive train would last.