Oliver 600 project

Paul Simmer found this Oliver 600 near Suttons Bay Michigan. He told me about it on the Oliver forum. I told him I was interested, so he found out who owned it and got the owners contact info for me. The wife and I went up in August and bought it, got it home about 6 weeks ago. It's only the third 600 I've ever seen in my life.





I've worked on it a couple of Sundays and rainy days now. We were in Kentucky a few weeks ago and my brother in law wanted to go to an old tractor boneyard and look for parts. I didn't have much hope of finding anything, but by a stroke of luck, I found a seat for it. The cross box that the seat sits on had been chopped off on one end. I rebuilt that.





The fenders aren't correct as you can see. They're obviously off a Deere utility of some sort, but after I got them in against the cross box and got all the braces on, they look so close to original that I'm going to go ahead and use them. Yesterday morning, I took them to a fabricator who built some parts for one of my 500s. He's going to fill the holes where the headlight and taillight brackets went on the Deere since the Oliver had the headlights up front and the taillight on the bracket that I've built on the left fender, and build a flat spot on the top of each one where the flashers go on the original Oliver fenders.

There used to be a guy by the name of Kevin on the Oliver forum out in Washington who went by Oliver500WA. He made the new grill. I got that about two weeks ago. He did a beautiful job on that. The tractor was in an orchard and has under belly exhaust. There's a rubber plug that goes in the hole where the vertical muffler would have been. A guy in Ontario has one, but seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth since he told me he'd sell one to me. Glennster told me to Call Summit. I'll have to do that of the guy in Ontario doesn't get back to me.

I'm getting things whittled down. About all that I might have to get shipped from the UK now are the headlights, taillight and flashers. Everything else has been coming together.

Very nice!

So is this the same tractor as the David Brown 950 ? We had a DB 950 over 40 years ago, so I cant remember exactly, but your tractor looks very familiar

Looks like it is going to end up being another show stopper!

They're a DB 990. There were three versions of the 990 Implematic. The first one had two 6v batteries by the seat. The second version had one 12v battery and it was in front of the radiator. The third version was the ones made after they started selling them in the brown and white color scheme in the US. Those last ones had the free standing fenders and no cross box under the seat.

Supposedly all of the Oliver 600s were the first version according to an article written back in 2005. The last serial number was believed to be 453700 and were all supposed to have had the batteries by the seat. This one has the battery up front and is serial number 460263. Nelson La Count keeps a serial number registry on the 500s and 600s. He said of the 25 on the registry, only 11 have the numbers below 453700. Nine of them have 460- numbers and two even have 462- numbers.

The deal between Oliver and DB ended in April 1963. Peter Williams, the DB guru in the UK, said that was the same month that they went to the second version with the 12v battery up front. As far as anybody can tell now, they ran off some of those second version 990s to finish out an order. Most of them with that 460 number seem to be pretty close together, but those two with 462 numbers are still a mystery.

Looks like its coming along very nicely! I dont believe i've ever seen a 600

Our 950 had the two 6volt batteries either side of the seat, and thats why I wondered if it was the same tractor, in Oliver colours. Our 950 DB war red with yellow wheels and was a Implematic. It also had a red enamel coated muffler. I had to wonder if these tractors were only offered in Canada, because of the deal with Oliver

I don't know about the 950s. I know that Oliver could sell the 500s in Canada because the 850 that they were based on weren't available there, but they couldn't sell the 600s because DB did sell the 990s there and the 600s would have been in competition with them.

Here's what Peter Williams the UK DB guy told me in an email. I'll just copy and paste it.


''Your find is interesting, & very David Brown! Its quite common to find tractors built beyond the official last one, I suspect that this was sometimes to use up parts that were in stock.

There were basically 3 main types of 990 Implematics, and associated tractors, best described as



From serial no. 44001 (1st.) fitted with a pair of 6 volt batteries, one each side if the seat.

From serial no. 456233 battery moved to the front, battery box modified to become a toolbox.

From serial no. 476325 toolbox deleted, requiring self supporting fenders to be fitted.



I attach a copy of the information sheet that I have. It also gives information on the change from a forged to fabricated front axle, although the forged axle remained available as an option.



The last type, with self supporting fenders, was at the time of the introduction of the 990 Diesel, basically the first type of white 990 for the USA but with the new styling & brown/white colours, whilst retaining the Implematic hydraulic system (top ling attached to cross shaft). On Selectamatic tractors the top link attaches to a casting on top of the PTO unit containing a spring.''

I will search and see if I can find a picture of our old tractor, and post it for your inspection. Either on Tractor talk, or Oliver board. We had a dealership that was very successful selling DB tractors during the very late 50s and through the 60s. Tractors were very popular because the price was so much less than the tractors built in North America. The one thing that held some buyers back was the fact these tractors were nearly all diesel, and would be the first diesel tractors on the farm. Leland tractors had the same struggle, but early Leland tractors like that DB , proved to be solid units.

Wow! Nice job, Randy!

I've heard tell of a few 090 gassers. DB made a Crop Master gas tractor in the 50s. They had a bunch of those engines left over and put them in 850s disguised as Oliver 500 gassers. They never sold a DB 850 gas, only as an Oliver. They had a hood that was unique to the 500 gas.

Hiway dept in Virginia bought David Brown tractors for several years,guess they were the low bidder.

It was kind of a fluke that I saw that tractor. I returned a fertilizer spreader to the place next door for the orchard I work for. I hadn't been there before, but when I pulled in I saw that Oliver sitting in back yard between the two businesses. I asked the guy at the seed place about it, and he said it belonged to the guy next door. At that point I wasn't sure what it was, thought maybe a 500, of which I had seen a few before, particular on this site. I had seen the progression on your 500's, and thought it was maybe another. I walked back to it, and saw the 600 on the side. At that point, I posted and asked which was more rare, the 500 or 600. Though I attend the Buckley Old Engine Show every year, I am sure this is the only 600 I have ever seen. I had remembered discussions on here that one was harder to find. At that point, I became more interested in locating the owner, which I finally did. He was a nice guy, and said to give Randy his contact info. As they say the rest is history. I am following with much interest, and am very glad it worked out. At some point, I may have to make a trip south to see if when it is completed at some show.

I now where there are 2 different 600s at the moment. The one guy said he was "considering cleaning out the barn". I told him to keep me in the loop.


I have an earlier 990 here than that one which has the "I" beam front axle, but everything else is very similar. I'm guessing that is a very late production tractor.

I need to call Jim and see if he has an email address that I can send some pictures to. He wanted me to keep him updated. I don't have a smart phone to text pictures to though.

He had given me his business card, but once you had his contact info I pitched it. Would have to think he has email either business, personal, or both.

I've got his card with the business phone and he gave me his cell number. I'll have to look again, but I don't remember there being an email address on it.