The Oliver Super 55 series of utility tractors was developed and produced from 1954 to 1975 by the

Oliver Farm Equipment Company The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow ...

to complement the Oliver line of heavy row-crop and standard agricultural tracts. Like row-crop tractors, the wheel track width could be adjusted to conform to crop row spacing, but the front wheels were only offered with a wide track. No narrow front wheel options were offered, making the tractor more stable with front-end loaders.

Description and production

The Oliver Super 55 and the lighter Super 44 were intended to compete against light tractor offerings from Farmall, Ford and

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

]. They were built in an Oliver plant in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...

. The Super 55 was introduced in 1953, selling for about $2,750 in 1958. Both gasoline and diesel versions used a four-cylinder engine with a six-speed transmission.

Oliver 550

The Oliver 550 was introduced in 1958 with updated styling, replacing the Super 55. Engine displacement increased to , with a two-speed PTO, a new transmission, and a hydraulic three-point hitch. An option for power steering was offered, as well as power-assisted rear wheel spacing. Fixed wheel treads were an additional option. The 550 was sold in Canada as the Cockshutt 550, replacing the preceding Cockshutt-built

550 __NOTOC__ Year 550 ( DL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, a completely different tractor. Production ran until 1975 under White ownership. The 550 sold for about $4,400 in 1975. 20,368 550s were produced with the Oliver brand, and 3,915 as Cockshutts.Pripps 1994, p. 94 Oliver also produced an industrial tractor version of the 550 from 1958 to 1975.

References

{{Oliver tractors Super 55 Vehicles introduced in 1954