Articulated Oliver 88 Has 3 Drive Options

Articulated Oliver 88 Has 3 Drive Options TRACTORS Antiques Ollie Schaefer can run his Oliver 88 with front-wheel drive rear-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive The big 88 with 4 combine drive wheels a bull nose front end articulation and 2 transmissions is one of a kind     “I wanted to modify an 88 like this for a long time but I needed the right parts ” says Schaefer “When I finally had all the pieces putting it together only took a few months ”     The “right” pieces included drives from 2 Oliver 40 combines and an articulation unit from an asphalt packer powered by an Oliver engine     “I wanted drives from Oliver 40’s because they have a shaft from the engine forward through the transmission to the axle and they would be geared the same ” says Schaefer “The 3-wheel asphalt packer has a large front wheel that rocks both ways and turns I figured it would make a good swivel plate to provide the articulation ”     Schaefer struggled for several weeks to figure out how to mount the packer wheel assembly The vertical unit would articulate fine but left no room for a driveshaft One day when moving stuff around in his shop the wheel assembly fell over     “I looked at it on its side and realized that was how it needed to be mounted ” says Schaefer with a laugh     He started by jacking up the 88 and removing front and rear ends A temporary angle iron frame between the 2 drives allowed Schaefer to start connecting the various components and leveling everything It also reassured him that the cantilevered front end wouldn’t sag     “I connected the driveshaft on the 88’s motor to the input shaft on the transmission for the first set of wheels ” says Schaefer “After I had the swivel in place I fabricated a driveshaft to connect the pto drive from the first to the input shaft for the transmission on the second rear end ”     Once he had all the shafts in place as well as the swivel he removed the angle iron replacing it with heavy steel mounts between the swivel and the axles     “I replaced the monster hydraulic cylinders on the swivel with heavy-duty 3-in Oliver cylinders ” says Schaefer     Schaefer reversed the mount for the shift levers on the rear end Normally they are designed to lean to the rear Simply turning the levers around leans them forward enough for Schaefer to reach them from the driver’s seat That is important as both drives have to be in the same gear in 4-WD     He mounted the hydraulic pump to the input shaft ahead of the rear-most transmission It provides power to the hydrostatic steering as well as to auxiliary outlets on the rear of the tractor Both the pto and the rear lift work on the 4-wheel 88     The only real problem Schaefer has had is remembering which transmission is in gear “I pulled up to the shed one day and put the front transmission in neutral ” he recalls “As I started to get off the tractor lurched ahead The rear was still in gear ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ollie Schaefer 1006 Ridge Ave Greenville Ill 62246 ph 618 664-3050

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