[AT] Oliver 55 - Super 55

[Francis Robinson]

     I fell in love with those back when the 55 came out and the oil filter thread got me thinking about them again. I was a kid when they appeared so I don't recall what engine they had in them or if the Super was really that different from the 55. Maybe someone here can tell us... The thing I recall most is the shift lever around on the side. I never drove one but even today it seems that the shift lever on one tractor or the other is always a pain getting on and off and that side lever looked very handy. 
     The Farmall M, Super MTA and 400 shift levers are a nuisance getting your feet past. The same can be said of the MF-165D and with the optional remote hydraulics it is even worse. The IHC 300U had it in the way.  On my Yanmar 1500 Diesel they might have made it harder to climb on and off past the levers but it would taken several strands of barbed wire to make it much harder... 
     The biggest part of the problem is that design-wise the human operator was the equivelant of an automotive exhaust pipe. It was the last design consideration... They design a complete car then bend the exhaust pipe like a pretzel and force it into place in leftover spaces. For a lot of old tractors the driver was treated much the same way. Happily in recent years that is changing.  




farmer

Francis Robinson
Central Indiana USA
robinson46176 at hotmail.com


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