Hello guys. So I have an opportunity to get an old Oliver oc4 dozer with a carco c3 winch for free. It's a late 50's model I believe. It has been sitting since the late 80's early 90's. It ran when it was parked. I'm looking to cut some wood with it. Not planning on supporting myself with it, just looking to log some private lots on the weekends as a hobby and some extra income. What are you guys inputs on these dozers? What are some key issues to look for when getting it back running?
Thanks
Have seen quite a few chevy 350 conversions into olivers on CL over the years. Is it on tracks or tires?
Either way itll be about 3x better than a skid steer in the woods. Probably about 1/3 as good as a skidder. Good for what you want to do, if youve got the capability to deal with retrofitting and reworking around obsolete parts.
Quote from: mike_belben on May 07, 2018, 03:44:16 PM
Have seen quite a few chevy 350 conversions into olivers on CL over the years. Is it on tracks or tires?
Either way itll be about 3x better than a skid steer in the woods. Probably about 1/3 as good as a skidder. Good for what you want to do, if youve got the capability to deal with retrofitting and reworking around obsolete parts.
It's on tracks. I'm no mechanic or fabricator by any means, but it will be a good piece to learn on. It was a family owned machine. My grandfather used it to yard spruce logs to build log cabins and to build roads into the camps he built.
Go for it. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Just watch the Washington's you have to put in it. You know you can always get your initial investment back in parting it out if you had to and help restore a part of history.
It should be 19 engine HP, but the horses were bigger back then. We had an Oliver OC3 when I was growing up, with a FEL on it. That was 22 HP. It worked well, but was on the light side. The tracks were no match if there was ice on the ground.
Typically the older the machine the simpler to work on. Especially a small tractor like that. Parts availability will be an issue I would guess. I don't know much about the Oliver tracked machines, but a lot of the old construction/forestry equipment made by tractor companies used ag parts a lot. I would watch the U/C, putting an undercarriage on a tracked machine can get pricey in a hurry! Like good rubber on a skidder you could easily double the machine price. All that being said, if you are handy with tools and have a halfway decent shop, go for it! I would check out yesterdaystractor.com There is a wealth of knowledge over on that site. Good luck!
Try Zimmermans at www.olivercletrac.com (http://www.olivercletrac.com)
You can get parts at Zimmerman Oliver Cletrac in Ephrata PA 1-717 -738-2573
For information go to " Oliver Tractor Data ", they are sorted by model #. Just click on the OC 4 at the bottom of the page.