Oliver 46 "loader"

[Jack Goebel]

I have just bought an Oliver Loader model 46 and I think it may be on a Cletrac crawler.  Does the model 1XB-3 mean anything to anyone?  I know very little about tractors and this is the first Oliver I have ever seen.  Jack

[thecatskinner]

Welcome aboard Jack--we are glad to have you.
Someone will come along with far more knowledge of the OC-46 than I have but in the mean time--IXB-3 is the engine model number.  It is a Hercules engine.

I have to confess to being a bit confused since I thought the OC-4s were all three cylinders and the IXB-3 is a four cylinder.

We will both learn something here;)

[Crawler Boy]

From what i know the first model of OC-4
1956-1958 they did have the 4cyl engine
and that sould be the same as an OC-3

And OC-46 1957-1965 have bouth 3-cyl
gas and deisel engines

the name on the crawler is OLIVER OC-46

some quick history
The name CLERTAC = Cleveland tractor company made only crawlers exept one wheel tractor
but in the early fifties the OLIVER bought up Cletrac and named the crawlers Oliver
instead

there is probyble some that know more
about it more than i do that will fill in more

[John Schwiebert]

The OC-3 is a crawler with 3 lower rollers and a 3 forward speed transmission. The OC-4 has four lower rollers and a 4 speed transmission. All the early OC-4's all the OC-3's and the HG models built in 1950 and later used the four cylinder Hercules IXB four cylinder engines. OC-46 would indicate an OC-4 loader tractor

[thecatskinner]

I think some clarification is appropriate.

Oliver bought Cletrac in 1944.  The HG became the OC3 in 1951.  

I think there is no single date when the re-branding took place.  My HG is a 1951 and was called Oliver HG so the re-branding of the HG did not coincide with the model designation change.

The HG was introduced in the 1939 (I think)and to the best of my knowledge used several model engines but all were four cylinder Hercules until the model run ended in 1957 as the OC3.

[thecatskinner]

Jack, you may want to--if you haven't found it--go to www.cletrac.org and then to "Photo Albums" and then go to the OC-4 Brochure.  The specifications for the OC-46 Series B are shown there.

[John Schwiebert]

There are three distinct versions of the OC-4 tractors. The first OC-4 use the 4 cylinder IX series l head engines. Then in about 1957 or 58 they dropped the IX engine for the New Hercules GO Gas and DD diesel engines. These are the 3 cylinder engines and the gas model is now an overhead valve engine. Then in 1960 or maybe early 61 to fill some orders crawler production ended in Cleveland Ohio. After that a new building was built in Charles City Iowa at the plant where the Oliver wheel tractors were built. The OC4 & OC-9 models were the only crawlersbuilt there. They were reengineered in some places and are know as the series B tractors.