Have aquired what I thought was an oc3

[Carman72]

My model plate says hg 42 and my serial is 54ga724 .  My machine has the updated track rollers, and my bore is 3.25 which leads me to believe it is the newest engine. Can anyone shed any light on this or do I have many machines put together?  Thanks

Aaron

[Jack in NB]

The visible differences I'm aware of:

HG - enclosed knee action springs; OC-3 are exposed
HG - front idler has large holes in the wheel and 2 retainer rails running inside the track chains; OC-3 had solid wheels and large flanges outside the track chains
HG engine IXK-3, no water pump; OC-3 had IXB-3 with a water pump. My dipsticks on the OC-3's are stamped with "IXB-3".

These may not be clear-cut distinctions - there has been discussion here(Walter Hudson, I think) that there was some overlap in features as the models changed over in '51.

You mentioned updated rollers - I wasn't aware of this. Could you tell me more about them?

Jack

[Carman72]

My hg has solid wheels it does has have an ixb motor and according to Zimmerman the serial number build date is late 1950.    So I am thinking it was built as the changover was happening. I am hoping its all origninal.  I don't have updated rollers we have an older hg 68 that my grandfather modified with an opel gt drivetrain(two transmissions and a home made dozerblade) it has the old style wheels and springs It pushes dirt very well with the extra lower gears. However the tracks are getting really worn on it and come off regualrly.   Thanks for your help

Aaron

[mikegt4]

54ga724 would have been built in the fall of 1950. That was a time when the HG was going through changes constantly, two crawlers built in the same month could be quite different.

52GA000 was where a lot of changes were made so you should have many of the later style improvements, ie.
solid front wheel, IBX-3, I-beam guide support, open main spring

The Oliver name on the manifold didn't start until 55GA022 so you shouldn't have that feature.

[John Schwiebert]

A  couple of other things. Late HG models did have IXB engines and also water pumps were added in 1950 I think. As far as the front idlers go, There was a kit to conver the old style to the new style. This is mentioned in the HG parts book. As was mentioned. The late HG tractors had several changes made that make them almost identical to the OC-3. I also have a friend who worked at a dealership and they said when an HG with the IXK engine was in the shop for an overhaul it was bored to 3.250 and a water pump was then also installed.

[Carman72]

I do actually have oliver on the manifold, and the motor says Ixb on the the dipstick.  The tractor is mostly green, but appears to have sprockets that are painted yellow.  There is also a transmission cross brace.