Our tractor was an Oliver 88. I drove it at least a year before the English Ford. I had trouble depressing the clutch. I didn't weigh enough. It depressed straight down to the floor. Once I stood up, and got it down, it was hard to let up slowly enough if there was an implement in the ground behind it.
I much preferred the hand operated clutch on our Caterpillar 20. It was an antique when I was a kid, but it was still a hard worker. The clutch was either "clicked" in or out. In the picture below, the clutch lever is the one that comes up at an angle and then goes straight up. The two straight levers, one hiding behind the other, are for steering. There are also two brake pedals for sharp turns. Pull the lever, push the brake, and make a 180 on the spot.
My dad traded the Cat, even up, for a post war Oliver 90 when I was still in high school. I think he always wished he'd kept the Cat.
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.
MGMcAnick wrote:Our tractor was an Oliver 88. I drove it at least a year before the English Ford. I had trouble depressing the clutch... I much preferred the hand operated clutch on our Caterpillar 20. It was an antique when I was a kid...
Uncle! Uncle! I give up, you got me. The Case tractor would have been mere child's play for you.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
dales wrote:Those are worth a ton of money, today.
Heck yeah they are! Whenever I buy a lottery ticket (not often) I spend a few days daydreaming about what I’ll buy with the winnings; an old VW bus like that is on the list, with the roof racks and the top that opens to the sky. I’ve browsed them online and they go for as much as a brand new Mercedes in many cases.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
My Model A Fords (3) and MGAs (6) have (or had) wooden floorboards. Only one MGA's floor ever got hot enough to smoke when the exhaust pipe got bent upward, but I know exactly what Mr Tom wrote about.
OK, I know Alfas had metal floors. At least the MGA floors didn't rust.
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.
"What Car Were You First Licensed To Drive?", sounds a bit odd to me.
It's as if you had a license specific to that car, rather than a driving license...
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
First car I ever drove was a 64 VW bug, in 1970 when dad took me to a parking lot and taught me the stick shift.
Passed my road test (january 1976) in moms 67 plymouth belvedere wagon. Had my license suspended in april for speeding in the bug. 50mph in a 30mph. Was still on probation so they took my license for 60 days. First car I bought (in june 1976) was a 64 dodge dart (had the push button tranny).
