I LOVE the stories and pictures our Machinery Pete audience shares. So much fun 
Like pictures of and the story behind a pair of Oliver 535 combines harvesting wheat this week in northeast Nebraska. Facebook follower Joe M. from Lynch, Neb. tells the tale:
“Hi Pete, just wanted to share with you a couple pictures we snapped of our 535 Oliver combines taking some wheat in Northeast Nebraska. I know you don’t see too many in action these days and just wanted to pass these on. Still can’t believe what a nice grain sample you can get with a couple 55 year old machines that wouldn’t bring 200 bucks on a farm sale. That '55 Chevy truck hasn’t missed a harvest on this farm since it was new.”
Joe’s family has been happily harvesting with Oliver combines in northeast Nebraska for nearly 60 years.
“We originally started with a 430 Oliver in 1963, which was purchased new and used in conjunction with a Super 27 Massey Harris. In 1972 a 7300 Oliver Corn and soybean special was bought new and more or less replaced the Super 27.”
“In the early '80’s one of the 535 Olivers was purchased in Platte, SD to replace the 7300 so the filler bars didn’t need to be taken in and out. This way we had two combines (430 and 535 Oliver) dedicated to small grain. The 7300 was used on corn and beans. In 2006 the second 535 was bought from a neighbor. It had been in the machine shed since the early '80’s and hadn’t seen much use as the feeder house chains still had green paint on them. It was as close to mint as one could probably find in 2006. At that point the poor 430 got booted out for the “new” 535. It was getting hard to find parts for the 430, but some still carried parts for the 7300/535 models.”
“The 7300 is now put on stand by as a 550 hour John Deere 4420 was purchased for corn. For me, who has been a long time Oliver/White fan, the 535’s just seem so more photogenic vs the 4420 Deere. Our original 430 Oliver and the 535 that was purchased new by our neighbor were both bought 6 miles up the road from us in Bristow, Neb. from Thorell Implement. That little dealer in Bristow sold a hell of a lot of 430, 431, 525 and 535 Oliver combines in the area.”
THANK YOU Joe for sharing your pictures and the story behind your pair of Oliver 535 combines and your family’s 57 year history running Oliver combines in northeast Nebraska!
Now that you’re in the mood for vintage harvesters…here’s link to view (50) pre 1980 Combines for sale today around the country, starting with the oldest models listed first: https://tinyurl.com/y4445okj
Pete
Machinery Pete
www.MachineryPete.com