OLIVER HG CRAWLER – c. 1947

Cleveland Tractor Company (Cletrac) was founded by Rollin White in 1917 manufacturing tract type tractors of various sizes. Ironically the Oliver Company which later bought Cletrac, was itself bought out by the White Motor Co. in 1960.

Cletrac started production of the HG model compact crawler in 1939, and was continued after Oliver Farm Equipment took over Cletrac in 1944. Production was carried through until 1951 with upgrades in engine sizes.  The HG was superseded by the OC industrial model which was produced until 1964 when Oliver ceased all crawler manufacturing.                                                                                 

WA Distributors (1947): Skipper Bailey Motor Company Limited, 900 Hay Street, Perth.  

Technical Specifications:   4-cylinder, 2.2 litre, 4-stroke engine with magneto or 6V battery ignition. Bore 3¼” and stroke 4”. Output is 21.85hp at the drawbar and 26.36hp at the Belt.  3 forward speeds 2.02, 3.10 & 5.25mph. 1 Reverse gear 2.35mph. Operational Weight 1,451kgs.

History: The first Hugh heard of this tractor was from Jack Low, then manager of Serpentine Pastoral Co. Jack was restoring the machine, but could not get the magneto to work, so he asked Hugh for help.

Two years later, Jack offered the machine to Hugh as the Pastoral Co was closing and he did not have enough room at his house for the HG. The Crawler needed a new radiator grill, adjustments to the transmission and new steering brakes to bring it back into operation.