Oliver 550 Special

[Ollie03031]

I have a 1964 Oliver 550 Special and an 1965 Oliver 550. Both have been restored and used on a small section of the farm I grew up on. I take the tractors to show at the Deerfield fair in NH almost every year. I am always getting questions about what makes the 1964 Special. The only difference between the two is the Special label on the 64 and the 65 has adjustable front end spacing and power Steering. My answer is usually that the special was a lower cost version without power steering and a fixed front axil. Problem is I have seen other 550 without power steering and with fixed front axils that were not labeled Special. I would like to know the correct answer before I go to this years fair. I am wondering if it might have been something like the white Farmall or the golden Fords that were just painted different as a sales promotion or if the tractor is just labeled wrong. I have looked trough some Oliver literature but have found nothing about the 550 Special. I would like An idea of how many were produced and what makes them special?
thanks for any info.
Ollie

 

[scootergmc]

Almost every reference to a 550 special I've seen has been a 1964 model. Do you have the build card? If you want to be sure how your tractor was equipped and shipped, call the Floyd county museum with your serial number and order the build card, cost is cheap and it supports Oliver history.

 

[Ollie03031]

I will try to get a build card.
thanks
ollie