It's surprising what li'l ol' Canada can put in motion.
In 1958, Cockshutt Company of Brantford Ontario, looking to modernize its line, began to import the Fiat 411R (Diesel) and 411RB (Gasoline) models from Fiat of Turin, Italy. They, especially the 411R, had a very up to date design, particularly in their transmissions, 3 point hitches, and operator's stations. Both had four cylinder engines.
The 411RB was, well, pretty disastrous, in that their engines, sourced from Italian army jeeps of WWII, just weren't designed for high torque lugging the way a farm tractor is subject to. The Diesels were better, but still not up to snuff. They just didn't have the torque required of a tractor.
After the buyout of Oliver, Cockshutt, and Minneapolis Moline by White Motor Corporation, White decided to continue the importation of the Fiat tractors. In 1965, the 411R and 411RB were restyled to become the Fiat 415 Diesel or Gas. They were sold here as the 38.5 PTO horsepower Oliver 1250 (USA) or Cockshutt 1250 (Canada). They weren't really upgraded, just restyled. They had excellent transmissions and 3 point hitches, and very good front axles on the Diesel models, but poor engines in the Diesels, and terrible engines in the Gas models.
Oliver and Cockshutt also sold the Fiat 615 as the Oliver 1450 (USA) or Cockshutt 1450 (Canada). They were only available as Diesel tractors at 55 PTO horsepower. Their engines were lemons as well. They ate head gaskets. They were built from 1967 - 1969 then thankfully ended.
Something had to be done. All of these tractors were poor quality. They had great transmissions but terrible engines. Dealers everywhere these tractors were sold would have heard about the engine problems in the 1250 and 1450. Also, complaints about the 9 inch, light duty clutch slipping in the 1250.
Up steps a Hero: The Fiat 450
It can not be overstated how much of an improvement the Fiat 450 was over the 415. Gone was the low torque four cylinder engines and the 9 inch clutch. In was a brand new design 3 cylinder, high torque engine and a very heavy duty 10 inch clutch. There were no more Gas engine models available. Oliver and Cockshutt began selling the Fiat 450 as the Oliver 1250-A and the Cockshutt 1250-A in 1969. They were still 38.5 PTO horsepower, but in a wonderfully reliable, long life, torquey little package that responded beautifully to the throttle.
That engine was so advanced, and so rugged and durable that it is still being built in variations to this very day, nearly 60 years later. Now they had a real winner on their hands. The four wheel drive front axles weren't very good, but the 2 wheel tractors were absolutely excellent. Just a TREMENDOUS improvement over their predecessors.
In late 1969, the Oliver and Cockshutt 1250-A became the Oliver or Cockshutt 1255. No changes were made but the model number to match the rest of the new Oliver and Cockshutt 55 series tractors.
Adding one cylinder to the Fiat 450 resulted in the Fiat 550. It was sold as the Oliver or Cockshutt 1355 from 1969 - 1971. Except for the front axles in the four wheel drives, they were also excellent tractors, and their same basic design exists to this day.
The Fiat 450 and 550 were each increased in bore from 95 millimeters to 100 millimeters and became the Fiat 480 and 600, then the 600 quickly became the 640. The big news, however, was the new front axle for the four wheel drive models. They got a big improvement in this area to become almost equal to the tractors they were put under. They were sold as the Oliver and Cockshutt 1265 and 1365 and as the Minneapolis Moline G350 and G450 from 1971-1975 and as the White 1270 and 1370 from 1973 - 1976.
The Fiat 640 was also sold as the White 2-60 from 1976 - 1980.
An awkward, kind of orphan child, with no real place, is the 1465/1470. Being that, again, the transmission was a good design in the Fiat 615 (and Oliver or Cockshutt 1450), they redesigned the engine to become the 77 PTO horsepower Fiat 750. Now they didn't eat head gaskets and thereby became much more reliable. The Fiat 750 was sold as the Oliver and Cockshutt 1465 from 1971 - 1975 and as the White 1470 from 1973 - 1975.
Back to the really excellent tractors, the 3 cylinder 480 was updated to the 8 speed transmission of the 550, 600, and 640 to become the 500. It was sold as the White 2-50 from 1976 - 1980 and as the Allis Chalmers 5045 from 1981 - 1983.
The Fiat 540 was given the engine from the new 580 to become a model specifically built for Allis Chalmers, the 5050, from 1977 - 1983. Nobody had an equivalent to the stand alone AC 5050. It was the highest horsepower 3 cylinder tractor of the old style Fiats to come to North America.
Now we go off in a different direction...
Universal Tractors of Brasov, Romania (UTB), were granted license from Fiat to build the Fiat 450 as the Universal 445. It was practically bolt for bolt identical to the Fiat 450.
The UTB 445 was sold in Canada as is and in the USA as the Long 445 from 1972-1976, and as the Allis Chalmers 5040 from 1976 - 1980.
The UTB 445 was very slightly stripped down to become the UTB 350 or the Long 350 in the USA from 1974 - 1976.
The UTB 445 was restyled to become the UTB 450. It was sold in Canada as is and in the USA as the Long 460 (not a typo) from 1977 - 1991.
The UTB 350 was restyled to become the UTB 360. It was sold in Canada as is and in the USA as the Long 360 from 1977 - 1991.
Increasing the bore of the UTB 450 from 95 MM to 102 MM resulted in the UTB 530, which was sold in the USA as the Long 510 (not a typo), from 1979 - 1990.
The Fiat 550 was copied in Romania as the UTB 550. It was sold as is in Canada and in the USA as the Long 550 from 1972 - 1975. It was upgraded with an engine balancer to become the Long 560 from 1975 - 1985.
The UTB 550 was increased in bore from 95 MM to 102 MM to become the UTB 640. It was sold in the USA as the Long 610 (not a typo) from 1979 - 1990.
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