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Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Yearly Units Produced by Model?


andy gartner

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Is there info. available giving the yearly number of units produced by model for Simplicity/AC tractors? Thanks
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No there is not. Nor is there a list of serial numbers by year. The earlier tractors year was determined by the selling date not by date of manufacture. A tractor Manufactured in 1964 might not have got sold till 1966 so there for it was a 1966 model year The only real way to determine the year of manufacture is if it has the original engine in it using the engine manufacture date as a close approximation of tractor build date. By reading the history of Simplicity in the SimpleTractors section it might explain it a little better
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Going back probably to the early 1900's, manufacturers kept records of units produced either by serial nos. or other means. Whether one owns a Model T Ford, Farmall, Ford, JD, M-M, AC or whatever tractor the unit serial no. will reveal from records available, how many units that company produced of that model and what year it was made, regardless of year sold. It would be fun to have this info. from Simpl./AC if they choose to release it, as it could spawn a plethora of related topics.
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I've requested this info from Simplicity -- and they said it didn't exist... Be aware that they do NOT operate by model year like the automotive world. They use Product Numbers (or Manufacture Numbers) instead and one product number could be made for multiple years. Serial numbers were only used to describe/document a change that was small enough to not warrant a change in the product number -- i.e. it wasn't a totally new model. Again, if they have, they deny it....
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Guess they don't want to reveal that info. although a listing of 60's-80's machines (like your price list, or model section) one would think, wouldn't come back to haunt them.
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If you want to ascribe that they have it and simply won't disclose it, that's your prerogotive, I guess.... I've chosen to take them at their word and to simply say that I've been told it doesn't exist.
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guys i have had to call simplicity to change the adress and info on my warranty since i moved, and from talking to the gentleman there in the warranty department, and by reading through the lines all i can say is that they have the info almost down to the day of manufacture BUT they dont necessarily (as kent has said) use that info (nor give it out) for purposes of dating stock ect. All the gentleman would tell me was that my tractor by the numbers "was one of the last ones built" For my unit and all others that simplicity sells and like new cars the warranty runs from the date of purchase.
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Interesting topic. I'm sure that if Simplicity saw a marketing opportunity in it (they clearly don't at this time), they would be able to come up with exact production figures. If someone could prove a tractor was the first one of its particular model built, would that make it worth more? I would say that it certainly lend an amount of speculation to our hobby, which is not a good thing in the long run.

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I grew up in an AC Dealership (actually still growing up, but....)_ and have some thoughts on the matter. My take was/is that the only thing significant about the unit was the SN and that often did indicate anything about year of mfgr. except when there was a change in manufacturing and the components of the model changed to reflect a model upgrade or improvement.
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Kent I particularly like your mission statement for this club. I read it many times...'dedicated to preserving and maintaining these old tractors'... for me, that was the hook. Like many others, I'm a sucker for holding onto artifacts from my past, after building a history and memories with them, and investing myself in their repair, they become as old friends, as a trust in my care. Like in, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,' when R. Persig buys his Honda Super Hawk CB77 upon which he and Chris make their famous trip cross country; the previous owner is noticably upset upon selling it. (Persig to this day, still owns it!). Do I put old friends up on the block for sale after I feel they have served their usefulness to me? Hardly. So, I think we're on the same line here. And I wish Simplicity to prosper and do well. And all of us, in concert, to enjoy interaction on this site, first and formost. Unit numbers? Far secondary, almost irrelevant to the big picture here. But, I do get a chuckle when I open four (4) different Simplicity Owner's Manuals and they are VERY specific about recording my tractors: 1. Manu. no. 2. tractor serial no. 3. engine ser. no., 4. code info. "for warranty and parts ordering purposes, or when contacting the factory." They have even gone to the trouble to allot space in the manual for this.
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By gum Andy, You may have finally said something here. You're not such a dumb cowboy afterall.
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