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B112 Questions


skunkhome

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As I understand it the the B112 was produced in the Lexington plant by Allis Chalmers Outdoor Power. Were some early ones produced in Port Washington by Simplicity? If so is there some way to tell the runs apart? Did the builders number change from 2029900 to 2029929 upon the move to new plant? If not did the look of the Id plate change?
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I don't know about any plant change but there is two. Early B112(Simplicity 3012) 1)push button start 2)No hydro trans option 3)Because of above I think they where a short wheel base, cannot confirm. Late B112(Simplicity 3112) 1)key switch start 2)Hydro available(HB112)
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quote:
Originally posted by firefoxz1
I don't know about any plant change but there is two. Early B112(Simplicity 3012) 1)push button start 2)No hydro trans option 3)Because of above I think they where a short wheel base, cannot confirm. Late B112(Simplicity 3112) 1)key switch start 2)Hydro available(HB112)
I believe the push button start was LWB as well to accommodate the Vari shift. My question is very specific to the production plant. Maybe someone with an early B112 2029900 or 01 could provide a photo of the ID plate, and someone with a late model 2029929 or 30 could provide a photo of their data plate for comparison. I am looking at an early B112 but the data plate is torn in half leaving only the left half for viewing. Down here any Allis Chalmers or Simplicity for that matter is rarer than rare. The one I am looking at has sickle bar mower, spring tooth harrow, belly mower, and tiller w/o mule drive. Owner is quite proud of it $$.
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Phil Where did you get the MFG#'s 2029929 or 2029930 In all of my manuals hardcopy and PDF the only ones I can find are. 2029900 B-112 2029901 B-112 2029902 B-110 2029903 B-110 2029905 32" Tiller 2029927 B-110 2029928 B-110 2029931 HB-112 2029932 HB-112 2029948 B-210 2029949 B-210 2029950 B-212 2029951 B-212 2029952 HB-212 2029953 HB-212 As far as production splits this is what I have Axles Front Rear, Drive train Differental, B-110 Before/after S/N 68017 B-112 Before/after S/N 15428 HB-112 S/N 15428 & up Clutch & Brake B-112 Before/after S/N 20001 Electrical system B-110 Before/after S/N 80001 B-112 Before/after S/N 20001
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Here is an excerpt from an article on the history of Simplicity wrtten by Les Kriefels of the club. To zero things a little closer a serial number of the engine would give you an idea of the time frame. Allis-Chalmers During the 1950’s, the United States became increasingly suburban, creating the need for riding lawn mowers. The major farm equipment manufacturers wanted to expand into this new market. John Deere and International Harvester designed and built their own machines. The others opted to buy from a firm with an existing product line to re-label as their own. Allis-Chalmers went with Simplicity Manufacturing. In 1961 the first Allis-Chalmers garden tractor, the 7.25 horsepower B-1, was born. Except for paint, decals and minor sheet metal changes, it was identical to the Simplicity 725. In 1963, the B-1 was replaced by the 9 horsepower B-10. In 1965 the B-10 became the Big-10 with a new 10 horsepower engine. In 1966, the Big Ten reverted back to the B-10 when the new B-12 was introduced. Up until 1971 all Allis garden tractors were painted yellow and were powered by Briggs engines. During 1965, Allis-Chalmers purchased Simplicity. The federal government challenged the purchase. Due to the fair trade laws in effect at that time, the government claimed that Allis-Chalmers controlled too great a share of the market and thus limited competition. As a result, in 1967, Allis-Chalmers opened a new plant in Lexington, South Carolina to build garden tractors. The first models built there were the B-207, B-110, B-112 and HB-112. The B-208, B-210, B-212, and HB-212 were introduced in 1970. Simplicity tractors continued to be built in Port Washington, but for the first time there were differences besides paint and decals. In 1971, the 300 series introduced many design changes. The body was painted orange and the hoods painted cream, and Kohler engines were used for the first time. In 1973 the similar 400 series was introduced. These tractors bore little resemblance to the Port Washington built Simplicity models. The mower decks and many of the attachments were different. Also in 1971, the B-207 and B-208 were updated to the new paint scheme, but retained Briggs power. The 206, 207, and 208 were continued as the Homesteader series from 1972 to 1974. Also in 1972, Allis-Chalmers introduced the model 616, which was the Simplicity PowrMax with orange paint and a different hood. The 616 became the 620 in 1973 with the new 20 horsepower engine. In 1975 the 620 was relabeled as the 720 to match the numbering of the updated smaller tractors. To the best of our knowledge the 620 and 720 models are identical except that the later 720’s had an upgraded front axle. AC later came out with a second model 616, which was a painted over Simplicity 4216 and had no relation to the earlier “PowrMax” 616. During the Nixon administration, most of the fair trade laws were repealed, so in 1973 Allis-Chalmers closed the Lexington plant and transferred all production back to Port Washington. Once again, AC and Simplicity Garden tractors became identical except for paint and decals, although certain individual models may or may not have had an exact Simplicity counterpart. In 1974, the new 700 series was introduced in an all orange color scheme to match the big AC farm tractors. This series used Kohler engines but there were some Briggs powered 716’s. The new 600 series introduced at the same time replaced the Homesteader line and the 800 series lawn tractors were added in 1976. The 600 and 800 series tractors used Briggs engines exclusively. The 900 series replaced the 700 series in 1979 using only Kohler engines, however a very few Briggs powered 916’s were made.
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Bob, I am fairly familiar with the history however it does not tie down where in the production of the B-100 series the site was changed. The history as written indicated that the B112 was made at Lexington but it does not rule out early production at Simplicity. Maynard, regarding the Manufacturers numbers I have been trolling Ebay for some time gathering data and asking sellers to advise me the Mfg#'s and serial numbers off the tractors they are selling. As I recall 2209929 was a B112 with manual lift that was selling in North or South Carolina and I don't recall where 2209930 was reported, but I have it listed as a Hydraulic lift.
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quote:
Originally posted by Cvans
Where does my "made in Milaukee WI." fit into this picture? Is Port Washington near or a suburb of Milwaukee?
Cvans, Port Washington is 27 miles north of downtown Milwaukee and 31 miles from West Allis. Can you provide a closeup of your id plate? It would be nice if someone with a key start B112 could provide a photo of the ID plate to see if it says Lexington, SC
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris727
Phil, I have both early and late B-110's, sorry only have the early B-112, I can get all their info when I'm home this weekend.
Chris, that would be great...what I am hoping is that we find two early with different plates indicating a shift in production.
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Yes. But not being an expert on these tractors I would have to guess that it is original. The dash decal does say start next to the button. Interestingly the starter generator is the heavy duty model with the ball bearing end housings. Needless to say if I part this out I will keep that as I just put new bearings into it.
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I think we might be reading too much into this, it doesn't specifically say "made in Milwaukee." I believe Allis Chalmers was headquartered out of Milwaukee at the time, even looking at some old Allis parts boxes of the era, they also have Milwaukee printed on them, while the parts came from all over the place. As I was writing this I remembered I had taken some pics of my B-212 serial tag before stripping it down for restoration. The 200's also say Milwaukee, I think my Homesteader does too but can't confirm that until this weekend. Those tractors were definitely not made in Wisconsin. I don't remember ever seeing lexington printed on anything other than possibly my 400 Series.




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CHris, upon seeing your photo I tend to agree that may be the outcome. It has been many years (37) but I seem to recall the ID plate on our 312D stated Lexington and at some point the name on the plate was changed to "Allis Chalmers Outdoor Power Division". Was that after AC's emergence from the antitrust lawsuit? I am assuming that is a later model due to the recessed key hole. Curiously there does not seem to be a Mfg# displayed.
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Phil, the tractor is a 1969 or 1970 B-200 series, all of which had the recessed switch. I think my 1970 HB-212 also reads "Milwaukee" but the only photo I had couldn't be zoomed in quite close enough to be sure. I think the B-10 and 12 had catalog#s but I don't think the 100/200 tractors did.
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The price lists at this link give factory codes, though there seems to be some inconsistency with the 200s. http://www.simpletractors.com/models/b-series_prices.htm
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My Dad bought an early B-110 from my cousin who was an Allis sales rep for the mid PA region. I picked it on April 30,1967 in Lancaster County where my cousin lived at the time. I still have the "Delivery Record 4th Copy - For Customer" paper. Here's a pic of the nameplate:


The serial number is 064200. It's a push button start and it's mfg #2029902, although the mfg# is nowhere to be found on the tractor. I agree with Chris, the fact that the nameplate says "Milwaukee, WIS", doesn't mean the tractor was actually manufactured there. The original tractor and 36" snowblower owner's manuals also reference Allis -Chalmers Box 512 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201. The 42" deck operating instructions don't mention any location.
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Allis Chalmers Corporate office was in West Allis WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, but they used a Milwaukee post office as their location, more then likely as a better location identity. Regardless of the plant producing the machinery, the ID plate shows the name of company and home address. Just like Deere, the lions share of their turf products are built in Horicon WI, about an hours west of where Simplicity had their plant, and all of Deere's products show "Deere & Co. Moline IL"
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Some clarity on the plants and production. Too many things match up exactly on the AC and Simplicity counterparts for the two series to be made in different plants. Due to production schedules, building the plant, tooling up, and so forth, I'd say all tractors were built at the Wis. plant up to the introduction of the 300/400 series. There were other models built at the Lexington SC plant like the Scamper models. JUNK IMO. But AC had to build something to sell in their market to compete with the cheaper line of mowers that didn't need the brute of a 300/400 series tractor. Lets face it, not everyone needed nor could afford that sized tractor. The change from push button start to a key switch will tie in to ANSI safety regulations being imposed in lawn and garden equipment. Although I'm not aware of any real hard documentation on a specific date, this would have most likely been a line production change to incorporate compliance rather than any desire by Simplicity to update from one style to another. This is all my opinion, but it makes sense.....
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