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Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

who made this Sears?


sammiefish

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I'm guessing it's around a '67 GT6 or 7. I used to know them fairly well but it's been too long now. A good site to see for pictures and explanations of all things about the older Sears tractors is to do a Google search for Sware or Swear and Sears tractors. That should bring you to the best way to identify them with pictures and model numbers unless you want to join several of the Yahoo Groups related to them and look through the pictures. Most of the older ones were built by a combination of Roper or (AYP) American Yard Products and then on to another new owner that's all related together to the Sears tractors of that time frame Electrolux.
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supposedly a 1971 Custom 8 M the vintage site picture links are broken... and just the little i read it was not obvious but maybe Roper?
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The Suburban and Custom tractors were all Roper. I think Roper was spun-off from David Bradley. Sears accounted for probably 90 percent of Roper's lawn and garden business at the time.
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Yeah I think most or all were made by Roper (I know the '72 Suburban 12 I inherited from my Gpa was). The interesting thing to me is that Roper turned into AYP and they still make most of the Sears tractors!
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I worked at the Sears Service center in the early 80's. At that time, they had 3 sources for tractors, Roper, Murray, and AMF. That order is how the techs felt about them, with Roper the best, Murray OK, and AMF garbage.
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Do any of you guys have a feel for parts availability on these? or is it pretty much getting parts machines...??? Also, can anyone comment on the 8 Hp... is it enough to blow snow??
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These tractors in their day were about the best there was out there. I have no doubt that the snowblower and engine were up to the task even at being an 8 hp. I can only imagine what has happened to it in 40 + years but at the time they were like any commercial tractor you'd find nowadays. Now, the engine may be worn out and the blower may be all banged up from debris going through it but maybe not. Some were a little less appointed than others but they all were one tough tractor. If you were to join any of the Sears tractor clubs on Yahoo that aren't being spammed to death you'd get far better reponse than you would here because they deal directly with these machines much as this group deals with Simplicitys and Allis's. In the Yahoo Groups look for the ones run by Joe or Mr. Fixit. I believe all the other ones will be full of Spam especially if they aren't moderated.
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If you were fortunate enough to get hold of a parts manual for this particular Sears you could go to their site and look up part numbers to see if parts are still available, You would likely find a parts manual in a Yahoo Group in the files section or just ask. I've had over a dozen different Sears tractors over the years and was surprised to find they still stocked many of the consumable items. Keep in mind my last Sears tractor was back at least 10 years ago now but that's the feel I get from reading about things in the Yahoo Groups. Otherwise there are Sears Yahoo Group Classifieds that deal directly with them too but I know for a fact one Sears Classified Group in there is full of porn and just every Spam message and isn't worth even joining. Look for Joe's groups as he doesn't allow any of that and keep a close watch over the proceedings.
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There will be a model # beginning with the 917 prefix on the frame, this number can be taken to the sears parts direct webpage and will provide you with parts breakdowns and availablitiy. IMO, if you're going to collect Sears, go with a Suburban rather than a Custom. The Customs were the lower end tractors and while they had good engines and transmissions, they had cheaper steering and less attachment capability than the Suburbans. None of the Sears at that time even come close to the ease of maintenance, number of features, and parts availabilty found in the large frame Allis/Simplicity lineup. I used to have a Custom 10XL and its very common for them to have problems with the gearboxes on the deck and the steering gears and shafts wear out (these parts are NLA.) I can't say I've even seen the steering worn out on a Suburban.
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Here's a strange Suburban! http://southbend.craigslist.org/grd/1808629599.html
[img]http://images.craigslist.org/3na3kb3m55V15Y05T3a6o4ed605c7328b135a.jpg[/img]
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I had a sears Super 7 looked like that one it had a 7 hp tecumseh Eng.I used it for years blowing snow mowing and I had a rock drive and bladed in tons of rock. The to speed rear end was real nice for blowing snow. I gave it to a friend of mine and he is still using it.
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I inherited one from the in-laws, less the sheet metal. They had put a newer engine in after running the original without oil for a short time. The replacement engine did not bolt in properly, so they turned it around so it would fit better. It is the only lawnmower I know of with 3 reverses and one forward. I have never tried to use it!
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