How Do You Date A Tractor?

[Guest]

My son and I are restoring an early B-10, how can I
tell the year it was manufactured?
Tractor: S/N 019953
Engine: S/N 38361

Thanks Scott

[Al]

Scott,

Be careful dating a tractor -- they're always looking for a commitment and a long-term relationship!!!

Seriously, there are quite a few old posts on the forum about different ways to find out the date of your tractor. The basic problem is that Simplicity did not use "clear model years" like we think of when talking about cars. They used "production runs" where a given model could cross several years without any significant changes.

Since this is a "Frequently Asked Question" I'll "use yours as an example" and try to provide a broader answer....

First, try searching using the "Search All Messages" function on the top of the list, finding "year" in the Message Body. For example, Jack Lindstrom (JackL or happyjack) has described where to find the dates on the transmission/rearend.

Second, the serial number of the tractor is not of much value -- we need the Manufacturer Number (Mfr No) for Simplicity or Product Number for Allis-Chalmers. Then, more than likely we can find it in the Model X-Reference Table. In your case, Scott, the early B-10s were Product Number 2025041 (Electric Start) or 2025042 (Manual Start) and manufactured in 1963 and 1964.

Third, the engine MAY be an indicator, if it is the original engine. Note that the date of the engine may pre-date the manufacture date of the tractor by several months, as they used up inventory of engines on hand. Again, there's several posts that talk about dating the Briggs engine. Later ones actually have the date of manufacture listed just after the serial number, if you know how to "decode it." There's a link on the Links page, also, that helps date OLD, OLD Briggs engines named "Technical Data for Old Briggs & Stratton Engines"

Hope all this helps. And, Scott -- I hope you don't think I've "picked on you" by taking this opportunity to answer a recurring question. I don't mean to....

Kent