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1990 - 2000 Sovereigns


RayS

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Trying to figure out when they went to the grey frames. Think I am pretty close on dates. Does anyone have a picture of a 1995 & 1996?

SIMPLICITY 17 GTH-L.jpg

17 gth-l with black frame

larrys1994.jpg

A friend of mines 1994

Sovereign18_28772559.jpg

1997 grey frame

Mikes1997Sovereign.jpg

I believe this is Mike DiSanto`s 1997 black frame. From what I can tell they went back to black in mid to late 1997 after they were done with the 75th anniversary tractors or however they built them.

1998 Sovereign.jpg

1998 black frame

1999 Simplicity Sovereign.jpg

1999 black frame Triad

2000sovereign.jpg

2000 black frame TriadFrom what I can tell they must have went grey between 1995 or 96 and went back after the 75th anniversary tractors. I had a 1997 with a bad command and a grey frame. I bought it for the power steering. They probably built them anniversary tractors in the spring of 97 for they could have that parade then more than likely went back to black afterwards.

57e056ea3b72f_SIMPLICITY17GTH-L.jpg.1a651dce668c4da4d3a1b385ecf3ef13.jpg

larrys1994.jpg.183b1ca5869f0ff36e5ea9f9b776726a.jpg

Sovereign18_28772559.jpg.91e6269d3e7b388764ca70d8bf4fcd2f.jpg

Mikes1997Sovereign.jpg.fe88e06755caa5bca17cb597485c62ad.jpg

57e056ea84388_1998Sovereign.jpg.96f9148b732119d0d41e3aa47d0bd005.jpg

57e056ea94669_1999SimplicitySovereign.jpg.2e5134e09abe52316a8c3400bee75303.jpg

2000sovereign.jpg.6e3d7f5093b3a9b60bebbc2230d5d972.jpg

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sovsovvy.jpg

74th chrome side.JPG

thanks for puttimng togther. here's a 95/96 and a 75th. 95/96 has nice glossy black frame yes that's traid does not belong ^

57e05d0969c94_74thchromeside.JPG.a90175d87dcf980f47debcffd7ad8b7d.JPG

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Ray,

I haven't seen enough late model Sovereigns to help.

However, I see the '98 black frame has a Command engine. I thought when they switched to Triads, they installed them continuously. So I wouldn't think a Command would show up between a '97 and '99. Might be a problem in your timeline of tractors?

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Here is my 2000 Sovereign. (I believe it's a 2000 anyway. Was bought new in May of 2000 and has a date of 1999 stamped in the gas tank). As you can see it has a black frame and a Triad engine. The Triad engine has been sold and a new Command is currently on the way.

Image00002.jpg

Image00002.jpg.e22c5b224325fbc78ba7c740b69175be.jpg

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quote:Originally posted by RayS

The 1998 above does have a Command but they did replace the Triads with Commands under warranty when they exploded.


id="quote">
id="quote">According to my engine book, MY '98,'99 and 2000 MY's had Triads. The explosions must have came after.
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Sam, that massey is the coolest, especially with the old MF 2 piece weights. I would almost rather have one of them than my 75th, they're probably more rare too.

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I love those color schemes...

What year did they switch from the round to square headlights? Do the squares put out as much light as the rounds? they seem smaller...but then again so are my 7010's and they light great.

Also I see they switched from white wheels after Rays 1st pic??

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I want the bagger off that Massey :o Any more pics of bagger setups?

That massey looks nice. There is one for sale local here with a blown engine for around $500

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quote:Originally posted by GLPointon

I love those color schemes...What year did they switch from the round to square headlights? Do the squares put out as much light as the rounds? they seem smaller...but then again so are my 7010's and they light great.Also I see they switched from white wheels after Rays 1st pic??


id="quote">
id="quote">The 1994 tractor above which belongs to a friend of mine has square headlinhts. In my opinion the round light puts out more than the square lights. Tripleguy has found a solution to the dim square lights. That switch from white rims was one of their best moves, but to each his own.
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I agree on the headlights, my 7112H with round headlights are noticeably brighter than the square ones in my late model Sovereign.

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While were loosly on the subject, what does the GTH mean? isnt it a 7100 series tractor still? was that the model that followed the 7100's and what if any are the differances? (except paint)

The reason I ask is I want to make my 7116H look like the GTH or later Sovereigns. I like the black decals with the paint schemes seen above...sm01

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Nearest I can tell, the 17GTH-L is identical to the 7117 except for the decals. The next model had the command engine and was labeled only as a "Sovereign." At this time the hood was redesigned to have square lights and a shorter, more sloping nose. I think the front of the frame was shortened a little too.

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I read that whole thread and I agree with Maynard mostly. I think all the garden tractors were GTH's but the horizonal engine/BGB drives were identified by GTH-L for "large frame" vs. the GTH which were vertical engine sub compact as listed in the Simplicity manual.I think it was/is very confusing to have 2 totally different tractor types both called GTH's sm00even with the "L", if thats even for sure the ID for the large frame ones, but if its not how would you tell except maybe by H.P.? Is that why it changed to other "names".? I think the old numeric system was better/more descriptive...Either way I like the colors/decals more that the 7100 sm01

quote:Originally posted by PhanDad

Greg,I started a mini fire storm awhile ago with the description of "GTH". A GTH-L is a garden tractor hydro - lift as I understand it. And I assume GTH means garden tractor hydro. See this post for other thoughts about GTH:http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=115810&SearchTerms=GTH


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Here is a shot of my 18hp Sovereign, model 1692798. I believe that makes it a 1997 model, and I have the original bill of sale - I'm the second owner, and have known the tractor since it was new - it's all original except the rebuilt bevel gear box. BGB failed and I picked it up reasonably at that point in 2007. Date of sale was June 1997. It is a P/S model, with the 48in deck. Sale price was $6948.00, less the trade in of a 7117 for a difference of $5000.00. Mine has the Command, silver wheels and a black frame. IMO, the coolest 7100 style they made.Also know that Simplicity really never had "model years". They made changes when they felt like it. Certain MFG. numbers can be coincided to a certain year or years, but it may not have been made all in one calendar year. About the best way to determine a year is on an original engine, use the date code and add a couple of months or so for the time for the engine to have made it into a tractor, or use a dealer sales manual to see what was being sold in a given calendar year - just check the print date of the sales manual if there was a mid-calendar year introduction or deletion. I can't find it right now, but I have a 1997 Simplicity dealer sales manual that includes my MFG. number in it. I need to find it again... Tim

1007994Small.JPG

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1007996Small.JPG.81814dbc50e11fa7059ae38347c72475.JPG

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I really like the look of the gray chasis on the Sov. My 98 Landlord also has a gray chasis so the Sov's weren't the only models getting the gray frame.

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Hi,

The GTH-L was basically a 7117. The 7100 line was discontinued. So many dealers complained because there were so many attachments in the field that didn't fit the Sun Stars or the Landlords that after a year out of production, the GTH-L brought it back. Then it got the Command and a few minor changes and became the Sovereign. With the NEW Kohler Triad the Sovereign and the Anniversary tractor used the Triad.

With the demise of the Triad warranty replaced the Triads with Commands. We supplied the kits to Kohler including the engine in the early warranties. Later we sold the kits to Simplicity and they paid for the kits and Kohler supplied the engines. If it had the engine changed under warranty, we most likely supplied the kits. We were both a customer and a vendor to Simplicity.

The GTH is for all practical purposes a 6500 tractor with a new nomenclature. I was so frustrated when they thought it was "classic" to go to names and letters rather than number series like 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 series etc. These worked well and everyone knew what you were talking about.

Al Eden

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  • 11 months later...

Notice the frame difference in the front. The 17 GTH-L was the last of the heavier frames. When the Sovereign name returned I think around '93, the front bumper section of the frame is considerably shorter than the 7100/GTH-L frame and in turn gives the hood a more sloped rake forward almost like the Case/Ingersoll tractors looked. Whereas on the GTH-L's and prior, the hoods are almost level. And yes I've always thought the round lights were much brighter and more spread out.

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The round lights are brighter or atleast have more surface area. The square plastic light tends to yellow over time. More than likely from UV light from sitting in the sun.

The front section of the frame is the same thickness (just as heavy) as my 900, 7790 and 7100 series. That section is a 1-1/4" shorter in length and height to get the sloping hood.

As far as the head light goes. I replaced the 35 watt bulbs with the 50 watt halogen bulbs below. Got mine on eBay. They are much brighter than the OEM that were put in them from factory. Still like the round look better.

http://www.goodmart.com/products/eiko-50-watt-12v-1156-halogen-lamp-h1156-bp2.htm?source=gsGM&gclid=CKXu3Z38t7QCFYZaMgoddm8AAA

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HALOGEN-1156-BULBS-50w-REVERSE-BACKUP-LIGHTS-50-WATT-/150500493220

Heat isn`t an issue or atleast it hasn`t been for the past year. 15 amp charge circuit handles them just fine as well.

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