SMTA or not?

I looked at a "supposed" SMTA that is coming up on a auction soon. From what I understand it's an estate selling things at a consignment auction. The tractor started up and ran nice. It had what looked to me was the original paint but the old decal on hood was only super M. It had the live hyd pump mounted in front of distributer drive like a 400 has, it had the battery box under seat like a 400, it had wedge rear rim mounts like a M (when did they change rim mounting styles to the 400 type?) The serial # plate was so scratched up that all I could barely read was serial #, no letters, just numbers. It had a TA lever, but while rest of tractor was original dirty grungy looking, TA/transmission (frame under gas tank between engine and rear end) was nice and clean and fairly recently painted. Tractor was advertised as a SMTA, but.... Any guesses if this is an original or a "parts" SMTA? Thanks for the inputs.

What were the casting codes? Give us the serial number.
mike

If it has a T.A. lever thats a good start. If M style gas tank an sheet metal --- SMTA. Tractor was probably refinished and the wrong hood decal used.

Sounds like a cobbled together "parts" SMTA to me, like you asked. The hood for a SMTA should be longer than a regular SM, so if the hood decal says SM, not SMTA, then that is a warning bell, but it could be an old dealer repaint using the only decals they had in stock to re-sticker it, so maybe, maybe not. The wheelbase on the SMTA is about 100 inches, the SM is only 89 inches, so a tape measure will come in handy. Live hydraulics are easy enough to add to any model, so you can't go by that, either. Same thing on the Super C seat with battery below, which my 1953 SM came with also. The rear rim mounting changed with the introduction of the 400. I am still concerned about that "new" looking T/A tube.

Since you left out the serial number, I'll give you the ranges for each year.

First, SM production,
1952 - 501-12515
1953 - 12516-51976
1954 - 51977-52627

And Louisville production,
1952 - 500001-501905
1953 - 501906-512540
1954 - 512541-up

Now, SMTA production,
1954 - 60001-83523

So you can now see that if the serial number has more than 5 digits in it, it is a fraud, and if it has 5 digits, but starts with any number lower than a 6, it is also a fraud.

Sounds like a SMTA with only the Super M decal. There are components on the front and back half that are characteristic of a SMTA. Does it have the 2 lift-all controls to the right of the steering and slightly higher?

I have an SMTA that I bought about 20 years ago. The guy I bought it from called it a SMTA, but it only says Super M on the hood. based on the serial #, it is a SMTA. It has live hydraulics, battery under the seat, torque amplifier, a live power take-off etc. Power steering and a 3 point hitch were added at some point. I always wondered if it could have came from the factory with a hood that said Super M (only), or if someone replaced the decal and couldn"t find the right decal.

If it had TA work done recently, that section of the tractor would be clean, even painted, depending on who did the work. It would look out of place.

Easy to tell if it has the wrong hood, or the right hood with the wrong decal. Someone with a verified SMTA measure their hood. You measure this one. If they're the same length, then it was painted with the wrong decal.

Even if it's a "parts" SMTA, what makes it any less legitimate? It would have to be built from SMTA parts, so wouldn't it still be an SMTA? You can even make a case for some 400 and/or 450 (ABCD casting codes) parts being on the tractor, as IH would've offered replacement parts for the SMTA for several years after production ended.

Frankly, if you have a pile of parts, and you put it together into a tractor that looks and functions like an SMTA, and those parts could plausibly end up as part of an SMTA due to wear and/or abuse, then it's a legitimate tractor.

If you "correct police" want to avoid being total hypocrites, then the tractor must have the original oil filter. Otherwise it's not "original."

"Verified" SMTA hood is 39 7/8 inches.

Gordo

So is a MD hood. Just change the exhaust hole to the other side and, voila, there you have one SMTA hard-to-find part.

On the other hand, maybe I should compare my MD hood to one of my SMTA hoods to "verify". BTW, my MD hood is for sale.

Just posting this to open the discussion on SM serial numbers. For the starting serial # on the 1953 farmall series SM I have to question that. Also the 54 # for louisville SM tractors. The starting number for a 53 Louisville tractor matches the first one made in january of 53 or calender year. But on the Farmall SM the begining # doesn't match a SM non diesel tractor. Some production totals give a fiscal year from Nov. to Oct., but the first non diesel made in Nov. of 52 was serial 15264 or the first one for calender year was 21074. If the IH serial # reports are right SMD serial # 12919 was the first one built in Jan 53. One or some SMD must have had a hold up in the build system because they list serial # 12919 as first on list back to Sept. of 52. By Feb. of 53 the SMD numbers were back up to around the range of others. There was no 54 Louisville SM tractors. Last one was built 7-10-53 serial # 512541. Some IH stuff is always questionable and I think its correct at this time. But I make no claim my information is 100% correct so I invite any discussion or comments, even if its to tell me I'm full of crap. About to forget Dave2 the wheelbases you are comparing is a narrow front to wide front. Narrow front SMTA is 95-3/4.

If it has a SMTA serial tag and the correct transmission top there's not much way to tell if all the other parts added match a SMTA. Six spoke wheels were used into early 400 tractors. I have owned or looked at early 400 tractors with earlier casting dates on some parts than some SMTA tractors. Saw SMTA tractors with every engine from 248 to 281 installed, plus modified engine ones. Saw them with every T/A,rear,axle,bolster housing and wheels from every other tractor that would fit. Saw one sell at auction in Ohio with everything in front of clutch housing SM, bolster, grill and hood included. Several with modified diesel hoods installed. Best I can tell you is to look at the whole package. If the engine is a C-264 and has a serial #, you can see if its in the correct serial # range for a SMTA or the serial # on the tractor, if you can read it. One last piece of information, if the T/A housing casting # ends with R1 its a 95% or better chance it was from a SMTA. Tractor could be okay, Lots of SMTA serial tags only have the number readable, most times with a letter S after number if it came with a T/A.