Forf 3600

Hi all,
Can anyone shed light on serial #
C676307
1H31B
CA212?
Thx

C676307 is the serial number. Begins with a C, so it's a US built model. 1H31B is the unit (date) code. 1981, August 31, day shift. CA212 is the model number (or part of it?), but I can't decode that.

Thx so much for the info...is the last number
not decodable or did I get the number wrong?

FordFarmer is correct on 1H31B being the production code, meaning that he tractor left the assembly line on August 31, 1981 during the day shift, and that the C at the beginning of the serial number means that it was made at the US plant. The rest of the serial number does agree with the production code in that it's a 1981 serial number.

CA212? is the beginning of the model number. The CA2 at the beginning means it's a general purpose ag chassis 3600 made after some date. The documentation that I have says that they used CA1 for the 3600 models when they started producing them in 1975 and by the end of the run in 1981 they had switched to CA2, but I don't have anything that says when they switched. The 1 means that it has a diesel engine and the last 2 means that it has a trans driven PTO. The last character, which is missing, should be a letter, and would tell you what type of transmission it has, which could be a 6 speed or an 8 speed or a 6x4 manual reversing trans.

well then i thought my 3600 is a 1977 model. is that correct?

tractor number: C556758

model no: CA2230

(quoted from post at 09:50:12 11/11/12) FordFarmer is correct on 1H31B being the production code, meaning that he tractor left the assembly line on August 31, 1981 during the day shift, and that the C at the beginning of the serial number means that it was made at the US plant. The rest of the serial number does agree with the production code in that it's a 1981 serial number.

CA212? is the beginning of the model number. The CA2 at the beginning means it's a general purpose ag chassis 3600 made after some date. The documentation that I have says that they used CA1 for the 3600 models when they started producing them in 1975 and by the end of the run in 1981 they had switched to CA2, but I don't have anything that says when they switched. The 1 means that it has a diesel engine and the last 2 means that it has a trans driven PTO. The last character, which is missing, should be a letter, and would tell you what type of transmission it has, which could be a 6 speed or an 8 speed or a 6x4 manual reversing trans.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much..revisited the stamp..I believe the missing letter is an A.
I appreciate all the great info.

(quoted from post at 13:42:28 11/11/12) well then i thought my 3600 is a 1977 model. is that correct?

tractor number: C556758

model no: CA2230

Click to expand...

Your serial number is a 1977 serial number. As I said, I don't know exactly when they switched, I think that the switch over might have been in late 1976. From model numbers, serial numbers and production codes that others have posted on the internet, I do remember someone with a 4600 with a production code from December 1972 and a model designator of DA2. My documentation looks like this:

CA1 1975 - _____ 3600
CA2 _____ - 1981 3600

I had to put in the underlines to get everything lined up in my post here, but in my document the underlines are really just blank spaces. this site seems to reduce a bunch of spaces in a row down to just one space, no matter how many I put in. The 2600, 3600, 4600 and 5600 all are displayed this way in my document, but most other models are shown with a beginning and ending year all on one line, probably because there was only ever one model designator used for most other models.

The document I have is a PDF file that looks like a copy of a copy. I just looked back at it, and it does have a hand written note that the 4600 changed from DA1 to DA2 in 1976, so it is likely that the 2600 changed from BA1 to BA2 and the 3600 from the CA1 to CA2 at the same time, but again, it doesn't say exactly what month or day in 1976 it changed.