Here's a little more from that article. It says one way to tell an Avery A from a General is that the Avery had the serial number punched in the top of the right hand frame rail, just ahead of the rear axle. The Cleveland built General had a serial number plate ONLY.
Because of that, I'd say if you don't find those numbers punched in, but maybe do find little holes where the rivets were, for a serial tag, it was built by Cletrac. The article states too, that the Massey Harris version had a tag stating that it was sold by Massey Harris.
Where some of the confusion might come from concerning an Avery vs a Cletrac is that Avery designed and built all the implements for them, and the article says that Avery had exclusive distribution rights through it's branches and dealers in 13 southern states. Throughout the balance of the United States, the Cleveland Tractor Company (Cletrac) would have charge of the tractor distribution.
Cletrac dealers weren't too keen on even selling a wheel tractor after extoling the virtues of track tractors for so long. The HG crawler would actually out pull the General. In February 1942, Avery purchased the General from Cletrac, including all work in progress, parts, inventory, dies, jigs and patent rights. Avery was allotted a limited amount of steel and raw materials to keep production going during the war.
That's one more thing that makes me think the Massey Harris General was likely made by Cletrac, not by Avery. Did Avery even export any tractors to Canada during the war, given limited production and such strong domestic demand? The Pony came out in 47 and they were built in Canada. Tractors were still hard to come by for a few years after the war due to the shift back from wartime production and the high demand, making me question whether Avery would have exported tractors to Canada before the Pony came out.
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Today's Featured Article - On the Road with Dave Gohl: Deere Departed Friend - by Dave Gohl. Have you ever had to part with a dear friend? It's not easy. If it's due to death, your feelings could be in disarray for days, months or even years. Even now after almost 4 years, I still miss my dad. I remember when I was a kid my dad sometimes would tuck my brother and I in at night and we would ask him questions about his childhood on the farm. To this day, it's some of the best stories I've ever heard. And now, I'm so glad that I asked those questions, and if I were a little smarter i
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