[AJD] Serial Number Plate

[whodunnit]

David Smith wrote:

> Thanks for the info.  Back to the 1938.  It is an A.  He has discussed taking a serial tag off of a doaner tractor.  Just a matter of finding one.  I might have to check on ebay for him and see what we can find.  It sounds like from what you guys have written that it would be next to impossible to find the accurate serail number.
>  
> Thanks,
> David

I researched the SN on my Styled AO, and even with a tag on it which 
still had the last two digits clear and undamaged, it was a real 
project. If not for the Two-Cylinder mag publishing the serial number 
list, I'd never have been sure. The maincase, cylinder, and head all had 
the correct casting numbers to be one of the latest made, and it has a 
water pump as well. The entire fanshaft assembly and clutch assembly had 
been swapped out from an earlier tractor. I had the tractor entirely 
apart, and the part numbers and serial number splits compared against 
the list of SN's to only three tractors (the list eliminated AI, AR, and 
gasoline only tractors which shared SNs) then I had to do a microscopic 
examination of the damaged parts of the tag to eliminate further. I even 
had to remove one rivet and look at the depressions underneath.
Ultimately without the published list, partial number and being a rare 
tractor with very few possible numbers I'd never have been certain.
Because of the increasing fraud in rare tractors, the factory was 
sympathetic but would not help at all. Even the SN search for build 
specs came up empty-the late ones didn't have many records at the 
factory anyway.

Eric