Sears early 70s garden tractor

[wdTomwd]

A freind of mine has come on a Sears Craftsman garden tractor that is probably a 1971 or 1972 model. He thinks it has a 10 hp engine in it and that is the question. The model numbers on it seem to be Sears numbers. Does anyone know the model Tecumseh model for the engine used on these tractors? Looking on line for information and manuals the model numbers seem to e two letters and then two or 3 digits which are nothing like the numbers on the engine which are, mod. 143619012, serial no. 1069E. Anybody know anything about these tractors? Thanks Tom
 

[JT Britt]

From my source it's a 10HP Tecumseh model HH100.The first letter of the second set of numbers indicates the last number of year.Since you say 71 or 72 would leave me to believe it's a 1971 on calender day 69.
 

[wdTomwd]

Hey thanks, that's great! Tom
 

[ShadetreeRet]

Sears produced two series of garden tractors during the sixties and seventies. The CUSTOM series which began as the Custom 6, (6 HP) through the Custom 10, (10 HP). IIRC ten hp was as high as the Custom series went. They were a slightly smaller unit than the Suburban
The Suburban began IIRC, at about 7hp. and eventually went to 18hp, although by that time I think they had dropped the Suburban name and went to Craftsman.
As JT Britt stated, you likely have the 10hp cast iron engine. Many service manuals had a cross reference list to help identify the Sears model numbers. The prefix 143. on Sears engines indicated that it was a Tecumseh engine. A prefix 500. would indicate Briggs and Stratton. The model number of the tractor itself should begin with 917.
The problem with Tecumseh mfgd. engines is pats availability, as the company is no longer in business. You can try SearsPartsDirect, but I seriously doubt if any parts are available there. There are any number of small engine parts houses on the internet, some of which have some parts still available.
Both series of tractors were almost bullet proof and great little workhorses. If the tractor is in good shape otherwise, You could likely replace the existing engine with a Briggs if necessary.
Most of this information comes from my personal experience, hope it helps a little.
 

[Mark - IN.]

Never had a Sears, but as I recall from back then, Sears was pretty much the who's who of garden tractors back then.

You might find this interesting.

Mark
Vintage Sears Garden Tractors

 

[wdTomwd]

Thanks again for the information. The tractor is in what seems to be really good shape, is now running and seems to run well. All gears work including the creeper or high-low range. The only problem so far seems to be an oil leak somewhere which could be from the valve cover on the side of the engine or from the joint between the crankcase cover and crankcase. We have since found a good manual on the internet that covers the 8 to 18 (or there abouts) hp engines and it does have the number crossover lists. Thanks again. Tom