Identify Lawn Tractor Year

[Anonymous-0]

Good Day To All,

I have just bought a Western International lawn tractor with a 18 hp Briggs and Stratton engine. The tractor looks to be about 25 years old, but I can't find any info on it any where. The model # is 4218-0501 Code # is 5105 the serial # is 574710. and the address of the comapny is stamped on the same plate: Western International Inc. P.O. Box 377 Des Moines Iowa 50302. If anybody has any info on these lawn tractors I would really like to hear from you.

Thanx in advance!

Ed

 

[Kentb of SWMO]

LOOK at the CODE number on the engine. first two numbers is the year the engine was made. The next two numbers is the month the engine was made. If the engine was made late in the year you tractor was made the next year.

Kent

 

[Lefty]

In the mid 70s,there was a major upheaval in the L&G field.A whole new raft of safety standards and issues hit the industry very hard,many requiring extensive redesign and retooling of designs and factories.As new patents locked in on some changes,it became more and more expensive to meet these new rules and standards and mergers between smaller mfgs were common to share new designs/patents.Can't say for sure but,IA had several Mfgs,Western Tool&Die,Dynamark,AMF,Wheeler,Noma,AirCap,Sunbeam and others which were merged/traded,renamed and most eventually wound up,at least the names,being owned by giants like Murray/Noma and possibly MTD & AYP(Electrolux Intl).It's really difficult to trace some of them down,but often going to a current website and reading the Co history will indicated who&how&when mergers and aquisitions were made.

 

[Lefty]

If Western International was part of Western Tool&Stamping of Des Moines,it later became AMF(American Machine and Foundry),then AMF/Dynamark,which eventually became part of Murray,who is now defunct and name/intellectual property is owned by Briggs.If I recall right Briggs offers NO support for pre 1998 models except sale of leftover parts inventory.However you might check with the Dynamark or Murray Groups on Yahoo Groups.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey Kent, thanx for the info on my lawn tractor. I'll give your suggestion a try. And thanx to everyone else as well for your input.

Ed