Vintage Sears Garden Tractors

Tractor Identification

It's difficult to identify the year of a Sears tractor. The date of manufacture is not listed on the tractor itself. With the Tecumseh and Briggs engines, the date code can be obtained from the engine to give the year the engine was manufactured. If the engine has been replaced you will have a problem. If the tractor hasn't been repainted, the original color is also useful in determining the year. I hope someday to get all the information regarding model numbers and year of manufacture.

Sears apparently used a base model number, then changed the last digit of the model number as minor changes (perhaps in parts sources) were made. Here is an example: The 1968 SS 12 is listed as model 917.25310.

Tractor Identification Area:

Here are the basic styles of tractors that Sears sold during the 60's and early 70's. The tractors are listed by year, with a link to each tractor (when available).

Early Suburban Tractors 1959-1965

Suburban Tractors 1966-1979

Custom Tractors 1964-1979

Hydro Tractors 1968-1978

Old Suburbans 1959 to 1965

For many people, the early Suburban tractors produced by Sears were the first four-wheel garden tractors they had seen. There were many other fine garden tractors at the time, some better in certain respects, Sears had the advantage of a high profile nationwide business to gain exposure for their machines. The Sears catalog reached virtually every corner of the nation. All customers had to do was to relax in the comfort of their home and select the tractor and attachments suited to their needs. A quick phone call to Sears and the tractor and any desired attachment was on its way.

The early Suburbans can be identified by their exposed transmission. The drive belt for the transmission ran outside of the frame. A lever positioned between the driver's legs was used to select forward, neutral and reverse. A variable speed select lever mounted to the right of the steering wheel was connected to sheave pulleys to select an infinite number of forward or reverse ground speeds.

The three-point hitch used on these models bolted directly to the rear of the transmission. Front mounted accessories attached to four mounting points on the front axle. A channel type frame, open in the front, also provided a point for mounting attachments. An optional wheel brake kit allowed the user to make sharp turns, just like real farm tractors.

These tractors carried the David Bradley name up until 1964. In 1964 and 1965 they were simply referred to as Suburban tractors.

Suburbans 1966 to 1979

Sears updated their Suburban tractors in the mid 60's. Gone were the Bradley transmissions. They were replaced by a conventional transaxle. A standard clutch/brake pedal and gear shift replaced the

F/N/R lever on the old tractors. A built in High/Low range eliminated the extra cost and complexity of adding a speed reducer. Tecumseh engines replaced the Briggs models installed in the earlier Suburbans. The horsepower race had begun. The Briggs engine would later return, along with twin cylinder Onan.

The front mounting attachment points were left the same as the old Suburbans:four holes on the axle and a slide in channel frame. The rear draw bar was now a slanted piece of formed steel mounted to the frame behind the transmission. The mount pin for the lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch passed through the draw bar on these tractors. A heavier model of 3-point hitch became available as horsepower and pulling ability increased.

A Super model was introduced, which included such upgrades as cigarette lighter, chrome wheel covers and wider tires. The designation Super can be traced back many years to the David Bradley walking tractor line. Tractors also used the model names of SS or ST, followed by the horsepower rating of the tractor. Variations on the Suburban theme would continue, with increased power being the most notable trend. Most were basically the same tractor design, with minor changes to the engine, grill and dash.

**In 1976, Sears began to sell what they labeled a garden tractor, which was produced by the Murray Company. They were called St/8 and St/10 in 1977, model numbers 502.25900 and 502.25910. These machines were not made by the Roper Company.

Custom Tractors 1964 to 1979

The Custom style tractor first appeared in the 1964 catalog as the Custom 600. It remained in the Sears lineup for many years to come. The Custom can be identified by its flat axle and lack of a channel type frame mount for attachments. The tractor's hood is lower to the ground compared to the Suburban tractors as a result of this design. The hood height of a '71 Suburban 12 was 39/5 inches, the Custom 10XL of the same year was 35 inches high. While the Custom gave up 67 lbs. To the Suburban, the wheel base was less than half an inch longer on the Suburban of the same year.

The Customs had a mower deck that was driven in the center by a belt coming down from the engine. The power was transmitted to the blades by shaft, with two gearboxes being used to provide the 90-degree turn needed for the blade shafts. Some of these decks were made of cast aluminum.

These tractors had a rear draw bar for mounting a 3-point hitch just like the Suburbans. The tractors could not be fitted with the same front mounted attachments as the Suburbans however because of the different frame/axle. Nor could they be fitted with a front loader, or sickle bar mower. There was a snow blade, rotary snowplow (snow blower) and special 8 inch turning plow made for the tractors.

Most of the later Customs had the 8-speed hi-lo transmission like the Suburban. The older Customs and entry level Compact tractors had the three or four speed boxes. The Custom got the designation of ST, just like the rest of the Sears line, in 1973. Along with the new title came the yellow and white paint scheme and a new grill.

After being absent for a couple of years, the ST 10 returned in 1976, only to be replaced the next year by a line of tractors in 1977 that more closely resembles the more modern Murray inspired machines. Even though the post 1976 machines are not Customs in the true sense, they were intended to replace that series and were made by Roper.

Hydro-Tracs 1968-1978

The Hydro-Tracs were Sears Best tractors. With the Sears Best designation came all of the goodies that the top of the line tractors had: cigarette lighter, chrome hubcaps and wider tires. The ease of one lever operation that the early Suburbans was duplicated in these tractors. The tractors even had the speed selector on the right side of the dash---just like the old Bradley tractors.

These tractors were based on the Suburban line of tractors. They accepted all of the accessories listed in the Sears literature with the exception of the front-end loader.