How to Find What Year Your Ford Tractor Is?
by Asad Mohammad
There is a difference in finding out the manufactured date of a tractor versus an automobile. The date is also crucial when installing new parts or engines for your tractor due to compatibility issues. Finding out your Ford tractor's manufactured date is quite simple and can be completed in a few steps.
Instructions
Step 1
Look for the production code of your Ford tractor. Generally it will be on the side of the vehicle adjacent to the starter. It may also be located on the exterior hull in any given location. You should be able to find a metallic plate that has 3 different serial codes. These will include the serial number, production code and model number.
Step 2
Identify the production code out of the three different number sets. The production code will only have a combination of five letters and numbers. The other codes will have either six or seven digits. If you still have difficulty identifying the production code then refer to the owner's manual.
Step 3
Interpret the production code. You should see five numbers and digits. The first digit will tell you what year the tractor was built in. Ford tractors have a special system to designate the year of production. The number 5 will refer to the year 1965, the number 6 will refer to the year 1966 and so on. The number 0 then refers to 1970, the number 1 refers to 1971 and so on until the number 4 refers to 1974. When you come back to the number 5 remember that it refers to the year 1965. Thus if your production code is 4K21C then that means that the tractor was produced in 1974.
Step 4
Interpret the month of production. Look at the second letter in the code and it will help you find out when your tractor was built. The letter A represents the month of January, the letter B represents February and this goes all the way to the letter M for December. Just keep in mind that the letter 'I' is skipped. For instance if your code is 4K21C then the letter K will signify that your tractor was built in October.
Step 5
Interpret the day of production. Look at the numbers that follow the alphabet. The number 1 signifies the first day of the month and this goes all the way to the number 31. If your code is 4K21C then this indicates that the tractor was built on the 21st day of the month.
Step 6
Interpret the time of day of production. Look at the final alphabetical value. If it is A then the tractor was built at midnight, if it is B then it was produced in the early day and if it is C then it was produced in the afternoon. If your code is 4K21C then this means that your tractor was built in the afternoon.
References
Writer Bio
Asad Mohammad began freelance writing for various websites in 2010, bringing his expertise in medicine and health. His first publication occurred in 2008 when a case report and poster presentation were accepted at Nassau University Medical Center. He graduated from medical school in 2009 and is in residency. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology and economics from Binghamton University.
