Whether you are verifying a barn find for a sale, ordering a water pump for a 1950 Super C, or simply satisfying your curiosity, keep a printed copy of the appropriate serial number table in your shop. Every tractor has a soul; the serial number is its birth certificate, and the table is the only way to read it.
Check the left clutch housing of your IH tractor today. Write down that 6-digit number. Now compare it to the table above—you might discover your tractor is far older (or rarer) than you thought.
The answer lies in a single, stamped line of digits. But without the proper key, that serial number is just a string of metal stamps. That key is the .
For collectors, restorers, and farmers who still trust the iron of yesteryear, few names carry as much weight as International Harvester (IH) . From the legendary Farmall letter series to the powerful 06 and 56 series, IH tractors are cornerstones of agricultural history. However, buying or restoring one of these machines presents a common puzzle: What year was my tractor built, and what factory produced it?