Hey Rusty...Fakin an MTA isn't that easy

Was reading your responce to the MTA question. First, A 400 is not an M with different sheet metal. There are other things under that sheet metal that makes it somewhat different how the metal attaches to the tractor. 2nd...An M hood isn't long enough for a SMTA.
3rd...Only very early 400 castings will work because in 55 (As you know) the casting codes changed to "A" prefix.
4th...And probably most important to me...I must either know the tractor, the seller, or you better be able to give me some kind of history before I will buy a SMTA.
I looked at 7 different supposed SMTA-LPG's until Everything I needed to see came to fruition.
I have no problem with people who want one of these really bad, and the only way they can do it is to fake it. Just don't tell me it's the real deal if it ain't...ya know.
Kinda like the Super HTA that was never built...I would like to have one for conversation...but I would never pass it off as "Original".
Rusty man...your are a real "COOL" dude, I'm just bustin on ya little bit. God be with you.....DREW

In the case of the offsets, a good Super A or 140 will command far better prices than 100 or 130. A good Super C will always fetch more than a comparable 200 or 230. There was over 100,000 each of Super A and Super C built, yet none of the others except 140 topped the 25,000 production mark by much.

The 300, 350, 400 and 450 are much the same, none ever exceeded 25,000 by much, yet they don't stand out at auctions commanding big prices. I had a friend e mail, about 4 years ago asking if I could find him an SMTAD. I found 3 and they were all pushing $10,000. In my travels I also found a 400D, 2- 450D and 3-560D each with a price tag under $5,000.

Then there is the Super A1, only 1,957 ever built, yet I'll bet if you did a poll right this hour, of the names that appear on Farmall pages 1, 2 and 3, 90% couldn't give the specs of a Super A1.

The SMTA however is nothing more than a 400 with SM sheet metal. IH did the same with Super A1, only 1,957 of them ever built and again nothing more than a Farmall 100 with SA sheet metal. Sure people are faking them. Until 5 years ago I had never seen a Super A1, and I've been around since before these tractors were built. Now, folks seem to be finding any number of Super A1. 5 years ago if you asked at YT 90% of folks didn't know SA1 existed.

The laughable part in all this is folks turning a 400 into an SMTA. If your looking for rare tractors, there are already less 400 around than SMTA's. By the way I doubt if Rusty said as you suggested.

Several years ago I was admiring a very nice H on full steel at a show, looked it over and noticed that the hand written sign listed it as a 1937. Since it couldn't be a '37 thought I'd be helpfull and look it up for him. SN and a few casting codes I checked all matched for a '40 model, even noticed it still had the early 1-1/8" PTO. Just a nicely cleaned up original looking tractor. So I watched for the owner to relay the 'good' news. Big mistake. I approached him privately, he got red and started yelling "IT'S A 39!, IT'S A '39!" (by now I realized it was meant to read '39, just a sloppy digit). I meant it as a complement and wasn't intending to argue with him so I just dropped it and didn't understand the response until later when I saw him trying to sell the tractor to someone. Then it was a 'rare' 1st year production model and he didn't want to be confused with the facts.
Stan(VA).

I remember once driving 200 miles to see an excellent Super H, one of those that had to be seen to be appreciated. When I arrived here was a tractor with 3 major shades of paint. It had band brakes, and one could see the complete rear chassis was from a different era. It had complete stage two SH live hydraulics and I think complete with a C-169 engine. I say think as soon as I raised the issue of it being built from 2 tractors, maybe 3, he wouldn't let me get close enough for a positive ID of anything. Told me I was wasting his time. I said, "Sir it wasn't you who drove 4 hours here and another 4 home just to try and do business with someone who knows little or nothing about a Farmall tractor."

Another colleceter friend of mine told me he bought the tractor 2 years later fo $400. He told my friend the Super H is just not a very popular tractor.

You could just see the evaluation of the IH tractors. Looked like a "half-grown" 560. :>)

Allan