Super MTA

I was not trying to be snobbish with my opening sentence. Both the SM & SMTA were available in 1954. The TA was not the only difference as the SMTA also was available with LPTO while the SM was not. An easy way to tell the difference between the two at a distance is tio look at the distance between the back of the gas tank & the steering column. This didtance will be approx 4" on a SMTA and about 1" on the SM due to the difference in the trans. housings.

As for serial #s, the SMTAs all started with TA and began at TA60001. Out of courosity, what is the serial # of your friend's tractor and where is it located?

The Super M was built from November 1953 through January or so of 1954 (1954 "year" started in November, 1953). It was replaced in production by the Super MTA. Super Ms were never available with the TA.

The Super MTA was a model designation for the new model of tractor that included other changes besides the TA (IPTO availability was another major change. The TA was officially an option, but the special sales packages that IH produced for dealers to order in bulk for lot inventory all included TA. You esentially, as a farmer, had to order the bare bones Super MTA- very unlikely you would have found one on a lot. This is a great example of IH's "hard sell" methods. As another example, steel wheels were standard on H and M tractors from the start of production in 1939 until sometime after WWII. But how many H and M tractors were sold on steel in 1939, 1940, and 1941? Few