Does anyone know when craftsman changed from gray to red.
I was going to buy an MTD, but have been talked out of it. This is a track drive, and it is gray. It looks good, but the guy doesn't know how old it is.
No. They seem to go back and forth. A Craftsman really can't be any better than an MTD. They are both near the bottom on the quality scale. You might as well stick with the MTD. It's possible MTD made the Craftsman. Sears sure doesn't build any of their own power equipment. They contract that to the lowest bidder - MTD, Murray, AYP, Roper, etc. If you want a good quality machine, try Toro, Ariens, or Honda.
You might have a better chance of figuring out the year based on the serial number of the engine.
I tried that too. No luck. It is--- 536.885472
That is the craftsman model number. 536 is their code for the mfg. Look on the engine. The numbers are stamped in the flywheel shroud. If it is a Briggs the first 2 digits of the code (not serial) will be the year built. If it is a Tecumseh I don't think you can tell.
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