by bgsengine » Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:11 pm
It is definitely a Pre-MTD model at least, but no they never showed the revision level on any of their labels.. only way to tell which would be with the model number, or complete serial number.. That whitewashed label on the right would not have been a model tag.., I think it was a QC (Quality Control ID Tag) label... I do believe it would be a Pony III though - from a file I had laying around I forgot about:
Production Run Dates: / Starting Serial numbers: these were for Pony model by Garden Way - (Garden Way went bankrupt in 2001, which is when MTD bought them)
May - 1982 S101843
Jul - 1982 S105606
Jan - 1983 S117319
Jul - 1983 S129028
So that would put yours in the first half of 1983 when it was built, I'd suppose around March to April or so..
Going back to your first photo, I seem to recall the model number on those was in a hard to get to spot , not easy to see (and not easy to damage) possibly under or on the belt cover, or just back of the engine (Is that a metal label sticker on frame between engine and belt cover?) or it was on transmission housing somewhere.. they liked to locate then in non-obvious places that were typically protected from dirt scrubbing, weed damage, etc etc.. but often those same places were prone to "gunk" build up (from gear oil mixing with dirt) which ended up covering the numbers..
How poor are they who have not patience. What wound did ever heal, but by degrees? - Iago (Othello Act II, Scene 3)