THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REPLIES. I WILL TRY TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS IN THIS ONE POST THAT I RECEIVED ON THE TAISHAN 324 TRACTOR.
I HAVE SPOKE WITH CHIP AT "ARCTRAC" IN ARKANSAS AND HAVE YET TO GET BAKE TO HIM ON THIS INFO. I HAVE ALSO MADE CONTACT WITH A MR. FRANK HONG, SALES MANGAGER, AT THE Shantuo Agricultural Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. IN CHINA. HE IS ALSO WAITING MY REPLY ON THE INFO BELOW.
THE FRONT OF THE HOOD/BONNET (DEPENDING ON WHAT ENGLISH YOU SPEAK) HAS THE "TS" SYMBOL YOU SEE ON MOST TAISHAN TRACTORS. LOOKS THE SAME AS THE "TS" SYMBOL ON NEWER TRACTORS.
THE NUMBER STENCILED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HOOD/BONNET IS UNMISTAKEABLY THE NUMBER "324". NOT 304 OR 354 BUT "324". I AGREE WITH ALL OF YOU, THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE ON THE INTERNET DOES NOT INDICATE A 324 ANYWHERE I HAVE LOOKED. HOWEVER I IS CLEAR THAT THE NUMBER IS "324". THE ONLY NUMBERS I AM ABLE TO COME UP WITH OFF THE ENGINE BLOCK ARE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BLOCK AND THEY ARE CAST UPSIDE DOWN AS THE TRACTOR SITS. THEY ARE EITHER |47|30I or 147|30I. THE FIRST CHARACTER IS SOMEWHAT TALLER THAN THE 4 AND 7 SO IT COULD BE A VERTICAL BAR AND NOT A NUMBER ONE. THE LETTER "I" IS CLEAR BUT AGAIN IT IS SOMEWHAT TALLER THAN THE NUMBERS 30. I CAN ONLY ASSUME IT IS A CAPITAL LETTER "I" BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I LOOKS LIKE. I ALSO FOUND UPSIDE DOWN NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GEAR BOX. THOSE NUMBERS ARE 577329. THE ONLY NUMBER THAT IS NOT CLEAR IS THE 2. SO THAT IS SOMEWHAT AND ASSUMPTION. THE OTHER NUMBERS ARE CLEAR. I HAVE LOOK ALL OVER THE BLOCK, SHORT OF DISMANTALING THE ENGINE, TO FIND ANY MORE NUMBERS. IF ANYONE KNOW WHERE ELSE TO LOOK PLEASE LET ME KNOW. ALSO, THE GUY I GOT THE TRACTOR FROM SAYS IT MAY HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN BACK WHEN CHINESE TRACTORS WHERE NOT SOLD HERE IN THE US, GREY MARKET I GUESS THEY CALL IT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND EXPERTISE.
REGARDS
ERIC