Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Help indentifing Tecumseh engine year built

I pickup a used Mastercut lawn mower at a garage sale.
It had some problems but nothing that bad.
I was just curious of the year it was manufacutred.
I saw there was a sticky post on idenitifing engine but the problem with
Tecumseh was the year.

TVS = Tecumseh Vertical Shaft
90 = 9 Cubic Inch Displacement
43056A = Specific number for parts identification
8310C = Serial number
8 = Year of manufacturing {1978}
310 = Calendar day of the year {310th day in year of 1978}
C = Assembly line and shift when the engine was built.


How do you tell if it was 78 , 88, or 98, with only one digit?

My engine infor is:
TVS90 43605F Ser 8058A
I can believe this lawn mower was made in 1978 the interior of the steel deck is not rusted that bad for a 26 year old lawn mower. So it is either a 16 or 6 year old lawn mower. By the looks of it is 6 years olds but I am not sure.

Can you tell me what year it was made. I went to the Tecumseh website but I could not find anything there.

Hello gargoyle!

Tecumseh did not, for some reason, indicate the decade of mfgr. Just the years 0-9. I think that model was not made 16 yrs ago though, so it is probably 6.

I agree with cheese, I'd say 6 years old. Based on the following: the serial number ends with an "F" and the carburetor is a non-adjustable model. If it were it 16 years old, I'd say it would have an adjustable jet carb. Also, the "F" is a newer designation.