[john hall]

Being from NC and having a father who worked at a dealership for over 20 years, let me toss out a theory. Dad's boss ordered all the equipment, whether it was a hay baler, tractors, of lawn mowers. He tried to stay with what was a tried and true model on all equipment. When the new models came out, he stuck with what sold well in the past and that may share parts. Most of the older Cadets they sold were 12hp machines. This way he could keep tons of engine parts on the shelf. Likewise, the same power plant could pull the same size deck--so lots of the same deck parts on hand. They sold a TON of Cadets, back in the 60's and 70's. Being in a tobacco growing region, it was RARE anybody wanted to do anything but mow grass (if you can't understand that you never plowed a garden with any of the offset cultivating tractors A, Super A, Cub,100,130,140--you'd never use a Cadet if you did) , so no need for hydraulic lift and spring assist. Now if you were here in the 60's, you know tobacco was king and 95% of tobacco farms were IH--which in turn means there were IH and Cadet dealers everywhere. Assuming they thought like him, they all sort of "standardized" their inventory. My theory is the 126 was a popular choice in this region based on that's just what the dealers put on the yard.