Totally different ball parks. In the 80's Deere had the 200 and 300 series. 200's were heavy duty gear drive manual lift machines. 300's were hydrostatic drive with hydraulic lift.
The they changed to your version of the 200 series- adding hydro trans to manual lift tractors. The 300 series kept hydro lift ( more of a toy hydraulic lift system than the 318's real true hydraulics ) and tranny but were changed from a shaft driven, horizontal engine configuration to a belt driven trans and vertical shaft engine. I believe this move streamlined things so many parts and attachments could be swapped from one series to the other which was not possible before.
So basically the 320 and 265 have a lot in common with each other, but nothing in common with a 318.

While the 265 320 etc are still very capable machines- Deere just went a new direction. The 318 is more on par with the later 425 - 455 tractors but in a smaller and more primitive package.
Does that make sense ?

 

Ditto. And yes, the 318 is considered one of the best garden tractors ever built. It out sold every other model before it, by a long shot. Basically every hydro machine pre 1992 shared a lot in common, and every gear drive model in that same range had a lot in common. Everything changed in 93

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

Thanks guys. I had a feeling I wasn't as lucky as I'd hoped. I don't know why manufacturers can't figure out a model numbering system that makes sense. It looks like they tried with the GT series -- reused old model numbers, but at least added a "series" to them.

I've tried to come up with a solution, but it wasn't simple. However, there has to be a better way.

 

...

While JD is not known for making models easy to understand, one might think that a 320 would be very similar to a 318.

As stated, they are close numerically but not in any other respect. Regarding your comments on model numbering, don't even ask how a X585 compares to a X590 or your head will blow up. :tango_face_smile_bi

 

Using a dart board and a blindfold for model numbering is very imprecise. :tango_face_surprise

 

With out any Question. Even Now. To the standards Today the 318 Would be up in the 700 series tractors.

 

There is a 318 listed on local Craigslist for $1300. No hours listed. Pictures look a little rough. Thinking about pursuing. Is this a good price?