Brought 57 cub home today

[Fuddyduddy1952]

My Grandfather had a 1949 Cub he bought new. I have all the manuals and receipt. So many memories. It still runs great. 10hp 4 cylinder.
Funny story my farmer neighbor friend was in the dairy business as was his Dad. Their tractor was in the shop (1970s) and they needed to move a large hay wagon. He said he asked their farmer neighbor if he could borrow one of his tractors and he said sure...there's an International behind the barn you can use, just put it back when through. He goes behind barn and only thing there was a Cub. He had to move the wagon so oh well...
He said 1st gear it was slow going but no problem moving it!

 

[tacticalturnip]

One day, when I have the luxury, I'm going to own a Cub just to tinker on and fix up. They really are rugged little machines for their small size.

 

[wolc123]

One day, when I have the luxury, I'm going to own a Cub just to tinker on and fix up. They really are rugged little machines for their small size.

I’m kind of in the same boat. Hopefully, when I retire from my day job, in about 4-1/2 years, I’ll have a lot more time to tinker with old tractors. For now, having one “non-green” antique tractor around, is all that I can handle.

My first tractor was a 1951 Ford 8n that I bought from the widow of the original owner, when it had just 1200 hours on it. It served me well for about 30 years, but keeping both it and the Cub running good, proved to be too much for me.

I sold that old Ford cheap to a buddy as a “non runner”and he had been struggling to get it going. He’s retiring from his day job this summer, so hopefully he gets it going again pretty soon.

Both of my antique tractors were down with electrical issues this spring. I knew the Cub would be the easier fix, and the novelty of it hadn’t worn off yet, as it had on the old Ford. That made the decision, to keep the Cub and cashier the Ford, a relatively easy one.

Almost any job I could do with that old Ford, I can do better with my 2005 John Deere 4120. The Cub is more fun to plow snow with though. That little gas engine starts great when it’s real cold out, never needing a block heater like the diesel engine in my Deere really benefits from.

 

[tacticalturnip]

You have mentioned it being a blast to plow with; that big underslung mount must put all the tractors weight right to it.

 

[wolc123]

You have mentioned it being a blast to plow with; that big underslung mount must put all the tractors weight right to it.

Several things make it fun to plow snow with. First, it starts real good in the cold, even though it still has the original 6 volt system. Second, the offset “cultivation” gives me a very good view of the snow plow on front. I prefer the front plow, over the rear blade that I use on my larger tractor. No stiff neck that way. Third, it’s got very good front and rear lights and most of my snowplowing happens in the dark. Fourth, it’s got good ballast on back, with chained loaded rear R1 tires, and a 200 lb steel plate bolted onto the drawbar. Fifth, it’s small enough that it can fit on sidewalks. Sixth, it’s got a very smooth hydraulic lift. Seventh, a slit schedule 80 pvc pipe under the blade keeps it from pushing stones into the yard . That alone saves me hours of raking stones out of the yard every spring. Finally, it’s small size “stretches” that “fun” job (snowplowing) out enough so that I can kill more time outside doing it, rather than cooped up in the house.

 

[tacticalturnip]

You sure know how to sell it, lol. That's a great little machine.

 

[wolc123]

You sure know how to sell it, lol. That's a great little machine.

Old tractors are more fun than new ones, but only when they are running. I’ve got a little modification in mind for that Cub, that should make it a lot more fun on bright sunny summer days, like we are having right now.

I want to take the fold down rollbar off of my dad’s new Husqvarna Z-454 zero turn mower (it does more harm than good on that, pulling down low limbs against my head in the folded down position), and make brackets to mount it on the Cub.

I’ll make a big canvas over wood canopy for it, like I did for my JD 4120. That’s real nice out in the fields on sunny, or rainy days. The roll bar would also be a nice safety feature, for when I load and unload, from my pickup truck bed. I should probably see if I can get the seatbelt off of the zero turn and put that on the Cub also.

There’s no need for a rollbar on my dad’s zero turn mower because his lawn is as flat as a pancake.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

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[ultrarunner]

.View attachment 3774451

Sure is Purdy…

 

[wolc123]

.View attachment 3774451

I’ll be needing a bigger canopy on mine, because most of my summer tractor operation is in the late afternoon, or early mornings, when the sun is lower in the sky.

That sure is a nice paint job.