Picked up a FREE IH Cub!

[decksetter 50]

Brought this one home on Saturday, a friend gave it to me because he didn't have time to mess with it. He found it in some guy's barn, he got it for free too. It hasn't run in 5 or 10 years.

The hood's a little beat up, tires have good tread but one side needs a new tube. Very dryrotted. My friend rebuilt the carb, but never put it back on. The reason the original owner parked it was the radiator leaked.

The worst part of the day was jacknifing that little trailer into my '00 GMC that I've only had for 2 1/2 months... oops?

[AMC RULES 36,941]

Free is good, damage to the truck...not so much.

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

:text-coolphotos: Looks very nice,gotta love free! Jake

[jay in nc 209]

it's somewhere betweem 68 & 74 model year & with a 60 in woods mower worth about $1200. as is. nice score Jay

[bowtiebutler956 649]

That's what I call a good deal!! I hope you will post your progress here as you fix it up. I did the same thing with a little trailer a couple years ago, I'm so use to pulling big trailers, I forgot how quickly little trailers jack knife when backing them up.

Matt :flags-texas:

[perry 82]

that is one nice freebie :)

[decksetter 50]

it's somewhere betweem 68 & 74 model year & with a 60 in woods mower worth about $1200. as is. nice score Jay

I'm not sure what size the mower deck on it is but it's not the 60". I think it is a 42" or 48". I only know this because the trailer isn't 60" wide...

My understanding is the 60" deck is a 3 blade setup, this one is a single, but the sides of it can whip around like a bush hog.

I got it out and pressure washed it yesterday, pulled the old useless battery out, both cable ends broke so I'll be replacing them in the near future. Then I'll put the carb back on and see if she'll fire. I'll try it with the current distributor cap / rotor / etc. first and see what happens.

Here's the truck damage....

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

Good score on the tractor! Sorry bout the damage to your truck. Makes for a good story though :)

[decksetter 50]

Put a battery and cables in the Cub today, turns over like a champ! I just wish it had spark..... :eusa-think:

[squonk 38,846]

Cubs almost start all by them selves. Probably needs a good tune-up. Ignition parts are available at Napa. I used to have all of the part#'s memorized.

[decksetter 50]

Ignition parts are available at Napa.

Awesome! If I would have known that I would have gone there today. Thanks!

[jay in nc 209]

be careful when mowing with a cub with a single blade deck, the tractor thinks it is another flywheel . you can lock up the right tire and the tractor will go faster! i know from spernce! Jay

[can whlvr 991]

ouch on the truck,ive done that too,it was night time in the winter,went into the lumber store,forgot about the trailer and backed up and crunch just like that,my truck is still dented :banghead:

[Hydro 130]

My very 1st tractor was a Farmall Cub late 40's I think. The rad leaked in it too. Cayenne pepper sealed that up pretty quick. No water pump in those engines back then. Not sure about yours. Great little tractor.

[decksetter 50]

My very 1st tractor was a Farmall Cub late 40's I think. The rad leaked in it too. Cayenne pepper sealed that up pretty quick. No water pump in those engines back then. Not sure about yours. Great little tractor.

Not sure if there's a water pump or not, I haven't noticed actually.

Today my friend I got the tractor from came over to help work on it. We installed the Pertronix elecronic ignition kit and put in new plugs, still had no spark. Tested the coil, it was bad. Went to Napa and got new coil and plug wires, spark but backfired through carb. After fiddling with a timing light and scratching our heads for a few minutes, we figured out we had the plug wires in the wrong spot (oops!). Got that straightened out, shot a little starting fluid in, and VROOM!

We couldn't stop with that, and didn't want to put the hood and tank back on because the throttle linkage wasn't together, so we got creative... put the fuel line back on, drilled a hole in the bottom of a quart plastic paint cup, inserted other end of fuel line using duct tape as temporary gasket (it kinda worked...).

It looks dumb and redneck, but it worked! So then we got really ambitious... I mean, you get your tractor to run after it sat in some guy's barn for the better part of a decade and then outside in your friend's driveway for another 2 years... you have to see if it moves, right???

Well, the seat cushion was long gone, but luckily I had something that was a near perfect fit...

........and it DROVE! Rigged up a temporary throttle linkage and that thing will haul serious tail in 3rd gear! But it probably feels faster than it is when you're worried about your temporary 4oz fuel tank falling off and landing on the exhaust manifold and blowing up.

Other things we learned today:

- Radiator leaks. Bad. Just from the filler neck, so should be able to be welded for cheap.

- PTO engages! No problems there. The 42" bush hog belly mower chopped the dandelions up pretty good.

- Hydraulic lift didn't work, might just be low on fluid?

All in all, if I fix the radiator, figure out the problem with the lift, and get a new tube for one rear tire I think it will be ready to fab up a snow plow for winter, which is amazing considering it sat this long.

Video....

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v20/DeckSetter/?action=view&current=2012-04-14_17-26-35_580.mp4

[Hydro 130]

I had a snow plow/dozer blade for mine and with the hydraulics you could put some serious down pressure on it. I'm not sure but I think the engine was 16 hp.

[6wheeler 585]

Nice little tractor. The purchase price seems a little steep though . Redneck fuel tank, very nice. I had to make a similar one for my bobcat when the fuel line collapsed 1/2 a mile from my shop. 1 quart oil bottle turned upside down with a nipple in the cover and a hose running down to the fuel pump. Mine may have been safer though, It was wired to the back of the ROPS canopy so it only splashed diesel fuel all over me when I hit bumps :*****:. As for the dent? Well now it is a work truck .You could always say, " It was like that when I bought it " . If anyone close to me has a tractor like that just sittin' around the yard, I will be happy to remove the eyesore for them. That is just the helpful sort of guy I am...... It will be nice when you get er' runnin' good. Good Luck with it. Pat

[Don1977 604]

be careful when mowing with a cub with a single blade deck, the tractor thinks it is another flywheel . you can lock up the right tire and the tractor will go faster! i know from spernce! Jay

A bush hog type mower with out live power take off , or an over run clutch can get you hurt real quick. You can push in on the clutch to stop the engine from pulling, but the bush hog will provide power to the transmission and keep going.

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Nice score!

[decksetter 50]

be careful when mowing with a cub with a single blade deck, the tractor thinks it is another flywheel . you can lock up the right tire and the tractor will go faster! i know from spernce! Jay

A bush hog type mower with out live power take off , or an over run clutch can get you hurt real quick. You can push in on the clutch to stop the engine from pulling, but the bush hog will provide power to the transmission and keep going.

Good to know, I never thought of that. I don't plan on mowing with it though, it's definitely not a finish type deck. Hopefully I can fab a snow plow for it before next winter.