A Cub stole my heart ....... and my Horses!

[Inspectorjoe 471]

I've liked farm and garden tractors since I was a little kid. I remember the 10 year old me poring over Sears catalogs, comparing garden tractors. But I didn't buy one until about 10 years ago, when I was in my early 50's. Since then, I've had roughly 20, but never more than 5 at a time, because I lack space, greenbacks and most important, an understanding wife. I'm not a Wheel Horse-only guy, but I've had more Wheel Horses than any other make.

Last week I'm minding my own business and on my way to work when I pass an old small farm tractor sitting out with a For Sale sign, down the road from my house. I didn't have time to stop. The next day I left a little earlier and stopped. It was a Farmall Cub with its original paint and decals. The serial number was 808! Farmall serial numbers start at 501, so it was the 308th Cub built, out of more than 245,000.

 

I had to have it. The problem was that I had promised my wife "no more tractors", but had already broken the promise several times. It would be really crappy of me to do it again. The next few days were agonizing, as I tried to talk myself out of it. No luck. I finally came up with a proposal: I'll sell all of my tractors if I can buy the cub. She went for it!

The two Horses I had went to good homes. The last to go was a Case 220 that left Sunday. Sometimes I question such a drastic move, but then I fire up the Cub, and all doubt goes away. And I'm sure I'll have a Horse again some day. I just have to ease into it. Yesterday I bid on and won a Snapper in an online auction. I have yet to tell my wife. There were several Horses in the auction, but I didn't bid on them because I wanted to stay under $100. I'm taking baby steps.

 

[JoeM 7,874]

3 hours ago, Inspectorjoe said:

I just have to ease into it. Yesterday I bid on and won a Snapper in an online auction. I have yet to tell my wife.

Oh, you got it bad!

Your wife knows the horses are coming back, maybe with different names. 

 

Nice Cub tho! 

[Herder 2,354]

Congrats, that Cub is in really great condition.  Eventually more tractors show up, if you hide them well, she may not notice.  Just saying... 

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Nice score.  I also have a 1947 Cub, but mine is not "Circle Cub" as it falls outside of the serial number range to have the circle "CUB" decal.  Mine has also been converted over to touch control hydraulics and 12Vs.  Here is a forum for you, and if you register and get 2 posts, you can access their pdf page and download as many documents as you wish to:  https://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/

 

There are Cubfests throughout the country where you can take your Cub to work on or help others work on theirs, or if you just want to show and talk Cubs.  https://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8

[peter lena 8,629]

@Inspectorjoe nice pick up on that ! make a point of a thorough baseline service /  verify what  works and what needs attention . get some penetrating oil on that paint finish , to save patina , just let it soak and feed that paint , then a dry rub down with a clean soft cloth . woud  also flush out that fuel system , get some STABIL FUEL TREATMENT , and fresh filters in your fuel . also  a refresh on the oils / greasing .  probably a tyvek suit  for all your grunge contact . no matter what you do , your wife will find out !  been there , pete  

[oliver2-44 9,753]

Very Nice Cub.  Sometimes (OK a lot of times)  a slightly larger old farm tractor also catches my eye!

It would have to live at the farm 100 miles away, so that kind of burst the thought as limited fun in that.

 

6 hours ago, Inspectorjoe said:

 

 

 

 

I'm not the most familiar with Cubs, is that a rear flat belt drive on the left of this picture?

[Inspectorjoe 471]

4 hours ago, Herder said:

Congrats, that Cub is in really great condition.  Eventually more tractors show up, if you hide them well, she may not notice.  Just saying... 

It's going to be harder now that she's retired and home all day. I used to be able to unload them and hide them in a shed while she was at work.

[Inspectorjoe 471]

3 hours ago, T-Mo said:

Nice score.  I also have a 1947 Cub, but mine is not "Circle Cub" as it falls outside of the serial number range to have the circle "CUB" decal.  Mine has also been converted over to touch control hydraulics and 12Vs.  Here is a forum for you, and if you register and get 2 posts, you can access their pdf page and download as many documents as you wish to:  https://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/

 

There are Cubfests throughout the country where you can take your Cub to work on or help others work on theirs, or if you just want to show and talk Cubs.  https://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8

Thanks. I found and joined that forum before I even brought it home. There's a wealth of knowledge there, same as in this forum. And I downloaded manuals for it.

[Inspectorjoe 471]

21 hours ago, peter lena said:

@Inspectorjoe nice pick up on that ! make a point of a thorough baseline service /  verify what  works and what needs attention . get some penetrating oil on that paint finish , to save patina , just let it soak and feed that paint , then a dry rub down with a clean soft cloth . woud  also flush out that fuel system , get some STABIL FUEL TREATMENT , and fresh filters in your fuel . also  a refresh on the oils / greasing .  probably a tyvek suit  for all your grunge contact . no matter what you do , your wife will find out !  been there , pete  

Thanks. I found it to be overall, in very, very good condition. I plan on going over it thoroughly, replacing all fluids, repacking the front wheel bearings, etc. I haven't had time to do it yet, because I'm in the middle of a big project - taking down and burning 68 overgrown Leyland cypresses. I'm dealing with long covid, and the summer heat is killing me.

I'm not going to do anything to the finish other than keeping the tractor dry. It shows 76 years of use. It's an honest look. I don't want to change that.

Here's a video of it working a few days after I brought it home. I don't want to run it much before I get a chance to do a comprehensive service on it.

1947 Cub at work

 

Clickless:

 

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by T-Mo
Imbed video

[Inspectorjoe 471]

1 hour ago, oliver2-44 said:

Very Nice Cub.  Sometimes (OK a lot of times)  a slightly larger old farm tractor also catches my eye!

It would have to live at the farm 100 miles away, so that kind of burst the thought as limited fun in that.

 

I'm not the most familiar with Cubs, is that a rear flat belt drive on the left of this picture?

Thanks. I had a 1942 H for a few years, but it wasn't too practical on a 1/3 acre suburban lot. 

It's a pulley specifically designed to run a C-22 sickle bar mower. They're extremely expensive. An average asking price for a used one on ebay is $295. New ones are $400-500 and I saw one at $588!

[peter lena 8,629]

@Inspectorjoe  gearing and tires is the ticket , many years ago worked the week end for a guy with property lots  , that he was always trimming . he had a similar J/D  M/T MODEL with the 34 or 36 tire , think it was 14 / 16 hp , that thing could move just about anything , with total ease , also would pull those trees over , using a heavy nylon strap snag hitch  . pete

[Inspectorjoe 471]

2 hours ago, peter lena said:

@Inspectorjoe  gearing and tires is the ticket , many years ago worked the week end for a guy with property lots  , that he was always trimming . he had a similar J/D  M/T MODEL with the 34 or 36 tire , think it was 14 / 16 hp , that thing could move just about anything , with total ease , also would pull those trees over , using a heavy nylon strap snag hitch  . pete

Gearing, tires and weight. I was amazed at the amount of guts this thing has with only a 9.5 HP, 59.5 cubic inch engine.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,318]

  When selling your Wheel Horses you should have priced your “favorite one” a bit high (the I don’t want to sell it price) and you might of still had at least on WH….all the while telling your wife “ Its for sale, just nobody wants it”.

  

 

[Inspectorjoe 471]

10 hours ago, Sparky said:

  When selling your Wheel Horses you should have priced your “favorite one” a bit high (the I don’t want to sell it price) and you might of still had at least on WH….all the while telling your wife “ Its for sale, just nobody wants it”.

  

 

Normally, I'd say that was a good idea, but my wife is being a good sport about this, and I want to hold up my end of the bargain. 

My favorite was my 14 Automatic. It ran like it was brand new. 
 

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

19 hours ago, Inspectorjoe said:

Thanks. I had a 1942 H for a few years, but it wasn't too practical on a 1/3 acre suburban lot. 
 

 

I had a '40 H.

 

 

[8ntruck 7,004]

I just used an IH Cub muffler to replace the rusted out muffler on my C-195.  

 

Therefore, that muffler must now be an 'official' Wheel Horse part. That, and the fact the paint on the Cub is a close match to Wheel Horse red makes it an honorary Wheel Horse.

 

You've gotten yourself a really neat tractor there.

[paulyv56 148]

On 7/5/2023 at 11:22 AM, Inspectorjoe said:

Thanks. I found it to be overall, in very, very good condition. I plan on going over it thoroughly, replacing all fluids, repacking the front wheel bearings, etc. I haven't had time to do it yet, because I'm in the middle of a big project - taking down and burning 68 overgrown Leyland cypresses. I'm dealing with long covid, and the summer heat is killing me.

I'm not going to do anything to the finish other than keeping the tractor dry. It shows 76 years of use. It's an honest look. I don't want to change that.

Here's a video of it working a few days after I brought it home. I don't want to run it much before I get a chance to do a comprehensive service on it.

1947 Cub at work

 

Clickless:

 

 

wow, That Engine sound!!! Music to my ears