The story of your first Cub

[young enthusiest]

I bought my 1200 used in Oct of 2008, for $50. It did not run. I tore it all apart, painted it with tremclad, bought $500 worth of small parts, and have started the reassembly part. The PO killed the steering. my only option is a new steering shaft, box, bearings, and wheel. I am going to be dropping in a k341, with some minor mods. It will not have that stupid quietline muffler, instead, a stack will come up about three feet. I have ordered a pointless ignition system, as well as a 40000 volt coil. full gasket set, maybe rings, and a tune up and it should be done. I have a sleeve hitch for it, a hitch adapter is on the way. I have a QA42A, model 2 tiller, 44 inch deck, plow, and cultivator. I am planning on restoring all the attachments too. If you look at the pics, and see all the mistakes, please keep in mind, this is my first job, and I'm only 14!











No, the sleeve hitch did not get painted. it will get done next time time is available lol.


Please add your pics and stories.

[T-Mo]

Looks good to me. Is that a rattle can paint job?

[young enthusiest]

Originally Posted by T-Mo

Looks good to me. Is that a rattle can paint job?

I'm shamed to admit. yes it is. In the sun the yellow looks kinda close, the white is too bright. but you have to admit, it does not look toooooooooooo bad

[ACecil]

Your tractor doesn't look bad at all Tyler.

[Eagle Keeper]

Well it all stared back in 1986. I had just returned from Saudi Arabia . I took a Job with Flying Tigers in Columbus Ohio and bought a house. I needed a garden tractor and started hitting the local auctions. That's when I found it. A 169 with a 44" deck. For 250 bucks I was in business . Restored the whole thing. 4 yrs later I was and the neighbor boy was mowing for me. My wife called and told me the engine blew up. I asked her why she thought it had blown. She replied that metal parts had come out of the engine and melted my Sons plastic pool. So I get home, turn the key and it starts right up. But there is oil everywhere. Those dang counterbalances had let loose and blew a hole in the block. Got a used block. Rebuilt everything new. Moved to Lakeville NY. I had the tractor for over 8 yrs by then. I had plowed all the gardens with it. Plowed the driveways . Put in my lawn, Drug logs,ect.ect... I mentions to the neighbor one day that maybe the old girl should be put into semi-retirement. Well a week later he shows up with a friend . Hey he wants to buy your Cub. I'm thinking,,I don't want to sell it. So I make up [what I thought] was a high price. $1200.00. He looks at me and says, I'll take it. And that started the Journey. I have been restoring Cubs for over 20 yrs now. One ended up in a museum and one went to Russia. Here is a photo of my 982 . I just picked up a 100, 127 and a 169 in the last week.

[ACecil]

Nice 982 Eagle Keeper! And welcome to Only Cub Cadets!

[young enthusiest]

WOW! now that is a thing of beauty!

[Matt G.]

I got my first Cub, a 100, in 2003 when I was in the 8th grade. Here's a picture of me plowing snow with it in the spring of 2004. I would have been 15 at the time. I am now 20, and I've had over 40 Cub Cadets. I bought over a dozen tractors at once from a guy that was going to part them all out, and I've been fixing them up and re-selling them...That's a dozen tractors saved from the scrap heap. This has led to diesels and a loader and...? Who knows what's in store now...



Hopefully this picture sticks around. I'm using a page on my website instead of photobucket...

[Cub61]

You know it's funny when some of us can't remember the more important things in life. For example, trying to remember if you paid the telephone bill or not. But ask anyone of us when or where we bought our first cub. We'll tell you every detail on how we found them, including the mileage.

I still remember when I bought my first cub, and of course everyone knows which one that is. My OL' Girl. My family and I were headed to a city thats located about 10 miles north of us named Slaton Tx, and in that city there's a lawn repair shop that we do business with when it comes to parts and things of that nature. Well, while driving in the city of Slaton, we passed in front of a store that's named "Second Time Around". And in that store they sell used but good stuff there. I really did'nt pay much attention to it that day as we passed it, until I heard my brother say to me "Hey look Matt, there's an old tractor parked in front of the store". I really didn't think much of it until I asked him "what color was it". My brother answered back by saying "it looked yellow and white". As soon as he said that, I knew for sure that it had to be a cub. So after we went to the lawn repair shop and did what we had do there, I high tailed it back to the Second Time Around store. And sure enough there she was, it was an old 1961 IH Cub Cadet "Original". She was looking as beautiful as she could ever be. You could honestly tell that the previous owner had really neglected her big time. But that was ok, because she was fixing to be mine. My Dad and I had already been standing there for about 15 minutes or so before the sales man saw us standing there looking at the cub. So he approached us asking my dad and I if he could help us with anything. I immediately spoke up by saying " Yes sir, how much are you asking for the cub?" He's response was "$225.00 even". So I told him "I'll take it." Just before he took my money, he fired up the old cub and drove around the parking lot with it, to show me that the engine worked along with the transmission. He even engaged the deck too. So after the quick demo, he started off by saying,"son, the engine on this tractor is a go-kart engine". My response to that was "is that what the previous owner told you???" He says "No, but you can tell that's what it is though." So I told him "that's fine". I knew better than to believe that, since I had already been studying cubs for quite sometime before that. I could tell that was the original engine that the tractor came with. So anyway, after the purchase was complete I told the guy to just place it in the back of the store, and that I would be back in the morning with my pickup and trailer. So all that night I could'nt sleep just thinking about bringing home that old cub. Morning finally came, I headed out to Slaton with my pickup and trailer to get the OL' Girl, and sure enough once I got there they had her ready for pickup. We loaded her onto the trailer, said my thank you's to them and off we went. All on the way home, I would look through the rear view mirror and see that old cub riding shotgun on the trailer. And it almost seemed as if she had a happy look, just knowing that she had a new home and a new owner. And the rest is history.

Here's the before pic.

[Eagle Keeper]

Y.E. your doing a bang-up job on your tractor. I like the routing of the wire bundles. Way too often the restorations are based on aesthetics and not mechanical restoration. Built a good tractor first then make it pretty. Both have got to be accomplished for the final product. That being said,,,,, I see the work you have accomplished and it is good. If you plan on keeping this tractor for yourself then you will be very satisfied !!! The tractor will provide you with years and years of pleasure. However ,,if you are planning to sell this tractor for profit ???? Well it doesn't matter how well it is built. People go for curb appeal ! Spend the 100 bucks for Cub paint and do the tractor the honor of being the best it can be. Make it as good or better than it was new ! You will have no regrets ! In the words of Chuck Yeager,,,, Press On !

Matt G. You have acquired quite a selection of Cubs . Amazing. I have been doing this for 23 yrs and don't have 40 tractors under my belt. Hmm you must be in a target rich environment. Oh yeah ,if you need a little aviation advice,,feel free to ask. I have 12 yrs as an F-15 Flying Crew Chief. I was the lead Tech for the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15's. A-10 Flight test mechanic. Run and taxi Qualified on the 727,747,DC-8,[ A-310 and A-300 Junk] My best recommendation in regards to aviation is,,,, DON'T do it and at the same time Have Fun!! Your in for a roller coaster ride in this business. But there is never a dull moment. My son is a Crew Chief for the 193rd special ops. He is finishing his last semester as a Geo-Environmental Scientist. On top of that he is a hard core Conservative,,,,,just like the old man.


MD Logan

Oh yeah,,,big problem here. You log us out way too soon. This isn't my 401 K account. Jeeze I'm logging in all the time. Leave it open ended.