The 129 Earning Its Keep
 

Just thought I'd share what kind of seat time I've been getting lately on the Cub. I had a company contact me to handle lawn care on 10+ properties that had been foreclosed on by various banks. With those properties and the customers I already had, the 129 is seeing even more work now than it did this spring.

Here's a nasty one I had to cut down yesterday:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/PIC_0403.jpg

Good pic of the headlights I installed, and you get an idea of what horrible shape this lawn was in. Had to stop periodically to clean clippings out of discharge chute in order to keep mowing:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/PIC_0402.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/PIC_0401.jpg

Me cussin' cause I just realized my steering started clunking:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/PIC_0404.jpg

Funny note: the bank makes me take before, during, and after pics of every lawn. Total of about 30 pics per property. Such a pain in the rear, but the silver lining to that is I am amassing a HUGE collection of pictures of the Cub and my other equipment in action :)

Awesome shots!!! My favorite one is you cussin':biggrin2::biggrin2:......that will expand your vocabulary with colorful metaphors!!!:bigthink: Glad to see your 129 is doing the work it was made for doing and earning you some extra $$ on the side to buy another cub!!! Keep up the great work:IH Trusted Hand:

Cub Cadet 123

Nice pics and 129-

Awesome pics!

looks like the 129 has been very busy! I love seeing these tractors working hard instead of rotting away in the shed. :beerchug:

Great pics! Now your earning money for the engine rebuild for your 129 That's a great way to do it.:beer2:

GitrDone-

That's actually exactly my plan. Slowly but surely, one 20.00 bank owned property at a time. They're holding my pay, which I was originally upset about - but now I see it as a way to save up for the engine. By the time my first check rolls in for a month's worth of mowing, I'll be in business!

Till then, I just keep babying her, keep everything greased, tuned, and do oil changes 2 times a week (really). I also give the Cub a break every 1.5 hrs of hard work and add oil to keep it full.

Like the paint? I'm too busy to do a full resto, so me and my daughter occasionally head out to the garage and paint a small section at a time with those 4" foam rollers. It's not perfect, but I really like the color. It has a little orange-ish hue to it. For any who are wondering, its Transport Yellow from TSC.

Awesome shots! The 129 is doing it's job! :ThumbsUp:

Now thats a great job. Getting paid to use your Cub. I like them dub caps, where did you get them?

jsoluna
Great pictures of you and the 129 :ThumbsUp:
Good looking tractor. Ag tires make it look like it means business :biggrin2:

wow,your cub is getting a workout for sure.I hope it keeps up with the demand untill you can take her out of service for the rebuild.

Nice looking tractor you have there and good luck. Thanks for the pics.

Thanks guys! With as much as the old Kohler smokes and uses oil, I've expected it to start chuggin on me from all the super tall, dense, wet grass I've had to take it through...but it just keeps on running, and running very well I might add. I have to adjust the carb every now and then (actually, my very first time ever wrenching on a Cub was making my own throttle shaft bushing for the 129 out of a piece of rubber faucet washer), clean points occasionally, and every 3 or 4 hours of use (depends what kind of use) take out the spark plug and clean it. Other than that I keep an insanely meticulous eye on the oil, wash the underside of the deck every night after the days work, and try to keep her clean and shiny with rubbing compound.

I got the Ag tires super cheap. 20 bucks for the pair, they're the old classic Terra Tread by Goodyear. Along with the rear LED lamps and front fog lights, the tires made the biggest difference in what that tractor can handle.

The hub caps I found on an old rusty tractor in the junkyard. They didn't look like chrome, they looked like rust. Took a wire wheel to them and then some elbow grease and rubbing compound. To my complete amazement they turned out great, and I really dig how it makes it look like a classic.

Just took the deck off again the other day and wire wheeled it and started getting some pain on the underside to help eliminate the clogging issues I've had with it. Truthfully, many of the lawns it's done were bush-hog territory, not garden tractor/finish mower.

...and I hope it keeps up too!

Just found this pic on my phone today, I think it's gotta be my favorite:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m..._6390899_n.jpg

and this is what I started with a few months ago, just for some perspective:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...79_66000_o.jpg

Wow, getting paid for seat time.:beerchug:

Nik,

Looking Good!

Nice looking 129!
The hubcaps cleaned up great!:beerchug:

Sweet before and after pics!

Yeah guys, I gotta admit - when I drive up to a property for the first time, I'm always glad to see that it's gonna require the Cub to mow it down. Never really thought about it, but yeah, it is great to get paid for hanging out with my 129!

Neat pic, I like that one also. :beerchug:

Nice 129! I know what you mean by bush hogging lots! :beerchug:

What happened to the stack after you brought it home?

keep up the good work and she will be good to you :ThumbsUp:

Had the stack on there for a month or so, but the "muffler" on it was hollowed out by previous owner, rendering it useless to protect my ears.

Just went with a cheap donut muffler and threaded pipe for now. Doesn't look as cool but it makes it much more bearable to use at WOT.