I REALLY like my 1450
 

I was cutting the grass again today, and thought to myself, "this little tractor sure is running nice. And it's quiet!"

I think that's why I like the QLs. When they are running well, with a good muffler, enclosed engine and good iso mounts, and with all the tins solidly mounted, this little tractor runs smoothly and just makes a loud hum.

My 1650 is much less refined, as it has some hood rattles that I need to chase down, and despite new iso mounts on that one, too, the 16hp has noticeably more vibration than the 14. It's a beast, for sure, but it's overkill for most grass cutting duties.

I still love my WFs and will always be partial to my 108 that we bought in 1979 (and still use), but the QLs continue to grow on me.

What is your favorite QL and why?

I have a 1650. It is the only QL I have ever owned, as a mater of fact, I've owned it twice. I owned it from 1996 - 2003. I restored it in 2001. I rebuilt the engine, new paint, new ISO mounts, new driveline, and so on. It was next to new condition. I had to give it up in a divorce, so it was abused for the next 12 years. I would drive by and see it sitting outside in the rain and weather. I had that sad feeling inside of me.:crap:

I just bought it back 2 months ago for $250 plus I got a 1650 parts tractor on top of that.:biggrin2: Unfortunately the parts tractor was to far gone to be restored so I removed all the parts I needed and gave the frame to a guy who is going to build a puller out of it. I now have an extra k341 in very good condition.

So back to my injured 1650, it needs some TLC. It had caught on fire in that time I did not own it. The paint on the hood is scorched and has some burned up rubber but it still runs and works very hard. It is a vibrator and rattles like it's falling apart. It is working for me once again. I put a sleeve hitch on it and am using it with a grader box to grade my 700 foot driveway. I'm also prepping areas in my yard for fall seeding.

Very soon before winter I am going to repair the driveline by pulling the engine and doing the engine mount modification and new ISO mounts. The hydro pump has no leaks, so I don't have to do anything from there back. I'm also adding dual hydraulics with front outlets for my snow blade so I can easily change the position of the blade. I intend to address any areas that rattle and make noise. While it's apart, I might repaint the scorched areas which is the white paint and repaint the yellow on the fender. The paint on the frame still looks good.

This 1650 is my favorite of the 3 I own. My original is a toy, my 3240 is for cutting grass, and my 1650 is the all around, tough, working machine.

My 1450 is one of my two favorites.

:Cub7:

:IH Trusted Hand:

I grew up on a 1450.. You are correct... with good mounts and everything like it should be they are really nice tractors... and they really are quiet... mom is still using it weekly. 40 years of continuous service is pretty hard to beat!

I really like the quietlines but my 100 is still my baby!:beerchug:

My favorite QL is not a difficult choice, I only have one, 1200. I like it,
can't think of any bad things to say about it. I just like the looks of 1x5,1x4s the best.

Between the 1200 and 1450 I'd have to say that I actually like the 1200 best.

Favorite
 

I have both a 1450 and 1650. the 1650 was my fathers, but as sawdustdad said, the 1450 with correct engine mounting and in good shape, truly is a joy to use.
The 1650 is a mule of a beast, but it does shake much more than the 1450. I put in new OEM iso and it helped after I loosened the bolts to allow the mounts to absorb the vibrations. I got a little more to do but its getting much better.
With the only experience I had previously with just the 1650, I too thought the QL's were not that quite. Then after experiencing the 1450 I know how nice they can be.

I'm a narrow frame guy.

That being said

My favorite quiet line is a dual stick 1650. 16 HP engine coupled with two hydraulic levers is what I'd own.

I never had any interest in a quiet line until I bought one and went through it. I like how IH reinvented the wide frame with them and some of the engineering that went into them with the side panels, electric Pto, ISO s etc. that being said, alrhough I love my 800 which is my only QL, it was a complete turd when I got it and became a money pit labor of love.

Anyway, I'd like to make a quiet line honestly. A custom Gear drive 16 horse, or 1600 if you will.

Been eyeballing the 104 as a donor for a 1600 myself....

I grew up on my 1200, been in the family since 81. It used to be quiet, but it's not so quiet now! With a straight pipe! Lol sounds angry lol my 1211 has always been quieter though. But I'm attached to the noisy beast.lol still my favorite!

Alvy,

The 1600 idea has crossed my mind several times.. I think it would be a beast. Wonder why they never built a 1400 or 1600? :beerchug:

i keep wanting to build a 168.

That would be a good one too I bet!

Hmm... I have a nice 128 tractor... now for the 16hp:bigthink:

I have a 1000 that I grew up on in Illinois. I used to work for a neighbor maintaining their 2 acre lot at their home. They had a son that died in a car accident and they had no other children. They treated me and my brother like family. They had a 122 and a 1000 that were both bought new. The 122 had a front blade and the 1000 had a 44" mower deck. We would mow with the 1000 and pull a Parker sweeper with the 122. We started there when we were in junior high and worked summers through high school. Weekends in college were spent there too. I spent my formative years on those tractors in the 1980s. The 122 was also used to clear the driveway which we thought was fun.

I was on the 122 once and it stopped running. The starter turned over fast and I knew it was bad. We towed it back with the 1000. It turns out that the rod shattered. They were going to scrap it but I talked them into letting me rebuild the engine. It was the first one I did by myself. Unfortunately one spring years later when I was in college the 122 wouldn't start and they sold it for a song. I wish I could find it today. They bought a crappy MTD riding mower because the deck on the 1000 was showing it's age.

They gave me the 1000 around the year 2000. My job took me to California in 1998 and I visited less and less often. I bought my first house and later got married. I didn't go back as much as I should have because my parents had given the 1000 to my youngest brother who is a threat to all machines he comes in contact with.

In 2013 we moved to a place on 2 acres just outside of Santa Cruz, CA. I had some things shipped out from Illinois and was underweight. The 1000 and 44" mower deck came to their new west coast home - they rode out here for free. I found a 1450 basket case that came with a box scraper and #2 tiller. When the 1000 came to me it wasn't running and had quite a bit of damage from abuse and neglect. A couple of weekends in the garage and some UPS deliveries got it running again. The clutch needs work and it blows more smoke than I remember but it's running. The seat isn't original. About 1988 a neighbor found a seat to replace the torn up original. He welded it to the brackets. I'll probably never replace it because it reminds me of Mr. Novak who put it on there. He was a retired boilermaker and could fix anything. He drove me crazy and I thought he hated me because he criticized me while I worked but when I went to college he gave me an envelope with some spending money in it. Later I carried his coffin at his funeral. He really influenced me as a young man and I think of him often, especially when I sit on that seat.

I got a rear hitch for the 1000 and use the scraper with it. The mower deck keeps the weeds down. Neighbors comment on my machines and enjoy seeing me use them. I don't think anyone knows the history behind my 1000 - really until now. When I work on it or use it I always think of Bob and Sherry Loncar. Bob died in 2012 and Sherry is in her last days. When I get on the 1000 I'm 16 again and I think of them as if it were yesterday.

Thanks for reading this.

Bob

My dual stick 1650 is my one and only QL. Bought it and didn't even finish the season with the tractor and big 50"deck. So had the engine rebuilt, and added a set of Firestone tri ribs up front and good old Tru Powers and a three point sleeve hitch out back.
Then run into a 52" hydraulic swivel blade and I'm still grinnin every time that big pig gathers itself up and off the two of us go on another adventure...:beerchug:
This winter it's in need of some ACR work:bash2:

Bob,

That's a really neat story.. im glad you at least got the 1000..

I know what you mean about being a teenager again when you get on one.

That's what got me back into them several years ago!:beerchug:

ive had a couple quiet lines myself, my dad says there the best looking cubs made, that being said he really likes his 1000 , paid 600 for it and have done very little to it. ive had a couple 1250 and a 1450 and while there nice tractors I just find the gear drives to be better in my opinion , depending on what kind of lawn you have though.

Great story! Don't blame you one bit about the seat. Good memories are far more important than having another Cadet pass inspection from the Correct Police. Anytime you buy/care for a "family" machine you have to make a choice about correcting previous "repairs". I think you made the right one here.

Similar situation for me was I bought a couple old engines off a long-time friend just before he passed away. He was a collector of Hit-and-Miss engines. His health was failing and he was in a nursing home. He had sold off his collection except for 2 IHC engines. He told his son-in-law to offer them to me before he put them up for sale. I gladly bought them. One of them still needed lots of work so I continued making improvements and buying replacement parts. The other one was the first engine he bought. It has a homemade ignition system, a 40 year old paint job, and a scaled down coolant system. Most importantly it has his name on the side of the cart he mounted it on, I doubt I will ever remove it.

I was just on the 1000 today. I scraped up bark from wood I split and I used it to drag out the log splitter to process some more. My wife stacks the wood and I split it. I thought of this post while I was out there and I was happy to see that you enjoyed the story.

Sure did love your story!!!

I really love Quietlines. I think their design with the side pannels, clean front end and their wide stance makes them look like a beefy tractor.

I have a 1250. I had wanted a Cub Cadet for some time when I finally got this one four years ago. I wish I would have been able to score a 1450 or a 1650, but this was the one that I found in decent shape and for the price that I could afford.

The machine needed the typical front axle squeeze, steering box repair, tie rod ends, and ISO mounts. When I tore apart the tractor to begin these repairs, I thought: "What have I done?" It took a bit of coaxing to get things done, but with the help of all of you here, I was able to figure out the problems, make the repairs and get it back together. Hence, a quirky name, the 1250 Nightmare!

I enjoy the tractor by using it around the house, pulling a parade float, and riding it through the neighborhood. People always wave. :biggrin2:

What did this one bring? A 782 that sits in the garage waiting to be brought back to splendor.

I just recently got my first cub....a '75 1450. I had looked around for a while looking for a cub to do some work around the place (mowing, pushing gravel) and it had to be tough. I settled on the 1x9, 1x50 or x82 models. I just really like the looks of those models, and they seemed to have the features I was looking for.

After a couple of months and some misses on price or condition, had a 1450 come up for $400 an hour away with a plow blade and 44" deck. Looked to be in good shape and even the deck had good bearings. The plow is a little rusty and needs some work, but it is complete and working. No smoke to speak of and no hydro leaks.

I snapped it up as quick as i could...it was the exact model i was looking for. After fixing the issue with one oil pan bolt holding the engine, ISO mounts/cradle mod, some steering fixes and some minor tuning, she runs like a top. I've only had to use her a couple of times for mowing but it's strong and smooth. Recently got a Craftsman (Brinly) plow for it too....going to get a garden going next year. It's a very comfortable ride and she'll be working for a long time....maybe even some fresh paint someday....

Due to recent unforeseen circumstances, I think I may be changing my vote...

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...300#post347300

Uh OH!! should we ask??:beerchug:

He bought a 1650.

Oh! How fickle!! :biggrin2: