I blame you all! New 149 project
 

Look at this mess! All I wanted was an auger for my QA42. A local guy had a 149 with deck and QA42 for $200 delivered.

I haven't been here in a while since my 1811 is running fine, but now I plan to get this 149 running well enough to sell unless it grows on me. I could keep one for grass and the other for snow.

"Evil Laughs" Ah yes... the sickness is settling in nicely :biggrin2:

Looks good to me congrats:beerchug:

Looks good to me !!:beerchug:

YUP, a lot of us do that.

:ThumbsUp:

Looks like the rare "Cyclops series 149" with the one eye! Congratulations. If you plan on selling it, then don't drive it because we know once you are in the driver's seat, often it becomes a keeper. With the lights and hydraulic lift, it certainly would be great for snow duty!!!

Cub Cadet 123

Nice find! Once you take that for a ride, you won’t want to sell it.

Tear down
 

I filled 4 flat tires and knocked in the rusty relief valves so it rolls now. I removed the fender, blew the dirt off, and started soaking things in PB blaster.

Both the fluids are clean surprisingly. The PO was planning to restore it and it seems unmolested. Even still has the keys and cigarette lighter.

Spindles are worn out but the axel seems smooth and tight.

The brake pedal was seized in up position but I beat on hydro speed adjust plate to un-seize it. The plate is still too tight for the hydro lever to move it so I'll pop it off and clean up the bushing. At least the brakes work.

Steering works but is loose and crunchy. The long tube is loose in the Ross gearbox. Complete rebuild needed.

I went through the same stuff with the 1811.

:beerchug:

One 125 for grass duty and another 125 set up for snow duty. When it's that time of the season to swap, the other one gets put in front.

Easy peasy :beerchug:

Puh-leeze! If you think 2 cubs in the herd is nuts you are really going to look back and laugh 3-5 years from now! Every time we acquire another one I say “alright that’s enough and all we have room for” then comes more. Congrats on the 149 and the 1811- both are great machines

Congrats and good luck on your 149!

Buyer's remorse?
 

Wow, this thing is a heap. I like tinkering but I wasn't planning on making a career out of this one.

The good: The motor turns and has some compression. I squirted some PB down the hole before trying to turn it.

The bad: The starter was full of rusty water. I disassembled it but it was full of rusty mud and probably needs new everything.

One of the relief valves has a stuck button. I should have cleaned it better before I tapped it down, and now it's stuck down. They are both soaking in case I need to remove them.

One steering knuckle bushing is stuck to the pivot bolt. I'll have to press it out but one of the wheels is stuck on the spindle. It's the inside bearing rusted on because I can see the outside bearing race does move. I'll have to remove the axle so I can really get at everything.

The Ross steering box is pretty worn out and neglected (see pic). The bearings aren't too bad but there is a crack where the long tube presses in. I'll get it tig welded so the crack doesn't get worse. The sweep plate had the common problem of not being flat from the factory. See pic where I hold a straight edge on it. The pic showing the worn follower pin also shows where the yellow paint was never worn off on one end because it wasn't touching the seal plate. I fixed it well enough by clamping it and pounding on it. The seal plate seams to touch the sweep plate over the entire sweep now.

Don't blame me, I just hang around here looking at everyone else's projects.
This looks like a beauty. Seems to me you are having a pretty good time
of it so far.

Ken

fixed Ross sweep plate
 

Here is a nice flat Ross sweep plate (after pounding) and I snapped a pic to show the sweep pattern where the paint was never worn off.

I'm having a ball, but I already had too many projects before I found this one. And those catfish aren't going to catch themselves.

That catfish is a beauty! That from a local fishing spot?

Jug Bay
 

It's from the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary on the Patuxent River near Annapolis, MD.

As long as fishing is in the top slot on the priority list I think you will
be OK.

Ken

More weekend fun on Krusty the K series
 

Spent another weekend playing with the 149. Removed the axle pin and spindle king-pins. As you can see they are worn. I replaced the axle pin with a 3/4" grade 5 bolt so I could tighten the "C" channel. Replaced a few rod ends and re-installed my rebuilt Ross steering box.

The hydro-speed adjust plates were stuck so I removed them, cleaned and lubed the split nylon bushing that joins them, and wire wheeled the rusty bits. Now the speed lever is nice and smooth and pressing the brake glides it right into neutral. Forgot to snap a pic of the bushing but I found a similar pic.

starter/gen
 

Now I need advice with the starter/gen. Should I look for new brush holders and the rest of the guts or find another unit? The holders are just bolted in but I haven't been able to find replacements. They have been sitting in water and are mostly rusted away. The armature looks dead as well.

My plan was to get as far as I can repairing this cub before I start throwing money at it, so this is a little speed bump. If the motor and trans are decent I'll definitely spend the time and money to bring her back to life. I think I'm going to leave it looking just the way it does as a novelty, "rat rod" style.

I'd like to try and start the engine next. Anybody near DC with an extra starter to sell?

Starter Gen
 

I received my DB Electric starter generator. It was manufactured in India. It looked pretty solid but I decided to check the bearings for grease and take a look inside. The bearing on the pulley side had some tight spots so I pressed the armature out and drove the bearing out of the end-cap. Apparantly the end-cap was too tight and was compressing the race. I used a rotary tool with a spiral sandpaper attachment to open the seat until it would slip in easily. Now it rolls free. The bearings did have grease. I used Loctite on the three screws for the bearing cover.

Looks like you'll have that 149 purring in short order. Once the addiction takes hold, there is no turning back!

Good job on bringing another one back to life and useful service!

Thanks for taking the time to share the pictures too!

The good, the bad, the ugly.
 

The good:
The SG is installled.

I see that the k321 engine is black and has a 10 digit SN. Looks to be from 1986 so I got a repower! Piston looks brand new through the spark plug hole and the valves are gapped right so i wont pull the head, rather i torqued all head bolts to 30ft-p and they all moved a bit.

My axle pivot pin is now a grade8 bolt, but its an inch too long. I ordered a 3/4-10 die to add some threads to the shoulder. I'll drill it for the roll pin to keep it from spinning and use the nut to keep the C channel tight. The nut just clears the oil pan.

Filed and gapped the points.

Installed two innertubes.

Removed carb and cleaned out all passages.

Checked the gas tank and petcock filter, and all is good.

Battery was sitting at around 4 volts, but after a few days charging at 2 amps it spins up my SG on the bench and rests at 12.5 volts. Doubt it will do the job though. Year is stamped 5 but which decade. It does still have water in it.

Rectangular led tail lights on their way, 2 for $5 shipped!

The auger in the qa42 snow thrower seems straight (the reason I bought this heap cause my other auger shakes like an earthquake)

The bad:
Cloth wiring is disintegrating, but I have everything i need to rebuild it.

Carb seems clean enough but the throttle shaft bushing is way loose, or gone. I dont mind fixing it but may be cheaper and easier to replace with chiina carb. Its a fixed main jet carb so if someone can point me to a cheap replacement with the correct 149 linkage please let me know. Preferably an ebay vendor with good track record.

The ross steering box flexes badly when i move the steering wheel. I think the mounting bracket is cracked right between the two mounting bolts. Thats probably why the ross housing cracked at the tube.

The ugly:
Im home sick today, laying in bed typing this.

I just recently posted a link for someone else in here for the holders. I gotta go find it

I saw your ebay link for the holders. I may use them but I'm good for now.

Crusty the Cub is alive!
 

Now you guys are going to have to put up with me for real, cause the old girl purrs like a kitten!

I hooked up the old battery and pressed the solenoid button and made sure the starter spun up OK. Then I jumped a wire from the batt terminal (since the wiring is all crumbling) to the coil, put a little gas in the tank, then pushed the button, and off she went! A cloud of rust and PB filled the air but it runs smoothly and fairly quiet.

I still need to re-bush or replace the Walbro, carb so I need a recommendation.

I set the point gap but I'd rather static time it. There is no peephole in the flywheel shroud, but there is a round cover plate on the case. What am I missing?

I'll be full steam ahead on the wiring for the next few weekends.

Good to hear of your progress, and that you're feeling better too. :beerchug:

I think the most important question and I can't believe no one said anything yet, but does the cigarette lighter work? I didn't even know GT/LT's came with those or was it an after market addition?

I would definitely keep it as a snow machine, if you have the space. No more hassle of swapping decks for blowers.

Smoke em if you got em!
 

The lighter was rusted in place but I cut it out of the socket. I'll replace the socket and try it out, but it's just for looks. I won't smoke while I'm driving the cub. Don't want to spill bong water on my overalls. :biggrin2:

JK, I'm not retired yet, so can't do that.

It must be because it is a replacement engine that it has the Walbro carb but if it’s in your budget I would definitely upgrade to the adjustable style even if it’s shipped all the way from the Far East. You will be much happier with that

It seemed to run ok for the 15 seconds that I ran it but I haven't tried to dial it in yet. I just wanted to see if it would run at all, without knocking or smoke.

I'm interested in a $15 adjustable replacement if someone can recommend a vendor. Otherwise, I will replace the bushing if I can find one.

The maiden voyage!
 

This morning i cut the cloth wiring out except what i needed to crank and run the motor. I set the idle speed and mixture. I wanted to make sure the hydro worked befor changing the fluid and filter. I had forward but no reverse. Then i noticed one relief button was still down. While motor was running i grabbed the button with plieers, gave it a twist and it popper right up. Now reverse works so i changed the fluid and filter. I adjusted the hydro nuetral position and broke all the blades off my perfect fan, rats!

Then i took her for a spin. The speed is real jumpy, so I'll look at the trunion springs for slop. My goal was drive it into my shed, out of the weather, so mission accomplished!

I still need to wire the regulator and lights, and weld the cracked steering mount. Then i can put her to work.

I got my tail lights. Price was right but i wish they were bigger.

Most auto parts stores have lights that fit better. I think they are trailer clearance lights. Not expensive. And the holes almost line up. Close enough anyway. I put them on my 108...

Secrete not widely known.
Tail lights are identical to early Chevette, Astre, Sunbird,Vega & Opel rear side markers.
'Course they are not as plentiful as they once were in my younger days. :bigthink:

Who knew Chevette turn signals were collector's items. Fool wants $80 for a set. Bought another set of cheapies cause they have mounting holes and mounting grommets.

Decided to order a $15 carb cause mine is worn out. I'll let you know how it tunes up.

Mig welding
 

Had to weld up the steering mount cause it broke in two places. It's better, but it still flexes a lot when I move the steering wheel, so I plan to weld a brace on the bottom and Ill clean up all the welds and paint them. Is this flexing a common problem? Seems like a weak design.

Also welded the trunion, bent it down flat, cleaned up the plate, and added two copper washers to stop the slop and rubbing. The only washers that were handy and fit.

Wiring and reassembly
 

I rewired the whole thing using wire sleeve, tie wraps, and color correct wire to keep it neat. Even reused the rusty old regulator cause it looked real clean inside. No lights yet cause bulbs are all bad, but new ones on the way.

Buttoned it all back together and I was off to the races. Starts with a little choke, idles and runs OK, no leaks and the hydro lift works. Drive lever is a pretty jumpy, probably the rusty old trunion springs. Battery charges from 12.5 to 14.4 when I rev it up, so looks like it's wired up right.

Rusty the cub still needs some work but she's a solid runner!

China carb
 

Carb showed up real quick. First impressions, it OK but has some minor issues.

The throttle arm was loose on the shaft. I had to stake the end of the shaft (see pic) and add Loctite. Since it was loose, the idle speed screw didn't line up well to the arm (see pic). It was OK after I staked it.

I had to bottom out the idle mixture screw to smooth it out. Maybe it's the stepped needle and it prevents a lean adjustment but I prefer the normal technique for adjusting mixture. Main adjust seems to work fine.

I had to bend the governor rod to a right angle where it mates to the govenor arm. It also didn't come with a needed "e" clip. No problem, I have a kit. I do really like the adjustable length governor rod, very handy. The original is not adjustable.

It runs well so far but I need to figure out how to set high and low speed. It revs and idles too high. It was a $15 ebay purchase from "usadirectsupply" out of CA. For the price I can't complain but so far I count 2 minor defects.

Now that the original Walbro is on the bench I may try to bush the throttle shaft to keep as a spare.

149 steering mount cross member
 

Hello again gents,
I have some spare time these days so dug the 149 out to tinker. I'd like to tighten up the steering and I already tackled the man culprits, axle pin, tie rods, ross box etc. I had to weld up some cracks in the Ross cross member and I notice it still flexes quite a bit when I turn the wheel. One crack under the bolt hole and another at the side frame(see pic).

Anyone else notice this and have ideas to reinforce it? I bought some steel bar to weld on but I'm open to suggestions.