[Grampas149]

I guess I can say that my love for Cub Cadets started about 30 years ago as a young-un. My Grandfather had an early 70's 149 that he used to mow his lawn, clear his driveway and till his and his neighbors' gardens. He bought it brand new from a dealer in VT with the 42" deck, snow blower and tiller. I would beg my mom to take me to Grampa's house so I could "drive" the tractor. So on Sundays, after church, we'd go over to Grampa's, he'd get the Cub going and ready to mow. I'd be sitting at the window, tail wagging, waiting for him to motion for me to come out. As soon as I'd get the sign, I'd high-tail it outside, he'd put me on his lap and let me steer while he ran the rest of the tractor. This went on for a couple of years until I was old enough (8 y.o.) to drive it myself. Unfortunately, he traded the 149 for a Satoh/Mitsubishi with a loader. I told myself that someday, when I owned a house, I would have a Cub Cadet just like the one that he had. Well, my wife and I bought a house, had a kid, yada yada. I had a piece o' junk Crapsman that fouled the futon after about a year. Another year went by and I was still itching for a Cub. So I started poking around Craigslist for a 149. Then one day...there it was. The guy was a couple towns away, he'd gotten it as a hand-me-down from his dad. I told him the story and he said "ya know what? If you can fix this thing up like it just came off the showroom floor and send me pictures of it when it's done...you can have her." I was ecstatic. That whole night, I was like a little kid at Christmas. I didn't sleep a wink thinking about what to do first. The next morning, I got up at 6:00, got dressed, went to UHaul, rented a trailer and went to pick up the tractor. I was just like Cub61 the whole ride home. I kept looking in the rear-view at that big ol' grill. I couldn't wait to git 'er home. That was two days ago and I haven't stopped thinking about her since. I can't wait to tear into her and start the resto. I promised my wife that it would be put to good use this summer on the lawn and around the yard so I guess I'll have to wait until this winter to start the teardown. I can't wait!