Need help figuring out what my Grandpa's tractor was.

Wageslave · #1 03-09-2017, 07:23 PM

My grandpa used to have an old Cub cadet lawn tractor that I would mow with when I was younger. I would love to have one like it, but cannot find another one that looks like it and cannot remember the model number of it.

Heres what I can remember:

Had a 7 horse Kohler (or possibly Wisconsin engine in it)
Had a starter/generator running off of front pulley
Had 3 speed manual transmission (and slipped the belt a lot in 3rd)
Had a big starter push button on dash with seperate key switch to turn off
Had THICK rear fenders that were flat on the top and did not follow the shape of the wheel
It had headlights in the front grille

I hope that is enough to help

Thanks

J-Mech · #2 03-09-2017, 07:55 PM

Well, by your rememberance, there isn't a Cub Cadet that matches that description. Either it wasn't a Cub Cadet, or it had been highly modified by your grandpa.

Only one model had a 7hp, with push button start, had a starter/generator, had a 3 speed trans that was belt driven, and that was the "Original" Cub Cadet. BUT it didn't have lights in the grille or flat top fenders. No Cub was ever built with a Wisconsin engine.

cub123 · #3 03-09-2017, 07:57 PM

Going by the starter button on the dash and the belt slipping in 3rd I would say it was an original ( which had no model number ) with custom fenders. Was the lever to turn the deck on operated with your foot?
( edit: Jonathan beat me to it). Here's my "Original".

Wageslave · #4 03-09-2017, 08:26 PM

It very well may not have had headlights (I was 10 when I was using this thing). I thought that just lowering the deck with the height adjust handle engaged the blades or I don't remember a seperate engage control. The pictures of original cub cadets do look very close though, especially the logo on the hood. The fenders could have been home made, as they were probably a quarter inch thick and rang like a tuning fork when you hit them with something metal.

J-Mech · #5 03-09-2017, 08:42 PM

The model 70 would have been the next closest thing. But it was not belt drive.

Cub Cadet 123 · #6 03-09-2017, 09:16 PM

Perhaps the "flat" part of the fenders might have been the fender pan of the original. It is flat and I have never been a fan of that flat pan on the fenders of the original so I have not put fenders on my O's for that reason.

Maybe you can look into some photo albums and find a picture of it with your grandpa or you mowing? I was the same way with my dad's first cub cadet and about 3 years ago, my uncle gave me a picture of me or my brother on my dad's cub cadet when we were about 4 years old. It was then that I found out it was a 106. Hopefully you can find a picture of it and your grandpa.

Cub Cadet 123

PaulS · #7 03-09-2017, 09:40 PM

What is the time frame you remember running this machine. If it was a cub it had to be an original. The headlights on the Original were mounted just below the hood hinge on each side they stuck out from the side. The mower was a two blade affair that used a toothed belt to keep them in time. They did not come with the squared fenders so that may have been home made. The original was made from Jan 61 to Aug 63.

Wageslave · #8 03-09-2017, 10:36 PM

I probably ran it from 1992-1994. I remember the reason he got rid of it was there was something wrong with one of the deck spindles, and he did not want to mess with it any more.

The fenders were almost level with the bottom of the seat pan and painted white, with a patina that did not look out of place with the rest of the machine. If they were home made somebody did a good job as there was no sharp corners or obvious weld jobs on them, but I have never found another set like them on any cub, and was part of the reason I was having such a hard time figuring out what it was. They could have possibly been an old aftermarket add on.

I have not been able to find any pictures of it or me on it, but it wasn't in terrible condition at the time.

J-Mech · #9 03-09-2017, 10:58 PM

What you describe sounds way more like a Jacobsen tractor to me.....

gallery_389_394_1086502.jpg

More than likely, if it was yellow, it was a Minneapolis Moline 108. It fits your description to a "T".

Minneapolis_Moline_110.jpg

There were no aftermarket fenders for Cub Cadets until just the last year or two..... and they are copies of the original production ones.

johncub7172 · #10 03-10-2017, 02:10 AM

Nice picts Jon! Heck, my brother just recently picked up the 1966 Ford 100 version on the Moline.