147 (and some history)

[drglinski]

Where to begin?

I'm not new to Cub Cadets. I've been around them since birth, and have been intrigued and influenced by IH the same. When you say John Deere all sorts of bad things come to mind as this is how I was raised. As proof, here I am at 18 months sitting on my Dad's 125 that he has had since before I was born (I'm 27.)



I learned how to drive and operate that machine like a pro. I learned what a good engine sounds like, a poor running engine, and one about to blow. I blew it up 3 times and each time dad said "pour more oil into it and keep runnin' it. We'll fix it when it goes." I split a piston in two horizontally and blew the oil dipper off the connecting rod twice. It got a lot of use. He originally bought it used off of someone that rolled it. It has always had a bent steering wheel and a dash that says 105 with the inlay of a 127 or so. Ag tires as the turf tires would not climb the hill in front of the house.

About 12 years ago Dad picked up a 782 that needed some help for cheap. It needed a fuel pump and a starter. It is a nice mowing machine, but the engine is starting to go on that and dad isn't going to rebuild it. I always thought it was strange to see a CC red, and the whole batt. under the seat, engine sounds different (more difficult to tell when it was actually "working" and you needed to either slow down or give er more gas) and the hole in the hood for the fuel tank access never really appealed to me. It's not a bad tractor, but I always felt like I was falling forward on it while driving it. The 125 has always had a more low slung comfortable feel for me.

Fast forward to last spring. I moved out and found a house of my own with a driveway about 80 ft. long and a back yard of 360 some feet long. I never minded push mowing, but I had always had a CC purchase in the back of my mind to mow and more primarily move snow in our harsh michigan winters, although this past winter wasn't too bad.

Last month I found an ad on my local craigslist advertising a 1970s Cub Cadet Tractor. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a 147, in somewhat decent shape. When I went to look at it, he told me the obvious; needed a new front tire as the current one was split like a hot dog, the deck needed welding, and the front PTO had exploded and he didn't know how to fix it.

I went back the next day and picked it up for 250. Immediately I was impressed and it brought back serious memories of the 125. I knew I was going to love owning it.

Here it is the day I brought it home.













After digging into it a bit, I discovered it needed a bit of love, but was mostly in tact. The motor does smoke a bit at start up, but it doesn't continuously smoke or knock.

The fuel tank was on backwards. When I went to turn it around, this is what I ran into.



The coil was mounted too high. Upon further research, I found out that the current engine in it is from a 149, even though it is a 14 HP K321. I dropped the coil, routed the wire around the sediment bowl, and it works, and I'm pleased with the way it looks. The ig. wire is now on top of the fuel line and not under it.



What also led me to believe the motor is a replacement is the way the PO did the wiring.



Some day I'm going to fix it and route it back under the engine like it should be, but for now, I don't care as long as it works. It also does not have a plug for the electric lift even though the switch is there on the dash. I also installed a new used muffler with a tailpipe that works must better.

I also had to wire the back lights. This was simple; run wiring as the lights were there, in tact and the bulbs were even good. As far as the PTO goes, basically what had happened was the PO had run the fiber wear button completely off and the bearing had exploded, so the throw out levers were shot, wear button was severely worn, and the fiber pressure plate w/ the lugs was also gone. A rebuild of the PTO by my trusted mechanic, removal and install of the new bearing by yours truly, and then final install of the PTO when it was mailed to me and it started working again.





I've already mowed with it once. I'm waiting till my new tire arrives so I can mow again. (can't wait.)

Overall, I'm happy with my new cub. I think it's a 71 but it's hard to tell because it also has the rototiller gear box on the back (dad has a tiller he's used on his 125)
and I don't want to remove it to find the serial.

I love the look of the grille/front end of this machine, as well as how the frame is cut for the wider engine coupled with the large rear tires. The front tires say 125 for me, and I just like the way the overall tractor looks. A lot of the machine is nostagla (I always thought it was funny when CCs were referred to as "tractors" as I grew up in the country and this was a "lawn mower" and a tractor was something much larger. ) I've been told it's kind of rough, but it doesn't look any worse than any of the other ones I've seen.

I would like to find some wheel weights, tire chains and a blade for winter use, eventually.


Thanks for reading and I'll do my best to keep you updated on how my progress goes in the future.