The story of your first Cub

[RPalmer]

Mike in nC,

You have some good looking tractors. And what I like is a story for each. I have to say you have some wife. Not only does she understand she is spotting them for you. I look forward to your posts. - Peace -

[Mike in NC]

Also, when my Grandfather bought the 128, he got a key chain from the IH dealer, that too came with the tractor when we got it!

[Diz Jr.]

Thats a cool key chain Mike in NC

[harpman28]

I love machines. I am a machinist by trade. I program, design fixtures and acquire tooling for a whole shop full of CNC Haas mills and lathes and love turning the handles on old manuals as well. I grew up in, and just bought my own house in the suburbs of Chicago. Unfortunately, I have never really needed a tractor for anything. My father had a gravely a few years back that he got for a case of MGD. It was mutilated by the previous owners but ran well enough to power the 2 stage snow thrower. We used it in the winter to clear the sidewalks all the way around our block and became popular with the neighbors. I loved working on that tractor, but it was insanely expensive to restore let alone tune up and we had no place to store it so it sat under a cover in the yard all year untill the first snow. We eventually donated it to a local school.

I got my first good look at a Cub cadet at the Leland lions farm auction this spring right before I closed on my house. It was an original and I fell in love. I dreamed up a million excuses to find one and purchase it. My new house does have a long drive way that will need to be cleared of snow and what better way to please the neighbors than to clear their sidewalks! The opportunity came last week on craigslist in the form of a 1965 Model 70 and I could not turn it down. The guy even delivered it for free! Its all original and have all the receipts going back to 1965. Needs a serious tune up but fires right up anyways. I look forward to years of service from my model 70 and have already started tearing into it. Now all I need is a CW-36 snowblower and I'll be in business. Im glad there is such a place as this forum to find answers and inspiration.

[Mike in NC]

and congratz on your 70!

[Leon renaud]

I got introduced to Cubs when my older sister started dating my Brother in law around 1968 his father had a model 70 with a Danco loader and several attachment.I also got introduced to my future wife the same day as the Cub which was Paul's youngest sister!That 70 did huge amounts of work here(The wife and I now live in her family home )including digging the cellar under this house 30x30 7 feet deep.We have a ramp into the basement instead of the usual stairs from outside because the cellar was dug long after the farm house was built and that's how they got the tractor in! It also landscaped and mowed almost 3 acres and plowed lots of snow in 1,000 feet of drive way along with tilling the garden.Dad kept the 70 until I think 1979 when he traded it for a new 682 which only did mowing and snow plowing (I think this is what you guys call a first model motor ) because I inherited the 682 when we moved here 3 years ago with a blown engine when I called about a replacement the guy couldn't believe we were still using this tractor stock saying "these things blew up in a year!"But dads took very good care of his "Tools" I found this site looking for info to repair the 682 I even took small engine repair in adult ed classes to fix it.The 70 bit me with the Cub bug way back then and after visiting here alot I stumbled onto a junk 70 and this is soon to be my very first complete restoration (HEELLP!) and don't you know a few days later I located dads original 70 dead in someones side yard!Now I'm doing the best I can at getting it back home!I have also acquired 6 "Other brand " garden tractors and none are green ! long winded I know but thats how I got hooked on Cubs and these little tractors have almost completely pulled me away from my life of cars!

[young enthusiest]

wow, thats quite a story! thats awesome that you found that old 70! did it have a loader on it? how did it dig the celler????

[bridgewatertek]

The first Cub I ever drove was an 1811 almost 23 or 25 years ago. My grandpa had it just to mow his corner lot. I fell in love with it. Well, we moved out to an acreage and it had a green 210 with it. Good mower, just not a Cub. Long story short, I got married in 2000 and have had a snapper RER, and a Craftsman before getting MY Cub. I went to a moving sale and there were 2 Cubs there. 1 was a WF with a loader for something like $1500, and a 1450 with snow plow, 1A tiller, 44A deck, and chains. Guy was asking $1250 for it all. It might have been worth it except the motor liked it's oil. I got him talked down to $750 for it. I used it for part of the summer and forgot to fill the oil before mowing my yard. I got about 1/2 done and blew the motor. I ended up having my Dad rebuild the motor. It ended up costing me about $400 for the rebuild and shipping to Texas and for him to ship it back to me in IA. Not too bad if you ask me. Then this winter my uncle told me that he had a thrower in his shed that I could have to save it from going to the dump. After some research figured it was a 450. When I got there to pick it up, to my surprise, it was a QA42A. All it needed was a gearbox and a belt. Until I can afford the actual snow thrower gearbox, I'll use the one from my tiller.

[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!

[Methos]

Originally Posted by 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!

Great story!