The story of your first Cub

[dieseldan123]

My cub story started when i was just 5 years old. We would always make yearly trips to my granddads house in illinois. He owns four cubs, 108,123, 100, and original, and i would climb over them all and pretend that i could drive them (the 123, 100, and O didnt run) . When i became old enough, and tall enough to reach the clutch petal, i was put in the drivers seat of the 108 and i just couldnt make my self get off! i mowed his yard, then after a splash of gas and a hamburger i was off again! i would mow around the old buildings and barn, the gardens, and even the fence rows and machinery row!, (our line up of old retired farm equipment). Year after year i would go up and wish i could make the other cubs run so i could run them just like the 108 before it was parked. Then last year in the spring i went back again, and to my suprise the 123 was out of the barn and parked under a tree. I asked my granddad why it got moved there, he said "I needed more room for fire wood." i nodded with agreement and started to look it over a little closer, Then he said, "If you want it you can have it. otherwise it will go to machinery row." My eyes went big, and my jaw hung open! i got my first cub! i thought, for free! "Ill take!" i told him. Now i have that very 123 half way back together. These tractors are tough. my granddad had parked it when it started losing power. Last fall i had it running again and even mowed the yard with it, cracked pistion and half the rings in the oil pan in all, it still pulled a stump out! Currently i have it 70% "restored" with rattle can paint, college isnt cheap, but soon hope to have it completed.

[Methos]

Originally Posted by dieseldan123

My cub story started when i was just 5 years old. We would always mak yearly trips to my granddads house in illinois. He owns four cubs, 108,123, 100, and original, and i would climb over them all and pretend that i could drive them (the 123, 100, and O didnt run) . When i became old enough, and tall enough to reach the clutch petal, i was put in the drivers seat of the 108 and i just couldnt make my self get off! i mowed his yard, then after a splash of gas and a hamburger i was off again! i would mow around the old buildings and barn, the gardens, and even the fence rows and machinery row!, (our line up of old retired farm equipment). Year after year i would go up and wish i could make the other cubs run so i could run them just like the 108 before it was parked. Then last year in the spring i went back again, and to my suprise the 123 was out of the barn and parked under a tree. I asked my granddad why it got moved there, he said "I needed more room for fire wood." i nodded with agreement and started to look it over a little closer, Then he said, "If you want it you can have it. otherwise it will go to machinery row." My eyes went big, and my jaw hung open! i got my first cub! i thought, for free! "Ill take!" i told him. Now i have that very 123 half way back together. These tractors are tough. my granddad had parked it when it started losing power. Last fall i had it running again and even mowed the yard with it, cracked pistion and half the rings in the oil pan in all, it still pulled a stump out! Currently i have it 70% "restored" with rattle can paint, college isnt cheap, but soon hope to have it completed.

That's awesome Dan! Great story thanks for sharing it with us.

[Yamaguy]

Wow Dan that is a good story!!

Here is a repost of my story from another thread, incase someone missed it.

My Grandpa who was a retired farmer bought a new Cub 147 back in 71' with the snow blade, mower deck, A-1 Tiller with dual extensions, and a Brinly cultivator. He used it to maintain his one acre yard (almost half of which was garden) for two years before he died of a massive heart attack. At a young age (in the late 80's) my dad used to let me drive it around the yard almost every week after he would cut the grass at our house (it was nice that we lived in the same subdivision as my grandma, so we borrowed it all the time) As I got older I grew up with this tractor mowing our acre yard. When my Grandma died in 1989 we inherited the 147 and since I was getting older (11 yrs old) it became my job to mow the yard (which I gladly accepted). I was still too Young in my Dad's eyes to plow the drive in the winter time, or till the garden in the spring (I still think he just had too much fun doing this!), but in a few short years I was able to wrangle those tasks away from Dad as well, and he rarely got any seat time. In 1997 we sold the house and moved closer to town and between the 147 smoking and needing a rebuild and now having away smaller yard my Dad decided to sell it and become a total suburban sellout lol! Needless to say I was not happy at all, but as I no longer lived at home anyhow I wasn't using it. I always knew that if I had a yard needing a tractor, a 147 would find it's way into the garage. Well I've been kinda looking off and on for the last few years and when I came across this showroom fresh 70' model I had to have it!!

[ACecil]

Enjoyed your story and pics! Thanks for sharing.

[dieseldan123]

Wow! i wouldnt know what to do without a cub lol! Everyone's stories are great keep them coming!

[Rocking416]

The storey of my cub cadet is a sad one It was a 1969 104 i think i am pretty sure it was a 1969 I know it was a tough machine My grandad got it out of a barn and fixed it up for me and my uncle brought it down from NY To VA It was a tough machine cutting brush taller then the tractor i put a cut down tree between to other tree and was breacking them in half these was 30ft tree's and it would breack them in half Then one day i got a call from my dad and said somone stole the tractor from out the back yard Oh well i have a 107 i am restoring now

[TSWolf]

I am only 16 and already have a decent sized equipment collection, a 1944 Ford 2N, a 1940 Ford 9N, a 2006 Husqvarna YTH2242T, 2004 Cub Cadet RZT50, and a Cub Original. I have only had the Original a few months. In the fall, before the Westminster, MD tractor show, I kept the money in my wallet from payday the day before. I was not really planning on buying a garden tractor, but had it in mind, thats why I kept the money. I walked around, looking and dreaming the whole time. After walking nearly the whole show, I only found a restored Allis for $800, far more than I had. In the second-to-last row of G.T.s I found a Cub Cadet for $350, not yet knowing what model it was, I finished looking and saw someone's restored Original on display that had a sign on it that said Original. Knowing this, I knew I had to have the one for $350. I waited beside it for an hour and a half. When I was geting ready to leave, the owner came. He liked John Deeres(poor guy), and just wanted to get rid of the Original. I offered $250 cash, and he took it. Two weeks later, I bought the right width rear rims for it, now I am working on slowly restoring it.

[mc25a]

I was into Scouts in my youth and owned two of them. Cubs were a natural.

My first cub was a 1200. It was in great (looking) shape. It was one of those projects you get when you know something is wrong. I paid $1000 back in about 01. Big draw for me was that it had a new k301 installed. I got the old one too. It only needed a coil which I put on and sold it getting $200 back.

I mowed with it a couple years and it kept breaking clutch plates and eating clutches. I don't know how many times I took that driveshaft out. Seems like every time I did I found something else wrong with it. Something installed backwards, etc. Then one day I finally noticed the way the engine was sitting. Turns out the guy put the engine mounts in upside down and they failed pretty quickly. After that it was great. I'm sure he would not have sold it if it was right.

Soon after my dad gave me his Yazoo master mower which was leagues ahead of the cub cadet for mowing. I sold the 44" deck on ebay and shipped it in a bicycle box UPS. Someone in North Carolina came up and picked up the 1200. I think I got my $800 back if I remember correctly. If you are on here let me know.

My second cub is a model 86. I bought it off ebay a few weeks ago. Having a Walker for mowing I was looking for a snow and garden machine. I bid on it and then started hoping someone would come along and outbid me. They didn't and I got it for $316.00.



Story on this one is that his friends dad bought it new in 1973. He died in 1980 and left it in storage ever since. Judging by the condition I'd say the story it true. No rust anywhere and it's obviously been kept indoors. I think the tires are original. They look good and have a lot of tread left. It was running rough, but I cleaned the main jet and it helped a lot. All the stickers and dash panel are great too. The 38" deck is as well.

I have a 3 point hitch on the way and I plan to get a snow blade and some implements (plow, cultivator) and use it for that as well as pulling yard tools around.

I thought about selling the deck to help fund some of this but I kind of hate to break up the set so I'm still undecided on this.

[Methos]

Great looking 86! I think the story behind is true, it's in awesome shape!

[ACecil]

Great story, your 86 is nice!