Getting deck ready for spring ?

Graflex45 · #1 03-29-2023, 08:43 AM

I bought a 1450 in the fall when I moved into my new house. The previous owner including a junk 44 inch deck that was rusted through, mule drive, and a somewhat barn dirty but solid and sound looking deck that he said went to it (and a snowblower that i need to put a different PTO pulley after I get it it off the rusted shaft).
Well, from the work I've had to do on the machine, this was never his main tractor. I don't think he ever ran it with any of the attachments, he included with it.

I went and put the mule drive on. I had to pry the front attachment bracket out, to straighten it up. Slide the deck underneath- looks like its a mismatched deck, front hanger points don't line up and pack pins are too widely spaced and will slide from side to side.
Will this deck work on a 1450 if I get the right mule drive hanger or was it only designed for an early narrow body tractor?
There is a deck and mule drive on face book marketplace about an hour and a half away that says it came from a 128, would that be a useable deck to install if not the one I got?

R Bedell · #2 03-29-2023, 09:43 AM

The proper mower decks for the Quietline Series of tractors were:
* 38A
* 44A
* 50A

The deck you pictures is from the older Cub Cadets that were used on NF Tractors. Fabrication and modification would be needed to make those decks work (ie: 38", 42", & 48")

Graflex45 · #3 03-29-2023, 12:00 PM

So this would be one of the right decks? It looks like the 38A from the manuals, and it cones with the right mule drive.

athomas · #4 03-29-2023, 04:51 PM

That's an older style deck late 60's early 70's and it should work but you need the mule drive for that style of deck which has straight hanger arms vs the more curved hanger arms in your pic for the style of deck which would have been on your tractor !

athomas · #5 03-29-2023, 04:57 PM

here's a pic of the deck that would have been on your tractor :

Graflex45 · #6 03-29-2023, 07:53 PM

Yep, that's the deck I got that is only good for salvaging parts off of, completely rusted through. All of those seem to have rusted through up here, I see many more of the smaller decks that have survived. Maybe better alloy sheet? thicker gauge?
I'm actually looking for the smaller deck because i think it will work better with the terrain of my lawn. I had my grandpas 1200 for many years with the 50 inch deck and the sides going out so far from center it liked to scrape on areas where the ground rolled a bit.
The pic I posted is from a listing I have yet to get a reply back from. says it came off a 128 and the hanger has the shape for a wide body machine so it should work??