Farmall Cub

[Ortis]

I have a Cub from the '70s I suppose since it has the squared off hood fron rather than the better looking (I believe) rounded one. It came with a 5' belly mower. i mowed with it for a while, but found that it had too little power to work on moderately thick, high grass or up hills, except in first gear. Now I just keep a blade on the front and use it for pushing hings around and pulling a cart.

Is my experience unique, or is it the norm for Cubs? I know it has only ~14 HP, so why do people like and seek out Cubs?

Regards
Ortis

 

[lhfarm]

Check out the Farmall Cub board here. Lots of Cub fans, with plenty of information and ideas. I have a '64 Lo-Boy. I still use it to rough mow paths in the woods. I have a smaller deck and the Cub does a good job.

 

[GeneD14]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( i mowed with it for a while, but found that it had too little power to work on moderately thick, high grass or up hills, except in first gear. )</font>

I had a Cub several years ago and had the same experience. If the grass was 6" tall or I was going up hill: 1st gear had to be used. I always thought the Farmall Super A would be nice. About the same size as a Cub but with much more HP.

 

[riptides]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( so why do people like and seek out Cubs? )</font>
Because they are easy to work on and get parts for. Plus they can take abuse.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Soundguy]

I have a 66 IH cub.. and it has a 4' IH belly mower. That's all it wants to pull as well. IMHO.. a 5' rotary mower is way too much load.. look at what size tractors are pulling 5' mowers.. 20 hp or so.. etc. If you had a sickle bar mower.. it would pull 5' fine.

Soundguy

 

[txdon]

Ortis, My wife's tractor is her Grandpa's 1947 Farmall A (18HP). It has a 4ft belly mower that works great for mowing walking and golf cart trails. I also put a the trailer behind it for people transportation. Here it is pictured with the now famous Eddie Walker's girlfriend's son.

 

[slowrev]

Is my experience unique, or is it the norm for Cubs? I know it has only ~14 HP, so why do people like and seek out Cubs?
//
they are little enough to go in the garage and they are kinda cute /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Ben

 

[TBAR]

Some things you might try are to get the front of the mower a little lower than the rear so the blades are only cutting once.

Also, if it bogs down grab a lower gear and or only limit the cut to a 1/2 swath.
Cub in action


Tbar

 

[timb]

A Cub has only 14 hp or so - but that's at 1600 rpm. That means it has the crankshaft torque of a 'modern' garden tractor of around 32 hp that's rated at 3600 rpm. (say 44-46 lb-ft).

There are some amazing pictures of Cubs in action in the book "Farmall Cub Photo Archive".

Don't believe anyone who insists the Japanese invented the compact tractor, unless they're using a very narrow definition.

 

[hobbyfarm]

Cubs have almost a cult following. I wish I had one (or two, or three....).

 

[twinstackram]

My Dad has three right now and two of them have the five foot woods mower,and it is quite a load for the little tractor,they are nice little tractors,but you are not going to use them as a bush hog,we was at a tractor show this weekend and a guy had a cub with a 42" deck and said it worked great,you need to keep in mind how many H.P. these tractors have and go by that.

but a Farmall A with a 5' mower would be great.

 

[twinstackram]

one thing I noticed on Dads,is that it seems that on the cubs the govenor don't work as well as his other tractors,but after working on his other tractors farmall c's super c's and b's we found that most of the govenors on all of them were not set right,you might check it and adjust it as needed.

 

[Worksmart]

Ortis - Also check out Farmallcub Sharp blades.....front of deck slightly lower....engine in good tune....tail wind /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...all help. And yes I'm a member of that cult along with my BX22. Chuck

 

[jimmysisson]

Never had a Cub, but the A is pretty tough 16 hp. Mine would pull an orchard sprayer uphill on a gravel road. The sprayer was from the 30's, had a 6-cyl Continental, a 4-cyl. pump with porcelain cylinders, and a 500-gal. reservoir, probably 6-7,000 pounds in all. I agree about the rotary mowers - they just take lots of power, especially compared to a sickle bar.
Jim

 

[KenPauling]

I have a 1949 Farmall Cub that I am going to restore. It works good as is but needs some TLC and new paint. This tractor was designed to cultivate and it works great for this purpose(my opinion) If you are going to use it to mow fields, a belly mount 42 inch rotary mower works good. The 14 or 15 HP it has cannot be expected to run a 5 foot rotary mower thru high brush. This tractor will also pull a one bottom plow thru most soils without too much trouble. If you use it within its designed limits, its a terrific little tractor that will run forever. You can't beat the visibility and utility of this little tractor. If you want a tractor that will run your 5 foot rotary mower, you need one with 25 or 30 HP!

 

[leftybob]

Several years ago I had a 57 Cub with a 48" Woods brush hog style belly mower. Good running tractor and a good mowing tractor but it wouldn't pull itself in snow let alone blade anything. Paid $1000 for it in 1970. Got $2650 in trade from a Ford dealer in 1983 on a Ford 1100 4x4 with a 42" 3 blade belly mower.

 

[Soundguy]

Hey Ortis, You still around?

You wouldn't happen to be a Diablo II player would you?

Soundguy

 

[scott_vt]

Several years ago I had a 57 Cub with a 48" Woods brush hog style belly mower. Good running tractor and a good mowing tractor but it wouldn't pull itself in snow let alone blade anything. Paid $1000 for it in 1970. Got $2650 in trade from a Ford dealer in 1983 on a Ford 1100 4x4 with a 42" 3 blade belly mower.

Mornin Lefty,
If the Cub wouldnt pull itself in the snow something had to be wrong ! Not enough weight or traction ! This is a oic of my 42 A getting ready to remove 16" of snow didnt even wotk up a sweat !

 

[tglass]

I have a Cub from the '70s I suppose since it has the squared off hood fron rather than the better looking (I believe) rounded one. It came with a 5' belly mower. i mowed with it for a while, but found that it had too little power to work on moderately thick, high grass or up hills, except in first gear. Now I just keep a blade on the front and use it for pushing hings around and pulling a cart.

Is my experience unique, or is it the norm for Cubs? I know it has only ~14 HP, so why do people like and seek out Cubs?

Regards
Ortis

Look at the farmallcub.com form. I have two in the shed I use when it's not so hot out. Sounds like your engine might be getting weak. Mine did, and don't let the h.p. mislead you. Torque is the issue. Mine pulls a single bottom plow, sickle, cultivator, small rear mounted blade, and a 60" mower and will spin out before quitting. The mower was a problem till I rebuilt the engine, and put the right size pulley on the pto output, (pulley size is very important) but now there's plenty there. HP vs Torque can be very misleading. These little tractors will do alot more than most people think. They will run a 60" mower without any problem, and at an low cost of fuel.

 

[ToddW]

Look at the farmallcub.com form. I have two in the shed I use when it's not so hot out. Sounds like your engine might be getting weak. Mine did, and don't let the h.p. mislead you. Torque is the issue. Mine pulls a single bottom plow, sickle, cultivator, small rear mounted blade, and a 60" mower and will spin out before quitting. The mower was a problem till I rebuilt the engine, and put the right size pulley on the pto output, (pulley size is very important) but now there's plenty there. HP vs Torque can be very misleading. These little tractors will do alot more than most people think. They will run a 60" mower without any problem, and at an low cost of fuel.

What are you calling a little tractor?? When I was a kid my Dad's '48 Cub was about 15 feet tall and 30 feet long. That tractor was huge