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Almost ready to buy a Farmall Cub

C

CFB

Member
Hello,
a couple people in a tractor club own a Cub and is a nice small tractor for my yard. This one comes with a front blade which interested me to plow my 300 foot gravel drive. I have an old Ford 16HP diesel, but just not strong enough to make normal passes in heavier snow.
I have not seen it yet. The owner said low hours (but I did not ask how many). The owner said it sat a while - always in a barn - but a little cleaning of the carb and fresh gas, it started right up and runs really well.
What sort of things should I look for and ask?
thank you. carl
 
If it runs and drives and the price is
right get it!
cvphoto136451.jpg

Maybe less HP than your ford but a cub
is a strong little tractor!
 
(quoted from post at 14:59:41 09/22/22) Hello,
a couple people in a tractor club own a Cub and is a nice small tractor for my yard. This one comes with a front blade which interested me to plow my 300 foot gravel drive. I have an old Ford 16HP diesel, but just not strong enough to make normal passes in heavier snow.
I have not seen it yet. The owner said low hours (but I did not ask how many). The owner said it sat a while - always in a barn - but a little cleaning of the carb and fresh gas, it started right up and runs really well.
What sort of things should I look for and ask?
thank you. carl
Click to expand...

I am a fan of the Farmall Cub. I also recommend buying one if it seem to be a good buy. However, do not but it expecting it to do what the 16 hp ford diesel can do.

Check for leaks once warmed up, check for smoking exhaust, clutch action, tire condition, etc.
 

Thanks so much. Good advice by all. I guess I did not realize what the Cub's HP was. And I guess I was thinking the larger AG tires would help me push snow better than my Ford. But I know it would be fun to have and drive in parades.

I'll call the owner tomorrow but I'm pretty sure there is a plow included. If the Cub is lacking power ( maybe that is an incorrect assumption - 10hp Cub vs my 16hp Ford lawn/garden/tractor), how does it plow the garden up? Would it struggle at that?

thanks again to everyone.
 
As per the HEB test the Farmall Cub come in at 12HP but if your Ford is a riding lawn mower type tractor the Cub can work circles around it but if your Ford is a compact tractor the Cub may not work as well.
 
The Cub is a good gardening tractor with its front mounted cultivator. Also a good mowing tractor with a
belly mounted mower. It does not have the weight or horsepower to push wet snow or dirt well at all. It will
handle a single disc plow and do a decent job with it in good soil. Not so great in rocky ground. A trade up
to a larger compact tractor with 4WD with a box blade or loader would be the answer to your driveway
maintenance.
 
How much snow do you have to deal with each winter? That would seem to go a long way towards what
kind of tractor to get. I grew up next to a neighbor farmer that had a Cub and my grandpa who owned
a Super A. Both used them in the winter with a Farmall front mounted blade. Both were happy with
the work the tractors did. After having used both I'd prefer a Super A. I know that's not what you
asked. I think you would be surprised by a cub, and you would have to get some experience operating
one to get the most out of it. In heavy snow most likely you would need to push the snow multiple
times as it fell and accumulated to keep your driveway clear.
 
My neighbor had a 55 Cub with rear blade. He used it for moving snow. Used chains on
the tires. The blade would only raise up about 8 inches.

I used a Ford 4000 and other neighbor had a 801 diesel. I don't recall either of us
having to pull the Cub out of the snow.
 
I have used a cub on our farm for 30 years, and it is a fine little tractor. One of the nice things is that it is very easy to drive and the wife and kids had no problem using it. Make sure the one you are interested in has hydraulics. Accessories like the front plow, sickle bar mower, and belly mower (all of which I have) are unique to the cub, so anything you can get with the tractor is good. I used to plow snow and move bedding with ours, and you absolutely will need wheel weights or some other weight over the rear to do that effectively. I now use a bigger tractor (Ford Jubilee) for snow, but I was able to clear snow over a foot deep from my 300+ ft drive with the cub before, although sometimes I had to hurl the tractor into the pile to make progress. The bigger and heavier tractor has a lot less of an issue. These days the cub is mostly used for mowing in tight areas and for spreading manure and gets used every week year around.
 
I have had a cub since early 70's. Used it to mow lawn (+2 acres) for 25 years. Now use it only for plowing snow and plowing garden. It is part of the family
and hope to pass it along to a member of the family. Along with the mower deck, I have a front blade, plow, disc, and a cycle bar mower. The tractor has
hydraulic with a 1-point quick hitch. It a fun little tractor to drive.
 
It does seem like the lawn mower horses are smaller than the farm tractor horses. Many make more power than my H.
 
I have owned several Cubs and looked at many more. Listen for a knock in the engine. That'll be the broken crankshaft that breaks right behind the front pully/front seal. If no knock, then likely the crank has already been replaced which is good because they have an excellent chance of breaking.
They will run fine with the crank broke here but usually knock.
 
Need to know the model of tractor that you are
comparing the Cub to. Hard to make a comparison
based only on horsepower.... tractor weight is more
of a factor in moving snow than horsepower. Just
guessing, a 16 horsepower Ford other than a
garden tractor would be a model 1200. IF your old
diesel Ford is in fact a 1200, the weight is a little
over 1300 pounds. The Cub at 1800 pounds would
be an improvement, provided the tractor is set up
properly (tire chains, for instance), over the 1200, 6
less hp. notwithstanding. Also bear in mind that part
of the horsepower calculation is the speed it takes
to move a certain load. Any Jap diesel in a Ford
turns approximately 3000 rpm whereas the Cub
turns about 1800rpm. So, at the flywheel, the Cub
and the 1200 are reasonably close, with the heavier
tractor being the victor.
 
The gearing is the big difference in the two tractors, the rearend on the Ford won't take the abuse that the Cub will. Horse power vs. torque, the Cub wins.
 
(quoted from post at 06:00:13 09/23/22) Tom, 30+ cubs and I've never heard of
such a thing, am I just lucky??
Click to expand...

Thank you for all of your responses. Excellent advice. I hope to go see it today or Saturday on my own. Then Monday, my friend in the club who does have a Cub offered to go with me which will be a big help. I've made a list of questions now and feel fairly informed in going and will balance that with the emotion to get this little guy. I did find out it has the blade - Oh, and is it true that it also doubles as a grader if mid-mounted - or was that a special option?), a single blade rotary belly mower, a single 12" plow with discs.
Here is a picture of my little Ford from 1989. Hard to get parts any more. My drive is relatively flat, some cement and some gravel, I use chains but there is a little dip on both sides of the drive and if I go over too far, it is almost impossible for me to back up.
I have been thinking about this for a few years now. Had been considering a Kubota or Deere sub-compact. Mainly to have the loader and a bit more power in the woods to haul out wood. I am thinking now more toward an Oliver 550 or 1265, or similar size (I can drive it too in a parade) , just with a loader and then when, if the time comes, I can just get a new mower - and overall, spend less. So still evaluating that.

sorry, my picture isn't uploading. I'll have to try later.

This post was edited by CFB on 09/23/2022 at 08:28 am.
 
(quoted from post at 07:35:38 09/23/22) I have owned several Cubs and looked at many more. Listen for a knock in the engine. That'll be the broken crankshaft that breaks right behind the front pully/front seal. If no knock, then likely the crank has already been replaced which is good because they have an excellent chance of breaking.
They will run fine with the crank broke here but usually knock.
Click to expand...

I have owned many cubs for many years (have 12 now) .I have never had that problem and not even heard of it. Maybe I am just lucky.
 
(quoted from post at 10:22:22 09/23/22)
(quoted from post at 07:35:38 09/23/22) I have owned several Cubs and looked at many more. Listen for a knock in the engine. That'll be the broken crankshaft that breaks right behind the front pully/front seal. If no knock, then likely the crank has already been replaced which is good because they have an excellent chance of breaking.
They will run fine with the crank broke here but usually knock.
Click to expand...

I have owned many cubs for many years (have 12 now) .I have never had that problem and not even heard of it. Maybe I am just lucky.
Click to expand...

And maybe he's just unlucky.
 
My first cub was a 1957 that had a broken crank right behind the belt pully and seal and the fella I bought it from replaced the crank before I bought it.
Second cub I bought it with a broken crank and could plainly hear it barking while it ran.
Third cub I looked at it at an auction and it ran great but I could hear the knocking of the broken crank at the sale so didn't buy it.
Also had a couple with no issues.
Note that they all ran fine with the break. The break was just behind the seal before the bearing so there was no load on it except for the pulley load and the knocking was just the two ends of the shaft banging on each other.

This post was edited by Tom in Mo. on 09/23/2022 at 02:55 pm.
 
In all my years I have worked on engines I have only run in to one broken crank shaft and that was in a 60s VW bug engine. The owner asked me to fix it and when I was opening it up to see what was wrong part of the crank shaft fell and hit my foot which didn't feel good
 
Did you change the crank yourself? Im asking
because if you did, you would see first hand: what
kept the broken piece from falling out the front?
 
That's interesting about the broken crank.
My 61 Cub standard has had a low RPM knock since I got it. Comes and goes. I replaced the rod bearings which made no difference. I assume it is the wristpin. Goes away with RPM (or can't hear it). Hot oil pressure is great. Doesn't seem to be getting worse.
BTW mine has a mid mount scraper, which is Ok for leveling the driveway gravel but useless for anything else. Particularly in rocky soil.
 
" I did find out it has the blade - Oh, and is it true that it also doubles as a grader if mid-mounted - or was that a special option?"
The blade could mount either up front or in the middle - not a special option. As you said the middle is the grading position. It could do a good job grading if the material was loose or soft.
 
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