Farmall Cub

Mom just told me I could have my Dad's (who passed away last May) Farmall Cub if I want it. I've already determined from this website that it is a 1949 model. He has quite a few attachments for it....single plow, harrow, cultivator, and a few other pieces that I don't have a clue what they are. Only problem is, I know nothing about this tractor. Dad used it every year to plow his garden, but I was never present when he used it. I don't know how to hook up the attachments. I tried to start it, but it wouldn't even turn over. My battery charger says the battery is at 100% charge, so I hooked it back up - still nothing. I'm gonna check a few more things that I found on this site. A few questions....how can I tell if it's a 6 or 12 volt system? The battery is as big as the usual car battery. 2nd, there are 3 switches on the "dash".... I've seen two of them on this site, but the 3rd is a toggle switch below the ignition switch, and I can't find what that is. Anyway, I think I have a lot of work to do to get this thing going. Dad used it some last year, but it probably hasn't been started in a year. Sounds like a lot of experts on this site....so, any suggestions for me? And, should I accept Mom's offer? I do have a garden that my tiller and I have been fighting over. Thanks for any help.

Paws
You've come to the right place. To any problem, you'll get anwsers out the ying yang. As to the voltage, look at the battery, if it has three filler caps, it's 6 volt, six filler caps and it's 12 volt.

As far as the lever type switch, this sounds like something he might have put on. By looking at the rear of the panel, you should be able to trace where it goes to. Have fun with your Dad's old love and you'll be back to this site over, and over, and over, and.....................

Dan Stuckey
Altoona, Pa

Congratulations! And yes, take her up on the offer. Many cubs have been "field altered" by their owners. It would be hard to say without doing a little investigation just what your dad may have done to this one. Look at your battery, if there are 3 cell caps on top, it is a 6 volt battery. If there are 6 cell caps or two of the 3-gang caps, it is a 12 volt. If it is a sealed battery, check the markings or buy (if you don't have one) a cheap multimeter to measure the voltage. You can use this meter to troubleshoot later on so it's not a bad investment. Harbor Freight has them for around $6-$7. Rudi's manual site and the T.M. Tractor site have implement manuals and pictures of mounted implements which will help you in attaching yours. On the battery, check to see which end is connected to ground. If the positive is connected to ground, that is correct for a 6 volt system. If the negative is connected, it could be a 12 volt conversion.

Congratulations on your Dad's cub, and welcome to the site. You can find a lot of implement pictures at http://www.tmtractor.com, as well as on Rudi's manual server. What part of the country are you in? There may be someone close enough to give you some pointers in person.

Thanks guys.....
With your help, I've determined that it is a 6v system...battery has 3 filler holes. Tractor seems to have the hydraulic touch control lever, but is missing the dash choke lever. Still can't figure out the toggle switch - the dash has an indentation around the switch, making it look like it's supposed to be there. One question.....since this is a battery-start system, do I still have a magneto? Thanks again for all your help.

check the polarity of the battery connections. it should be positive to ground, negative to the starter, if it's still connected as original. so if you need to use jumper cables, keep that in mind.

if you have a coil mounted over the distributer, then you have battery ignition. if the center coil wire from the distributer cap goes to a squareish block on top of the distributer housing, then you have a J4 magneto setup. it is also possible that the magneto is present, and a coil mounted above it because the magneto failed at some point. Battery type ignition was an option (and a popular one, it seems) starting around serial #115,xxx. (1950 late)

and last, the extra switch could be ignition if you have a replacement coil, or a replacement for a broken light switch. you'll need to check the wiring

I know one thing I should replace first.....the long, negative battery cable....it only has about 50 miles of electrical tape around it. Are these available as something universal at a car parts store, or do I need to order something special? Thanks.

They are available from Case IH but, I'd get some heavy welding cable and have the ends crimped on. It will be cheaper and better in the long run.

Thanks BigDog....I'm looking forward to getting into it tomorrow....gonna try to get it started. I sure ain't no mechanic, but gonna give it a shot before I shell out money for someone else to do it.

These tractors are about as basic as you can get mechanically. That's what makes them so fun and easy to work on. You need more common sense than mechanical expertise to work on them.

BD worte
[/quote]These tractors are about as basic as you can get mechanically. That's what makes them so fun and easy to work on. You need more common sense than mechanical expertise to work on them.


Now I know whats wrong