Farmall Cub

I inherited a Farmall Cub from my father in law a couple years ago. It came with some implements including a 193 land plow, a model 22 mid mount sickle mower and mid mount and rear mount cultivators with spring teeth. I use it regularly around my property and especially in sickle mowing and gardening. I've been repairing its few minor faults and am soon interested in painting it. I ordered a set of decals that correspond to the serial # tag (13336) but have been reading posts here and have found that the serial # tag and the casting dates on the rest of the tractor don't relate. By the table supplied, this serial # indicates 1948 model year, but the casting dates on the rest of the tractor are as follows;

Engine 4-5-W
Torque Tube 5-8-W
Touch control 4-2-W
Trans Case 5-8-W
Right Axle Tube 3-15-W
Right Final Drive 5-7-W
Left Final Drive 5-11-W

Engine Serial # is FCUBM 135968

Does this mean my Cub is a 1951 model? Can I assume the front bolster has been changed in the past and the serial # plate did not get transferred? If there is a casting date on the bolster, will it confirm my suspicions?

Is there data out there to tell when certain changes were made in production? As an example, when did magneto get dropped and regular distributor ignition get introduced. Thanks for any help. Just want to keep it as original as possible.

All indications are that it is a 1951. More than likely your bolster will have a cast code of R on it.


Photo from TM Tractor Parts

No doubt it is a '51 by serial # and casting codes from TM's site
http://www.tmtractor.com/id/id_004.htm
http://www.tmtractor.com/id/id_002.htm

lol. The subject made me laugh. I know what you meant... but in my mind I pictured your cub next to some cheese and barrels of wine in a dark cellar. Yes. It's been one of those days.

Mine age by themselves.

Like Dale said, your numbers are all good for 1951. You have a 6 digit serial number. Possibly you lost a digit and looked at a 5 digit number starting with "135" when you read it as 1948.

Most important changes are documented in the parts catalog by serial number or engine number. A lot of the changes have been discussed here in one thread or another. The major appearance differences are covered in the ATIS Cub FAQ. Battery ignition was introduced mid-1950.

I like Trent's database for the changes along the way.
To get there click on "Manuals" above.
Then scroll down to the heading IH and OEM Manufacturing Information and click on "Cub Production Information"
Then scroll down to Trent's Farmall Cub Database and click on your choice of Cub or Loboy
All the changes are highlighted with purplish/red/magenta

Well, have discovered I do have a 6 digit serial #. After some cleaning have found the Serial # is 133361. Glad to know I have a numbers matching tractor. Thanks guys.

I ran into the same thing I have a 47 with a 51 bolster.

shyntempt wrote:Well, have discovered I do have a 6 digit serial #. After some cleaning have found the Serial # is 133361. Glad to know I have a numbers matching tractor. Thanks guys.

I'll update the database to reflect your findings. Thanks for posting!