Farmall Cub

A local guy with some parts bought a Cub by accident at an auction, says he was waiving to a buddy of his and ended up buying a Cub burnt in a fire. The tires melted, etc.. but the engine is good and it has the rear rockshaft unit, drawbars and brackets that I need. He says he will take a loss and sell it to me for $400 less than he paid for it (a friend of mine was at the same auction and confirmed what he paid for it). I guess my question is, does parting out a burnt up cub pay off? I'm going to look at it this evening, just not sure how deep to get into it. I figure it has $275 worth of parts I need anyway, not sure how much the engine and frame will bring parting it out.....

A Cub burnt in a fire is only worth about $250-$300.00.

what it is worth depends on damage. If carb. melted, solder in starter or generator melted, light switch melted, it got pretty hot and only major parts will be reuseable.

Look the tractor over carefully before making any purchase.

Thermal shock, rapid heating and cooling, can break or crack cast iron. There may be nothing left worth purchasing.

I wouldn't expect the engine to be good. Typical tractor fire starts in the engine area and not the rear tires.

joemcc wrote:.................. bought a Cub by accident at an auction, says he was waiving to a buddy of his and ended up buying a Cub burnt in a fire. .......................He says he will take a loss and sell it to me for $400 less than he paid for it (a friend of mine was at the same auction and confirmed what he paid for it)......

Maybe I'm just a skeptic but something sounds fishy. I've never been to an auction where there was an "accidental bid" that won where the person didn't real quick explain they weren't bidding. Especially where we are talking "he will take $400 less than he paid" so presumably the price he paid is at least $401 and I doubt he's selling it to you for a $1. You're not real clear on what price he's asking you, is that where the $275 comes in? If so my question is; he paid $675 for a burnt Cub because he didn't want to own up to waving to a friend and will take a $400 loss?
I hope the friend at least waved back.

Supposedly it was in a barn fire, the tractor itself didn't catch fire, just melted the tires and bubbled the paint.....he says engine is free, still water in the radiator, just have to check it out I guess.... he paid $1100 for it, wants $700 to get rid of it...per my buddy at the auction who told me about it, the guy had bought the previous 12 items and the subsequent 6 items (he buys up everything at these sales).....I know it has drawbars and rear rockshaft unit I need, guess I can check the carb, generator, light switch, etc., radiator is supposed to be good, check for wheel weights, lens covers, sheet metal, any other parts that may be salvageable..... hopefully he'll sell me the parts alone, if not I'll throw out a low offer if it doesn't look to bad, price of scrap metal + the parts I need.....

Yeah, auctioneers can be crooked but I've never heard of one being THAT croooked, except on TV sitcoms. Seen 'em take bids out of thin air, but they sure know the difference between a bid and a wave.

When the auctioneer asked for his number, the response should have been, "WHY? I didn't bid on anything."

Then again he was probably walking around with his number in his shirt pocket, clearly visible to all. Lesson there is to keep your number hidden in your pocket.

The litmus test is if the tires burned off. If the tires burned, it got HOT, and there's likely nothing left of value on the tractor.

My opinion would be to pass. Agree with Scrivet, sounds too fishy.

As a comparison, I bought a non-running "parts Cub" at an auction for $425. Took it home, installed a carb jet, and it fired right up. It'll need rings or an overhaul, but point is: it's no longer a non-running "parts" Cub.

When you said he'd take a loss and sell it to you at $400 less than what he paid, it's at that point I'd walk away laughing ('cause a burnt out Cub isn't worth $400). Barnyard.

Matt Kirsch wrote:
The litmus test is if the tires burned off. If the tires burned, it got HOT, and there's likely nothing left of value on the tractor.

Thanks, that's I'll definitely look at the tires then.... gotta think that other people were bidding on it, so it shouldn't be that bad.....pretty sure he wouldn't take what I would offer though....just don't want to offend him as he has lots of parts I could use in the future, so need to be careful not to add insult to injury

joemcc wrote:Supposedly it was in a barn fire, the tractor itself didn't catch fire, just melted the tires and bubbled the paint.....he says engine is free, still water in the radiator, just have to check it out I guess.........

I think we all have a mental picture of what this Cub looks like without actually seeing it and I am starting to think that it's not as bad as we all think since he paid $1100.

I still don't buy the "waving at a friend" story except as a face saving excuse why "I spent more on it than I should have" after he got a better look at it.

Maybe just one side is damaged, like left side tires and bubbled paint on the left, or rear tires and bubbled paint at the rear????? Definitely would check it out as you mentioned. For a nonrunner with tire and paint issues I think $700 is high though. At this point it doesn't really matter what he paid, or that he's taking a loss, just what's the Cub worth in the condition it's in where it sets.

I think Scrivet bottom lined it....Check it out and offer him what its worth to you...Not what he thinks its worth...Good luck...Dave

Run like the wind Away FROM IT.

Looked at the tractor last night, back of tractor saw most of the fire, engine still had paint, hoses, plug wires, etc. in good shape. Only parts I needed were the rockshaft and drawbar as this was a 1950 model, but he didn't really want to part it out. I haven't been to this guys place in 20yrs, but he has more big International tractors, 184's, 185's, Cadets and implements than I have ever seen in one place..... probably 50 big IH tractors all in good working order just in the one shed we were standing beside (only 3 red cubs). Had fun talking tractors though, learned a lot and got a valuable contact for cub parts as he prefers rebuilding larger tractors himself these days and promised to call if he found any loose parts sitting around the farm I could use. Fun evening!

I'll throw this into the mix. Every time of not followed the advice provided by the knowledgeable contributors to this forum. I've paid the price. I've learned to listen.

I bought one that had been in a shed fire, tires burned, wheels flattened from heat, front axle sagged. Starter, and generator were missing, Carb. and light switch were puddles. Engine, transmission and finals were all successfully reused by other people after replacing gaskets and seals. George Willer straightened the non adjustable axle and used it on one of his builds several years ago. I only gave $98 for it though plus driving 200 mile round trip to get it. the seller had listed it as having a stuck engine, but it was in gear and the brakes were stuck. put it in neutral and engine was free.