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Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:04 pm
by alfreema
So this is my official restoration thread for my '48 Cub, Charlotte. The primary problem right now that I am having is that my cub is very difficult to start. It starts pretty decent over 70 degrees, but once it drops below that you can pretty much forget it. I tried hand cranking it, and it was no different/better.

Symptoms:

1) When I was trying to hand crank it I noticed that the carburetor was leaking in about 3 different places, so I removed it and a forum member here, Bob, was gracious enough to help me get it unwarped (dewarped, non-warped, ?) and rebuilt. Once I get it back I will throw that on and continue troubleshooting.

2) I took the battery down to a trusted battery store where they could put a load on it, and the guy was pretty impressed with it. He said it was very strong and good to go. Should be, it's pretty new and I have kept it properly charged the entire time.

3) The wiring on the tractor is aged, and I plan on replacing it all.

4) It has an aftermarket component that is either a cut-out (it only has 3 terminals that I can see) or a voltage regulator. I just ordered a "proper" voltage regulator and will pop that in when it comes in.

5) When I try to start it, it doesn't have that "oomph" that you see when you watch videos of people starting their nice cubs. It kinda grinds for a while and then either fires up (rarely) or cut's out.

This is where I am at, all tips/troubleshooting advice is welcome. I am confident in wiring and soldering stuff -- I dabble with digital electronics, but I don't know squat about small engines (or large engines for that matter). But I want to learn badly, so fling it on me and see if it sticks!

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:25 pm
by mikeintn
Sounds like the next thing I would be looking at if its not cranking as fast as it should would be good battery cables and good connections, if not that, then it could be a bad starter, I had a bad one on a Cub that I just changed, I'm sure there will be other to give you some more ideals.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:06 am
by Rick Spivey
In my experience, to get a cub to start well, you need good fuel flow (so the carburetor rebuild should help with that), and good fire at the right time. I would go through the ignition, refreshing points, checking timing, etc.) After that, it helps to have the valves adjusted properly. Lastly, the engine condition can make some difference. Focus on fuel and ignition, and see where that gets you. It is in the details. When going through the ignition, look for wear, slop, etc. in places like the rotor drive mechanism. Look for corrosion on the cap. Refresh the wires with copper core ones. It's all in the details.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:02 am
by Jeff Silvey
As Rick said go through stuff on your cub. Have you done a compression check? Have you changed the oil lately? Just keep us posted.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:46 pm
by alfreema
So I believe my '48 was originally wired according to this schematic: Bob Melville #4

But I would like to swap the "cutout" with a voltage regulator. (My Cub has an aftermarket part and I want to get to a direct replacement voltage regulator, which I ordered). Could someone point me to a schematic that will show how to replace the cutout with a voltage regulator?

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:20 pm
by Arthur Luke

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:04 am
by alfreema


Ahh, thank you!

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 11:42 am
by alfreema


Arthur, just for clarity, I am still using the 4-position switch. So according to the #2 schematic above, I believe the L terminal of the regulator should go to the screw at the bottom of the fuse holder. That would be equivalent to "pin 1" on the 3 position switch in the #2 schematic you linked to?

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 11:06 pm
by Scrivet
You're still going through a fuse. Just the one on the schematic is separated from the switch. Scroll down to the first picture in this old post.http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=72178&p=581881&hilit=light+switch+picture#p581881
Power in from the regulator L terminal goes to the screw below and closest to the fuse.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:24 pm
by alfreema
Thanks Scrivet!

Ok don't laugh, but is there a "How To" for removing the hood?

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:51 pm
by Arthur Luke
Image
No how to that I know of but this should give you an idea.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 5:05 pm
by Eugene
First things, drain the gas tank and disconnect the battery. Hood removal is pretty straight forward.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:06 pm
by Scrivet
Start with Eugene's post.
Remove fuel line at sediment bowl. At the carb also won't hurt just to get it out of the way.
Check wiring along under side of right side of tank. Bend open or remove wire clips to free wiring so it's below them. (Hood is coming up.)
Remove grill.
Remove top two screws in doglegs on each side. Doesn't hurt to take bottom ones out to get doglegs out of the way. Might twist some or all off if the hood hasn't been off in awhile.
Remove two bolts, one on each side, from hood ear to radiator support. Inside of hood near headlight posts.
Disconnect wires from headlights and push through grommets in hood.
Remove four screws between hood and top of dash.
Remove muffler, air breather cap, and radiator cap.
If you are by yourself stand on left side of tractor facing it by gas tank. Put your left hand under the hood lip just in front of the gas tank. Reach across the gas tank with your right hand and grab under the lip on the right side. Lift up to clear the air cleaner pipe and exhaust.
I usually lean it up against something with the gas tank down. You could set it on saw horses. Remember the sediment bowl will be sticking down below the tank.

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:47 pm
by Glen
Hi,
Here is what the 1955 Cub owner's manual says about removing the hood. The pic is at the bottom of the first page, and the words are on the left side of the 2nd page. They didn't mention to bend the 2 clips welded on the hood to hold the wiring, to remove the wiring, and then to put it back again. Click on the pics makes them bigger. :)

http://www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/Cub%20 ... age-35.jpg

http://www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/Cub%20 ... age-36.jpg

Re: Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 7:26 pm
by alfreema
Ok, the newly rebuilt carburetor was installed today and it didn't leak anywhere! Sweet!

When I tried to fire the tractor up, it behaved as usual ... grind ... grind .. sputter ... cut out. I called my father-in-law over, he listened to it and observed it and instantly concluded that Charlotte just needs some starter fluid. So we grabbed some, opened the hose to the air intake and some gas came out. He said, "Darn it we flooded it." So we grabbed some lunch and came back. We decided to use no choke at all so we don't accidentally flood it again, shot starter fluid in the intake, saw an immediate improvement. And after a few times of this BINGO! It fired up!

We let it warm up for a few minutes and then I drove it to my garage so that I can work on it in any weather. We checked some fluids ... the oil looks AWFUL. Pitch black. The air breather cup had some thick mud in it 1/2" deep. The sediment bowl has some undiscovered species swimming in it. Everything is just nasty ... so we drained the oil and we are going to completely replace all the fluids and clean everything up (also thanks to everyone above we easily removed the hood).

QUESTION 1: Any thoughts as to why I need starter fluid to get this girl started?

QUESTION 2: Very near the oil drain, there is a second drain of some sort that goes up near the oil filter, but actually appears to go into the engine. When I opened it nothing came out. I opened it after the first drain had pretty much completely drained. The cap had some gunk in it though. Any hints as to what that's for and why nothing came out?

QUESTION 3: We noticed that one of the v-belts is getting pretty aged and are considering replacing it. Could someone shoot me to the best link that explains that procedure?

Thanks everyone!