Restoration Project - Four digit Cub

[Slim140]

I drug out all of our cultivator parts and decided to make a set for the front. Our '49 has a full set on it and it has the best of what we have and they are tight so I got the best and oldest of what else we had. I decided I may as well set this one up to list rows in the garden come spring time so I don't have to strain the 3 bulging disc in my neck more than I already do. I will probably take these off this winter and paint them. Wanted to get them on and all adjusted right first. The middle shank is non spring type but it is a trip. Hopefully someone can tell me if it's old or just a non spring type. I am pretty sure on the '47 they are all supposed to be blue aren't they? Hopefully Jim Becker will tell me for sure what color they are all over. I need to get 2 other points and put on the outer shanks but that is what we have for now.

[Slim140]

The left side still has the metal tag attached. I didn't try and read it or bend it. I would say it's fragile and will mess with it when I paint them.

[Jim Becker]

. . . I am going to try and put a dial gauge on the end of the steering shaft and see just how much it moves up and down. That is where most of my play is now. There is a tad in the joints but you can't make chicken soup out of well you know.

The amount of play showing in your pictures is already pretty good, not room for much improvement. I have used thin washers to shim one of mine tighter and it really helped. As I recall, I added it below the bottom thrust washer. When you are adjusting the free play, keep in mind that a thicker gasket under the upper bearing will add free play. You can change the gasket thickness as well as adding a washer.

[Jim Becker]

The cultivators were entirely blue in '47 and part of '48, until the pigment shortage improved. After that, the universal mounting frames were red, the main tool bars blue, and most styles of standards and clamps were black. You can go either way, based on old paint you found or preference. Depends on if you want to go strictly '47 or want the 3 color appearance of a slightly newer cultivator.

If you care to read more about the colors, you can follow this link then select decision 168. You have to click on each page individually. Note the dates on individual pages.
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ihc/id/43339/rec/1

The cultivators were built with a variety of tooling. The standard in your picture is a friction break standard. The spring trip type was another option. The (obvious) drawback to the friction break was that you needed to use a wrench and manually reset it if it did hit something solid. The spring trips were handy if you were in soil with a lot of rocks or other buried surprises but added to the purchase price.

The thin metal tag has a part number stamped into it. In this case, probably the part number of the complete mounting frame. They were used to ID units while in distribution. It isn't unusual (even after all these years) to find pieces of tags under some bolt or nut. Complete tags are a little more uncommon. I've been known to reinstall pieces of tags when redoing an implement.

Those tags can be really useful on plow bottoms. From that number, you can look up the part numbers of all the component parts.

[Slim140]

Thank you so much Jim. Your wealth of knowledge continues to amaze me. I also have these 2 toolbars. I painted them blue a couple years ago. Are they strictly for a Cub? Are they more rare than the standard ones?

[Jim Becker]

Looks like what you have there are tool bars for a Super A through 140. The A-144 cultivator had shorter tool bars for the 4-point front sections and longer ones for the 6-point front sections. You have the longer ones. I don't know off hand whether they work on a Cub or if they will run into the rear tires.

[Slim140]

They will fit on a Cub without hitting the rear tires and they haven't been cut off, I just looked and you can tell by the way the ends are where they made them. I had my listing disk mounted on them and would just switch them out when I listed the rows in our garden with the '49. It was easier to loosen the big nut and switch the whole bar then to reset them each year to use for 20 minutes. Thank you for your info Jim!

[Jim Becker]

It was easier to loosen the big nut and switch the whole bar then to reset them each year to use for 20 minutes.

Nothing wrong with doing that! I find it easier to tighten the big nut so it will stay tight than it is to do the same with the various tool clamps. Once I get a clamp tight on a tool bar, I like to leave it alone.

[lliberto]

So I have another painting question for you. Did you strip the old paint before you primed with the rustoleum?

[Rob in NH]

yes it was stripped

[lliberto]

Even the block?

[Slim140]

So I have another painting question for you. Did you strip the old paint before you primed with the rustoleum?

I did my best to remove all old paint that I could. Lots of wire brushing, lots of grinding with a flap wheel, some was burnt off & some was sandblasted. I'm not a fan of sandblasting anything that has oil or a seal of any sort but that's just me. I think I had wheels, hood & seat blasted and that was about it. The final coat is only as good as what's underneath.

[Slim140]

Small details now, lol. I got corks from TM Tractor for the 1/2" & 5/8" holes but they wouldn't fit those 9 big holes where the touch control box sits. They were around 3/4" so I got some wine bottle corks from my mother in law and had to sand them down a little to get them to fit. Now no holes for bugs and dirt etc.

[Slim140]

Even the block?

Go to page 24 and you will see the block before & after. I used a lot of ether to clean the oil off. I can get ether cheaper than brake cleaner.

[Slim140]

Bad news folks. Been smoking the past few times I cranked it for about 30 seconds so I pulled # 2 & # 3 plugs and stuck inspection camera down in the hole and can see antifreeze in both. Didn't even bother with # 1 & # 4 after that. Not much but enough for me to pull the head back off to investigate. # 2 & # 3 were rusted really bad when I took this thing apart, I'm thinking a small crack in block or head that wasn't visible with the naked eye. If I'm lucky it's the head. I shaved the head and block so I know that isn't my problem. It could be the head gasket but I kind of doubt it. I put copper gasket spray gasket high temp stuff on it from the spray can. I put sealant on all the head bolts as well. Re-tapped all holes and chased all threads on bolts. I'm leaning towards a crack. Stay tuned...............................So glad I haven't painted this thing red yet!!!