New member from East Texas

[Ronny Bailey]

Since I see on the bottom of the Forum page that I'm the newest member, I should introduce myself.
I am in the Lufkin area, but the tractor is at the old homestead in the Madisonville/North Zulch area.
It was my grandfather and father's. I got the serial number and looked up the year; it was made in the late 40's.
This was the first tractor our family had. I don't know how long it has been sitting, but I'd say it has been at least 20 years.
It's been stored in a closed garage that has a dirt floor. The front had sunk into the dirt. Both front tires were flat and the dirt was partially covering the wheels. It has obviously been the host to some rats for many years. I removed the nests, but their crap is all over the seat and around the battery area. Next time I'm there I will clean that up.
There is an old car jack holding up the left rear wheel. I don't know if it is doing any good now.
Since grandpa died in 1973 and dad died in 1999, I can't get any information as to why it was put up or what condition it was in.
As far as I know, it was just put away when my dad's health problems prevented him from doing any more gardening.
He was very good at keeping things running and fixing stuff, so he switched over to fixing lawn mowers and things like that.
Late in his life, he was fixing mowers for almost everyone he knew. I don't think he charged any money for the work, but he did like to have folks sit with him on the carport and talk with him as he worked on their stuff.
Anyway, my two sisters and brother-in-law have a good bit of land that needs to be taken care of and we thought if we could get the old Cub running, it would help out a lot with the mowing. My brother-in-law is also into deer hunting and would like to use some of the land to grow food for the deer.
My dream is to get a Woods belly mower for it so we could keep the place mowed. We have a regular riding mower, but it isn't big enough for us and everyone has to do some mowing when they are there.
We also have other tractors that I think are neat.
One is a Farmall F-20. It was at a place we had around Normangee, TX for a long time. My dad used to work on it when we were there and one day he drove it all the way to our home place. It took him all day. Around 1980, it had some issues with the engine. After he removed the head from the engine, he had a big heart attack and was never able to do anything else with it. It's been under a shed (headless) for all these years. I would like to get it running also, but right now it is beyond my mechanical abilities. Maybe someday.
Another neat one is a little Gibson Model D. When we were kids, that was our favorite. The motor on it is still unfrozen, and last year I put some automatic transmission fluid in the cylinder to keep it that way. I also filled the cylinders of the F-20, hoping it might protect it's engine. The head is still off it, though.
We also have a mystery tractor that someone gave my dad. It is sitting outside because we don't have anywhere to put it. After a lot of internet searching, I found that it is an Allis Chalmers Model CA. It has no paint left, just rust. It does look like it would run if someone worked on it. Since it has no family history and we have so many other projects, it may never get the attention it needs.
Another neat thing we have is a 1939 Plymouth pickup that my great-grandfather bought brand new. My dad drove it every day until the mid-70s. Unfortunately, it has been sitting outside since 1976. We have been told it is still salvageable, but we need to get it out of the weather soon.
Getting back to the Cub, we jacked up the front and dug out the wheels. One was rusted all the way thru the metal, but the other was not. I got another wheel off eBay and got both cleaned and painted. They both have new tires on them, but are not on the tractor yet.
My brother-in-law has a friend who took off the head and said it looked good, but we still don't know if the engine is seized.
This week, I removed the gas tank and the sediment bowl. I got the sediment bowl all cleaned up, but now I need a gasket and filter screen. I noticed that it did not have a screen when I took it apart. I've never messed with one before, but after reading Lurker Carl's notes on it, I had the confidence to go for it and now it at least looks pretty. Thanks, Carl!
I will be cleaning out the gas tank soon. I shined a flashlight in it walla go to see what it looks like, and it appears to be in excellent condition. I could only see the bottom, though. My neighbor is an 85 year old retired mechanic and he said the rust would be mostly on the top part.
This is a whole lot more that I thought I would be writing. If you made it all the way down here, I thank you. I will be posting questions in the main forum as I get to different parts of the tractor.
I've never considered myself a mechanic, but I can to basic maintenance things. My dad was very good with this kind of stuff, but by the time I got interested in it, his health was so bad that we couldn't show me very much. I'm hoping yall on this group will be able to teach me a lot of what he wished he could, but never got the chance to.
Thank you for reading this.
Ronny Bailey

[pete1941]

Welcome Ronny, to the Forum and the wonderful world of Cubs. Nice story on all of the tractors and cars. You are at the right place to get help with the Cub and other tractors. Very knowledgeable folks on here who will help at the drop of a hat. The Cub is basically a very simple machine and one that can be worked on by almost anyone with a little help. Hope you get everything up and running and just ask away on the questions, someone will answere almost any question you have. Pete

[Into Tractors]

Ronny, Welcome to the Forum.

Great to read the story you shared with us too. A lot of us have similar stories.

You should be able to get all the help you need right here from some of the 'Wizards" on this forum, this group is a great bunch to get to know.

[Jackman]

Welcome to the site ,,, good reading wish I had an old family Cub there's something extra cool about a Cub that came down through the family tree ...... If the motor turns over I bet that it will not take much effort to get it running again, these Cubs are simple motors... Do your self a big favor before you take a rear wheel off do a search on wedges, there very important, I found out the hard way ....... Good luck with the Cub and other stuff , post some pics if ya can........

[Jim Roy]

Ronny to the best form on the web.

Jim

[Rudi]

Ronny:

to Farmallcub.com Forum Family. And you have come to the right place for all things Cub related. If you click on the Site Rules, Regulations, & Important Information, it will point you to the Welcome Wagon wherein you will find links to many useful sites and topics. One of which is the Cub Manual Server where you will find a bunch of really useful links.

I see that you have already done some reading.. BRAVO ZULU to you Sir.. There is lots more info on the Server that will be of immense help to you... read em and enjoy. If you have a laptop, download the stuff you need to it to take tothe farm with you, that way you will have the info at hand as you work on the Cub. The complete (well all but one manual) Blue Ribbon Service Manual Series is there and that will be of immense help to you. Read also the complete CBoK in the How To Forum or at the CBoK link at the top of the page. The Tractor Safety threads are good ones to read... an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure

I am also not a mechanic, my strengths lie elsewhere (like in manuals ), but with the help of so many of my friends here in our Cub Family, even I can do stuff with these Cubs I never thought possible. So keep plugging away at it.. you will be able to bring your Cub back to life.

I enjoyed you intro and can tell that this Cub means much to you as well as the other family equipment. You have started well with the F-20.. you should be able to take that all apart eventually. Read the section on Electrolysis.. that will be a lot of help as you can get stuff done while you are not even at the farm....

Keep us posted.. and enjoy your Cub.

[beaconlight]

Glad to meet you.

[Bill Hudson]

Welcome Ronny! GIG 'EM AGGIES!!!!!! Madisonville and North Zulch - oh the memories those names bring back. Have fun with your Cub.

Bill

[Don McCombs]

Welcome to the forun, Ronny.

[RaymondDurban]

Welcome to the Forum!!

[Bob McCarty]

Welcome to the Forum Ronny. You have a great resource in Oakwood, about an hour north of you, Donny M. You should plan on attending his Cubfest, the Texas Tumble in March next year.

Bob

[wild bill]

great story i still have my dad but his health is not that good . he also has a cub but he cant use it any more .

[Mr E]

Welcome to the forum. You will find these guys to be the most knowledgeable and most fun crew you have ever met.


Roy

[VinceD]

Welcome Ronny, to a great forum with fantastic people and more info than you can possibly imagine. Everyone will be happy to help with your Cub (and other stuff) any way they can.

[phildidit]

welcome!