Joe , Binghamton, NY - 1949 -
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:15 pm
So now it's time. April 14, 2008 . In 1980 I bought a 12 acre farm to house my new wife and her horse. Never cut a tree, drove a tractor or worked on anything mechanical in my life. With the farm came an old red tractor with offset seat and headlights like it had to much to drink. In the next 29 years I would raise 3 boys, 2 horses, a couple cows, chickens, dogs cats , and cut a stick of wood or two. In the process I would use and abuse the tractor and my ex wife would say her to . She always had an opinion. Now, realizing that the kids are grown the tractor is really all that stood by me through the years . 
I know she needs some care. She is a beauty. When she runs. 1949 IH Cub. Mostly original parts. It is only through begging, borrowing help and IH spirtits in the sky that I have kept the old red running. She has an electric start but no memory can date when it last worked. The crank is so easy when she is in the run mood. So last fall when she started running rough , then stalling under load, I pushed her into the barn and went to the house for winter. Spring is almost here now in upstate NY. So my thoughts again go off to the barn..and ol red. Has she forgiven me for the abuse through years? Did she forget the rough way I left her last Nov.? Will she once again sooth my soul with her smooth running sound. NOPE. She is spitting gas and wearing a blister on the palm of my hand. Just as I am breaking the sweat she teases me... Pap PaP PaP pa paaaaa ffff silence as the smoke circles out the stack. l have No way to catch the choke and turn the crank at the same time. Such a tease. In a younger day it would have been rapped knuckles on the plow carriage, a loud "dog gone it " and a hammer throw. But now, so many springs have passed and I know Guinness is being made in Dublin as I write so it's ok. Get a beer and lets think this through. What is working and where should I start. Then the realization , I have no clue what I am doing. So I am in hopes that you all will take me under your wings and help a poor novice "cubbie" finally appreciate the beauty in ol RED. I have a carb 3/4 updraft rebuild kit on order.(only took me 1 day to figure that out) in a week or so the games may begin. Looking forward to some help, making some good memories, and I hope for all of you ahead of me in this experience some laughs. I'll keep you posted and be asking questions REAL soon. (and the truth is it only took me 1 hour to figure out I had a 3/4 inch updraft carb). Cheers, Joe
I know she needs some care. She is a beauty. When she runs. 1949 IH Cub. Mostly original parts. It is only through begging, borrowing help and IH spirtits in the sky that I have kept the old red running. She has an electric start but no memory can date when it last worked. The crank is so easy when she is in the run mood. So last fall when she started running rough , then stalling under load, I pushed her into the barn and went to the house for winter. Spring is almost here now in upstate NY. So my thoughts again go off to the barn..and ol red. Has she forgiven me for the abuse through years? Did she forget the rough way I left her last Nov.? Will she once again sooth my soul with her smooth running sound. NOPE. She is spitting gas and wearing a blister on the palm of my hand. Just as I am breaking the sweat she teases me... Pap PaP PaP pa paaaaa ffff silence as the smoke circles out the stack. l have No way to catch the choke and turn the crank at the same time. Such a tease. In a younger day it would have been rapped knuckles on the plow carriage, a loud "dog gone it " and a hammer throw. But now, so many springs have passed and I know Guinness is being made in Dublin as I write so it's ok. Get a beer and lets think this through. What is working and where should I start. Then the realization , I have no clue what I am doing. So I am in hopes that you all will take me under your wings and help a poor novice "cubbie" finally appreciate the beauty in ol RED. I have a carb 3/4 updraft rebuild kit on order.(only took me 1 day to figure that out) in a week or so the games may begin. Looking forward to some help, making some good memories, and I hope for all of you ahead of me in this experience some laughs. I'll keep you posted and be asking questions REAL soon. (and the truth is it only took me 1 hour to figure out I had a 3/4 inch updraft carb). Cheers, Joe
, you'll have your beloved 49 running soon. Some advice I would have if you want to avoid some headaches,and heartaches, is don't be afraid to ask. You'll be sent to quality parts, manuals, etc. A lot of cub influence in your neighborhood also.
good thing you done gots a sense of humour. 
Since you said it cranks over well without having to worry about the electrics, tells me that you have a Magneto system, so that is pretty easy to diagnose. Probably going to be the points, condensor and plugs that are causing the problem. You can change those with the Mag on the tractor.. a little tight and tricky, but doable. Lot easier than taking the Mag off... 
to the greatest forum on the internet, and to the Cub Family. You will find that all the folks on this forum are kind, helpful and just full of Cub info and knowledge. They also happen to be the finest folks I have ever met 
, it has been designed to actually be copied to a Word Processor such as Microsoft Word (which preserves the active links), and saved to your desktop for easy reference at a later date or when you have a bit more time to read all the information contained in the links below. Please do so, enjoy and I hope this will be a useful aid in learning more about your New Cub Tractor 
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