Farmall Cub

Hello folks

I'm new here and looking for a tractor to cut/mow our 3.5 acres of grass

I have found a nice looking 1970 cub 154 lowboy near me but it has some blowby at the oil dipstick.

The other tractor that I've found rather locally is a 1948 Cub

Does anybody have any recommendations of what one should purchase for my first tractor purchase?

Thanks in advance for your assistance and recommendations

Looking forward to seeing all the folks and equipment 'round

Anthony Moseley

Aurora, MO
Between Springfield, MO and Branson, MO

Anthony, welcome to the forum. Both tractors are good, and each has its uses. The 154 is the better mowing rig of the 2, lower, more power, etc. but does have a problem that if the pto clutch goes out it is expensive to fix. It is mainly a mowing rig, and not many other implements were made for it. The 48 is a good all around tractor (I have 2 of them plus a 49). Not as powerful or as easy to mow with as the 154, but a better general purpose rig.

I have had both. Sold both my 154's and 184. Kept my cubs. They are my preference. One of the 154's i had had the pto problem, plus the transmission problem they had. so i was glad to see it go. lost a lot of money on it, but glad to see it og. the new owner replaced the whole drive line and still didnt get it to work correctly, still behind his mechanics barn. Some people swear by them though. Now the 184 i had i loved. and miss it tremondsly. it went as part of the trade for my first demo.

Anthony ! Welcome to to forum

Anthony:

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. Enjoy!.

Which one to choose... Such a dilemma ..

I am not all that familiar with the Numbered Series Cubs, I have seen a few over the last few years. They are as John said primarily suited for a few uses and plowing/discing/cultivating is not one of them though as the Lo-Boys have very little ground clearance. The 154/185/184 series does mow very well and they are very useful as Snow Plows/Snow Throwers when equipped with the suitable implements. The IH54 Blade, the IH50 Snow Thrower, and the different Mowers that are available for the Lo-Boy series give the estate style some serious chore ability. There is a Roto-Tiller available as well as a few other implements but they are probably quite rare.

If you want to mow and also plant a garden, plow snow and landscape you might want to consider the 48 Cub. These are pretty good tractors and are ideally suited to gardening. They do well plowing snow and grading also. Remember that a Cub is rated differently than a newer Garden Tractor. The Cub is rated by HP at the Drawbar and newer styles of GT's are rated by peak developed no load hp... which is substantial difference. Also the standard Cub is the more owner maintenance friendly of the two to my mind. Although they share the same powerplant that is about it. The Lo-Boy's are more of a maintenance challenge from what I can see.

Personally my choice would be the standard Cub as it is much more versatile at least for me IMHO. You will have to figure out what you want this new to you tractor to actually do, what chores you have for it and how much fun you want to have.

Welcome to to forum Anthony.

Welcome to the forum. I live at Carthage just a little ways from you maybe we can get together sometime. I have a 49 cub and love it. You will get a lot of good information on this site.
Dennis

Dennis,
Would love to get together anytime, just let me know when and where.

All others that replied:

Thanks to all, for your responses and advice.
I guess I've made my decision, gonna go with a 154. Found a nice looking 184, but it was 600 miles away from me, so when you consider the transportation cost, the local one was the better price.

My main reason for deciding to go with the 154 is the ease in getting on and off. It's a bit lower center of gravity and with my health issues, bad back and hips, I thought this would be a GREAT issue to consider.

Also, the only project that I plan on using the 154 for will be to cut grass. The Cub would be much more useable for other tasks, but I think my big gardening days are behind me. I've been doing container gardening and will return to it with a bit of a twist. I plan on using 55 gallon drums (plastic) cut in half for pots and they will be the perfect height for picking by me and not the rabbits, LOL

Thanks again for all the responses
I truly appreciate each and every one.

Wishing each of your happy trails
Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down

Had to change it from rusty side down, 'cause I'm sure no one has any rust on their Cub's

Have a Wonderful Fall

Anthony