Farmall Cub

Hi my dad has a 74 cub cadet tractor sitting in his barn. At least I think it is he said he brought it home 3 days after I was born. he took very good care of it and it still looks new.
Here's the problem. We had the engine rebuilt about 10 years ago. I dont remember when it happened if he was driving it or trying to start it but it wont run now. The symptom is when you try to start it, it will turn over but will not start. I did a compression check and it reads 0 psi. Do you guys think it is a valve stuck open?? how far into it do I have to tear into the engine to find this out? Will I have to remove the engine. This will be a winter project as soon as our cub gets done. Thanks.

Remove the cylinder head to see if the valves and piston are moving.

What is the model number of the tractor - the number on the hood, or the complete number on the serial number plate? That could help with trouble shooting. Kohler engines are known to blow head gaskets (always on the front side, center), they are know to have exhaust valves stick from carbon build up, more so on some model engines than others, both of which could cause little or no compression. If it happened while it was operating, it could also be a broken rod.

Stuck valves or blown head gasket can be fixed with the engine in the tractor, a broken rod will of course require removing the engine. Because the models or series changed in 1974, from what is known as the wide frames (108/9 128/9,149,169), to what is known as the Quietline models (800,1000, 1200, 1250, 1450, 1650), knowing which model will make it easier to tell you how much work is involved.

You can check for a stuck valve by taking the carb off and looking in the valve adjusting area but you will probably have to pull the head if you can't get the valve pried down and working(not sticking on every cycle) I just had a 7HP engine that was sitting a long time have an intake sticking! I just wanted the cam out of the engine so I didn't mess with it