Joe , Binghamton, NY - 1949 -

[Joe Morris]

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

[Cecil]

Joe, welcome to the best forum on the net. I was born about 30 miles north of you in Oxford and have 2 sisters and a brother that live just outside of Binghamton so I know the area real good. I even worked in Chenango Bridge for 4 years. Now to the Cub. The first thing I would do is a complete tune up. New points, condenser and plugs and change the oil. After that I think you will find that she will probably start. If she is tuned correctly you should only have to pull the choke turn her over a couple of times, put the choke in and give it a couple of pulls and she should run. Don't be afraid to ask questions as you go along. Does your Cub have a magneto or a distributor. It really only matters when it comes to setting the points. Check the manuals section in the tool bar above and you will find the settings for the points and the plugs

[Don McCombs]

Welcome. Joe.

[RaymondDurban]

Welcome to the Forum Joe!!

Cecil has got you on the right track. A good tune up along with complete fluids change will bring 'ol red back to life. As he mentioned, check out the "Manuals" link at the top of this page for information on your tractor. Visit the site sponsors for parts at the bottom of the page. TM Tractor will give you top notch service for new parts, and if you are not quite sure of what it is you are ordering, give them a call and they will get you straight.
A friendly bunch of folks here, don't be shy, jump right in!!!
Good luck and have fun.

[ellen]

Welcome Joe

[RUSSALL]

Welcome Joe

Russ

[VinceD]

Welcome, Joe, to a great forum with fantastic people and more info than you can possibly imagine.

Did you order the actual IH carb kit or an after market kit? Make sure you get the IH kit. It is well worth the extra money. Like many, I found out the hard way.

[Barnyard]

Joe, welcome to the forum! You have found the right place to get ol' red going again. In no time you will once again enjoy that much sought after seat time.

Like Vince said, spend the extra $$$ and get the good kit from IH or TM. You'll be glad you did.

Again, welcome to the forum! Don't be shy and remember, "There are no dumb questions". Every question is a good one.

[Chris Todd]

Joe,
I think you'll find with a little patience, plenty of good advice from here,....and a little beer , 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.
Cheers Joe

[John(videodoc)]

welcome aboard, stick with caseih on carb kit as has been mentioned. TM is the place to go if you dont have a local dealer. CNGCO.com is another option, talk with Ken.

[Bill Hudson]

Joe,

Welcome. Great, well written introduction. Heed the advice already given and your Cub will be running like new.

Bill

[CapeCodCubs]

Welcome to the forum Joe! Went to school north of you in Oneonta. Most of my family is from the Syracuse area. I'll be passing through your necks of the woods soon to get out to Angelica and back. It'd be nice to check out your 49!!!
Chris

[Rudi]

Joe:

Welcome to the Cub Community Forum Family. Since you have been part of the Cub world for so long, you already know how addictive they can be... there is just something about these little critters. I enjoyed your introduction, different and interesting take on life to be sure... good thing you done gots a sense of humour.

To the Cub, well, Cecil has it pretty well right, sounds like it is time for a good tune up. Check the Ignition system.. points, condensor, plugs and then check your fuel system as well.. make sure it is clean from the tank to the main jet.. clean both them orifices 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...

If you are contemplating taking the Mag off... let us know so we can walk you through it.

In the meantime, grab a comfy chair, a cup of coffee and have a read. I know the wagon is a bit windy, but there is just so much information that is available for us Cub owners here on the forum, that it cannot really be said any shorter. Do read it, follow the links, you will be glad you did. The Service Manual it there as well as the Owner's Manual and tons of others.. I am confident that it will be of help to you.

Enjoy

First, 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

The Welcome Wagon is a relatively brief introduction to the information that is currently available on Cub tractors, and answers many of the common questions new members ask right of the bat. Although it is a bit overwhelming , 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

Filling out your Profile is a real help. It just needs to be - State,City, County, a lot less than what is available in your local phone book. Knowing where you are will help in members offering to come help, when you are looking for parts - the area that would be useful to you etc., Also our CubFests, Mini-Fests or a simple KaffeeKlatsch/get together over coffee and a doughnut etc., to help each other benefits. Just a thought

When adding signature lines to your profile, the use of animated or non-animated banners and large graphics files must be avoided. These files consume large amounts of bandwidth and cause slow page loading, especially for those forum members using dialup connections.

Ok, so here is the spiel :

I would suggest that you read this thread: New Members and Visitors, Please READ Prior to Posting. There are many great links to informative pages such as the ATIS FAQ's 1 and ATIS FAQ's 2, The Best of H.L. Chauvin who has written very interesting articles on troubleshooting common problems with your Cub. One of the other projects we have been working on and it will be a continuing effort is the The Cub Book of Knowledge. This the the place to go to get all the quick links to some very good articles written by many members of the forum on solving some of the problems we encounter as we repair, maintain and up-grade our Cubs. Keep looking for this to grow.


Also, you might want to visit the Cub Manual Server as there is tons of info on servicing, maintaining and re-building your Cub. In addition to this basic information, there are also a number of other useful tools available on the server. There is the Specialty Services page which has contact info for neat stuff like getting your seats recovered, buying quality Decals, Serial Number tags and a host of other neat items. Also there are the Parts Pages - both Used Parts Suppliers and New Parts Suppliers pages with links to quality dealers. I am always looking for YOUR favourite dealers for New and Used Parts to include here. These pages are intended to complement our Official FarmallCub.com Website Sponsors:

• JP Tractor Salvage
• Ralph's Cubs
• TM Tractor Parts
• Kub Kraft

I would also recommend that you visit Binder Books and purchase the three most important manuals you can own for Maintenance, Repair and Rebuilding your Cub. These are the Owner's Manual, the GSS-1411 Service Manual and the TC-37F Parts Manual. Although they are available on the Cub Manual Server, it is better if you also have your own paper copy. Binder Books is the only Authorized IH Publication Reprint House and they have the best quality manuals available. Most other's are not of the same quality. Just a personal thought here, the I&T Shop Manuals, although helpful in some areas, really are not sufficient for the job. If you wish though, they are good additional reference works.

IF you really want to get the skinny on all things Cub, might I suggest you get a copy of Ken Updike's Farmall Cub and Cub Cadet's . While you are at it Original Farmall Cub and Cub Cadet is Ken's latest addition to the series. Along with Guy Fay's Letter Series Originality Guide, these are three must have's in anyone's collection.

In addition to the above information, don't forget to check out the various articles that are available to help with your Repair, Restore, Rebuild or just your Maintenance Projects. There are a number of sub pages such as Electrolysis or Rust Zapper's, Maintenance Tips, Jigs and Techniques, Implement and Part Sketches and of course the Paint, Decals & Other Finish Questions which has the Paint Chart and the Paint Committee Decisions links.

Oh, and while the program still lasts.. you might want to check the Announcement: Navistar Free Gas Cap Offer - On-Line Form thread at the top of the Cub Forum and send away for the new style safety cap before that program runs out as well. The program has been extended and no new definite end-date has been announced at this point. It is an extension only and may end rather quickly depending on available stocks. Please do take advantage of this offer and get the new safety caps

I truly hope that you enjoy your Cub and that you will be a frequent contributor to the forum. Again, to the Cub Family

[dgrapes59]

Joe, welcome to the forum! I loved your introduction There is alot of information here, I am still finding new stuff! I recommend trying the site sponsors first for new or used parts, you will save yourself alot of frustration in the long run, besides, they are really great people, just like the forum members that are eager to help.
Best of luck getting ole red rolling again,