1950 Cub, Kind of? Need HELP

[Jim Becker]

. . . The numbers you wrote above are IH part numbers, not the date codes that Cubs usually have.
Every Cub has the IH part numbers, the R in them is not a date code.
I think you are mistaking the R for the year 1948.
Every year of Cubs have the R in the part numbers. . . .

You didn't say if the Cub has a magneto, or a Battery Ignition unit.

Glen,
I think you will probably prove to be right. I had taken the comment

. . . ALL of the castings are marker "R" = 1948. . . .

at face value. It would not be the first time someone has misinterpreted part numbers for date codes.

The first post in this thread does mention a magneto. But he may want to reconfirm that because of the fuse holder discrepancy. Of course, with an electrical system that has had some poorly done modifications, the fuse holder may not mean much either.

[Oldgoat]

Wow.... did that news ever open my eyes..... further inspection of my Cub shows ALL parts stamped with the 1950 “T”.
So now I’m setting on two hoods, one for a short eared dash which I have, but only with a fuse hole of which I do not like. And a hood for a long eared dash with two dashes that have no fuse hole.
According to Glen, and I note he has never led me wrong. My Cub should have a short eared dash with NO fuse hole. To date I have not seen such a dash and I’m thinking, and I trust Glen, but IH must have only made this dash for a couple months if not weeks and would be rarer than the NO eared dash making my hopes of finding one about Zero. That is unless one of you good hearted guys want to help a brother out.
So what would you guys do? Short eared dash and plug or weld the fuse hole or go with the long eared dash and just say it was left over from 49. I have both options open to me. I could even switch it every other year, just kidding.
Thanks again for the great help and advice thus far, I’m sure I’m going to need a lot more.

[tst]

50 would be a short dash hood, the hole for the fuse would be there even though it was not used as the fuse was on the headlight switch that year, long ear hood went out in 49

[Jim Becker]

Note that Glen said "But they didn't use the fuse holder in the bottom hole until serial number 115403. ", not that the hole wasn't there.

You also mentioned an oil pressure gauge in the panel. The ammeter should be the only gauge there. Is the oil pressure gauge where the ammeter belongs or did someone cut an extra 2" hole for it?

The serial number you listed was from March 1950. It is in a range that could have been a demonstrator. Is there any evidence of the first layer of paint being white?

[Barnyard]

My Cub should have a short eared dash with NO fuse hole. To date I have not seen such a dash and I’m thinking, and I trust Glen, but IH must have only made this dash for a couple months if not weeks and would be rarer than the NO eared dash making my hopes of finding one about Zero.

50 would be a short dash hood, the hole for the fuse would be there even though it was not used...

Yeah, if you did find one with out the hole it would be the only one. The "no eared dash was made for possibly ten days.

[Oldgoat]

Sorry I miss spoke on the oil pressure gage, I meant to say it only has a amp gage in the dash.
Barnyard, good point, I may be looking for a no eared dash, right. So who has a no eared dash they want to part with.
Oh, no apparent signs of white paint hiding any place.

[Barnyard]

Barnyard, good point, I may be looking for a no eared dash, right.

The no ear dashes were only found on certain 1948 Cubs.

[Glen]

Hi,
Good that you found that the date codes have T in them.

The dash would have had the bottom hole, but it was not used, so the hole was open, like Tim said above.

If you want the Cub original, it would need the short ear dash,
generator with cutout, or Relay IH called it, on top of the gen,
4 position charge rate and light switch.

Below is a page from the 1950 Cub operator's manual, showing the switch, and how to use it, beginning at the bottom left of the page.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... e%2034.jpg

I think the placement of the switches in the manual pic was for Cubs older than 1950, Jim B, has said that they didn't update the pics in the manuals sometimes.
I think yours would have had the ammeter on the upper left, the charge rate and light switch on the upper right, and the ignition switch in the hole below them, so the bottom hole was not used.
Someone say if that is not right.

I don't know if your Cub had them in those positions when you bought it.

Below is a pic from the 1950 owner's manual of without the hood, showing the electrical system.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... e%2033.jpg

It is showing the long ear dash, so the pic was not updated yet, the electrical system is what was used before serial number 115403.

Raymond Durban's database says, Dash changed from Long-Ear to Short-Ear style, in 1949, at serial number 75926.
I think Jim B. has said that is when the positions of the switches was changed on the dash, but I'm not sure. Maybe he will write about it.

Below is the 1950 Cub operator's manual, if you don't have it. It has lots of info about operation, maintenance, and lubrication. The experts on here recommend people read it.
It shows how Cubs originally looked in it. There is a table of contents on page 1.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... index.html

Below is a pic from TM Tractor of the 4 position charge rate and light switch used up to serial number 115403. The fuse for the lights is on the rear of it, so the fuse holder on the dash was not used or there yet.

[Oldgoat]

Thanks Glen, great information. I understand everything you have said and I have all the parts mentioned. New and ready to be installed.
At this point the only thing I don’t understand is why would IH use the short eared dash with a hole in it for a fuse and NOT use the fuse hole but continue using the switch with the fuse.

It seems to me switching to the fuse in the dash would have saved them money in the build cost of the Cub. Don’t you think that’s why they probably changed it anyway, and ease of changing the fuse, but how often do you do that?

So your also saying that early 1950 Cubs came off the line with a short eared dash with a hole in it and that’s how mine should look.

[Nelson 634]

They where probably using up old stock. As you say "saving money".

[Barnyard]

The tooling was already made to form the dash and punch the holes. My guess is IH wasn't going to retool their production line in order to delete a hole. As for the fuse, since they had decided to incorporate it in the switch, they already eliminated the cost of putting the fuse in the dash. Short answer, it was cheaper to keep it the same through the years.

[Jim Becker]

During roughly the years 1948 to 1950, IH changed virtually all their tractor electrical systems from cut-out charging and magneto to regulator charging and battery ignition. Each model needed some amount of other changes to accommodate the updated electrical components. Clearly the engineers working on Cub updates knew what the instrument panel requirement would be a couple years ahead of time and were able to put it in place at any convenient time.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below is a pic from TM Tractor, of the 3 position light switch used from serial number 115403, up to serial number 210000.
This switch is used with the voltage regulator electrical system, it is for the lights only.
It has no fuse on the rear of it, and is used with the fuse holder in the bottom hole on the dash.

Below are pages from the Cub parts manual, showing the fuse holder in the bottom hole on the dash.
It is number 29 in the pic.
In the description on the 2nd page it says, Tractors With Voltage Regulator.

http://www.farmallcub.info/manuals/cub_ ... 008-25.jpg

http://www.farmallcub.info/manuals/cub_ ... 008-26.jpg