1949 Cub Natchez MS Updates

[Jim Becker]

. . . Should there be a rubber pad or something there to help with vibration?

No, just bolts down directly. In fact, there needs to be a good ground from the panel to the bell housing, so make sure it is clean. It is less critical with your 12-volt conversion than on a stock 6-volt system.

[cavingreer]

Thanks Jim. I really don't know what it was but it seemed like felt paper or gasket material. Very odd. I had already cleaned all of it off. I tried until dark last night to get it wired up enough for a test crank but had to give up. Having a lot of trouble with the starter switch so I'm going to pull it off today and take another look at it. probably needs replacing because I've already cleaned the heck out of it. But before I give in I'm going to check for shorting.

Meanwhile another interesting tidbit, my rear rims have the valve stem pointed inside. Suppose they just swapped them for spacing?

[Denny Clayton]

Meanwhile another interesting tidbit, my rear rims have the valve stem pointed inside. Suppose they just swapped them for spacing?

That's right, Cavin. Most of my Cubs are that way.

[Glen]

Hi,
I was looking at your pics on page 2, and the way the alternator is put together, if you have to plug in wires to the 2 wire plug in the side of the alt, the wires will hit the hood if the alt is out from the engine enough. Also you can't tighten the belt later, as the belt wears, without the wires hitting the hood.
The alt is made so the 2 halves can be put together in 4 positions. I would take out the 4 bolts and turn the rear half so the connection is down or up, whichever you want.
Then the wires won't be hitting the side of the hood.
You have to be careful doing that, the thin steel part that shows between the 2 halves has to turn with the rear half, I believe. Also don't pull it apart, or the brushes will come out of place, and you will have to remove the rear half to reassemble it again.
It is not hard to put the brushes in again if they and the brush springs come out. There is a procedure in GM manuals showing how.

[cavingreer]

You're exactly right Glen, I've been worried about that for awhile but kept trucking along hoping it would be OK. Just dropped the hood on and sure enough it won't fit. I'll get it turned around and fix that. I finished hooking up wiring and mounting the dash back in place. Determined my starter switch is kaput so I ordered one from TM today. I have to get the fuel line, breather and control rods back in place before I can try starting it now.

[cavingreer]

Had a great visit with Clownfish today while he was in Natchez. It's wonderful to meet people from here and learn some new tidbits about the tractor. Between us we think the hood and dash might have been swapped out, because it's a short-ear dash and the controls/gauge don't match up with the manual.

This afternoon I got the alternator terminals turned around and think I managed to do it without messing up the unit. I also got the fuel line fixed up yesterday but it was leaking gas out of the carb so I disassembled it today and adjusted the float to fix that. Then I started getting the control rods put back on the tractor and I ran into an interesting dilemma. The choke rod only seems to fit on the tractor in one position, but when I connect that to the choke lever on the back of the carb it seems to be backward. It would pull open, push closed. I've tried arranging it so falls at the bottom of the carb not the top to reverse the operation but that makes it tight against the hydraulic lines and engine and doesn't seem to fit right. Can't seem to find an image of exactly how it's supposed to sit so I'm at a loss. Someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks again.

[Bill Hudson]

... I've tried arranging it so falls at the bottom of the carb not the top to reverse the operation but that makes it tight against the hydraulic lines and engine and doesn't seem to fit right...

That is the way it works. The interference with the hydraulic lines is normal and doesn't usually affect choke operation.

Bill

[cavingreer]

So put it in tight so it's pull to choke?

[Bill Hudson]

So put it in tight so it's pull to choke?

Yes, I just put one on last night. There was choke rod/hydraulic line interference before and after the installation.

Bill

[Glen]

Hi,
The choke is supposed to work so it is fully open when the rod is pushed in at the dash. Put the little lever on the end of the choke shaft on so it is pointing straight down when the choke is fully open, is usually how it fits on the shaft.
The choke rod should not hit the Touch Control tubes when the choke is open all the way.
Below is a picture of how my 1956 Cub choke rod has always been, and a pic from a Cub owner's manual showing it about the same as mine is. It is slightly above the tubes. If it hits the Touch Control tubes, it will probably vibrate and wear into the tubes over time.
Unless someone has shortened the length of the rod, you can adjust the height of it at the tubes, just bend it carefully at the bend shown in the pic. It sounds like you need more bend to raise it up above the tubes.
The top end of the rod has a bend too, the loop should be level where it moves in and out of the dash. Hope this helps.
Click on the pic from the manual makes it bigger, if you didn't know.

http://www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/Cub%20 ... age-65.jpg

[cavingreer]

So here's the fuel line. I hunted all over town Thursday for fittings. Every hardware store I went to had every fitting you can name except the 2 I needed ... go figure LOL. Including Tractor Supply Co, which had a complete sediment bowl with a different size fitting but not one for the carb or any tubing so I passed it up. Found one that fit the aftermarket sediment bowl at Bumper to Bumper on one end of town. The guy couldn't even find a stock number so he gave me the thing for free ... I owe him a drink I think it was actually a 1/4" thread but I'm not entirely sure. The fitting going into the carb came from O'Reilly completely across town (actually across the river in Vidalia, LA) and was a 5/16". Friday the same friend who gave me the leftover piece of black iron pipe that became my exhaust pipe gave me a 2' scrap of 5/16" copper. I used the factory pulley from the alternator to shape the tubing, left a drip loop on the bottom end. Put the fittings and new ferrules on, fine tuned the shape and got it in place.

Shaping the fuel line

Fitting on sediment bowl

Fitting at carb

[cavingreer]

When Clownfish drove over today he found me camped out at the carb. I was getting overflow so I pulled the carb apart, mounted the top half enough to play with, and tweaked on the float until I got a good level in the bowl without running over. After getting that all back together I pulled the hood back off, turned the connections around on the alternator and reattached it, then spent the rest of the afternoon putting the control rods back in place. I did a little bending on the choke rod to get it off the hydraulic implement shaft and loosen it up on the tubes. The electrical is hooked up and ready for testing as soon as my starter switch arrives.

Rear of alternator rotated 1 notch counterclockwise.

Throttle control rod reattached

Governor throttle rod attached

Carb all hooked up

Controls in place

[staninlowerAL]

Too late to be of any help now but the OEM carb fitting and shutoff valve is the same as 5/16 brake line--1/2 x 20 threads. If you need something different, and you have 5/16 OEM threads, you can use a 5/16 compression union and rethread one side of it with a 1/2 x 20 die nut to screw into the carb fitting and/or shutoff valve. I've got some pictures if you need them. Stan

[Harold R]

I agree with Stan. A lot of us use 5/16th automotive brake line available at most all parts stores. Looks like a copper line is on there, but for long term I'd use the steel brake line. Vibration over time will cause the copper to crack and leak fuel in a place where you wouldn't want it.

[Alan Riley]

Meanwhile another interesting tidbit, my rear rims have the valve stem pointed inside. Suppose they just swapped them for spacing?

I put my valve stems to the inside to keep the grandkids from stepping on them...