cub 185

[harryo]

does anybody know what month in 1974 they started making the 185?

[staninlowerAL]

Not me but I'll bet Jim Becker does or know where the info is located.

[Jim Becker]

I've got nothing that says exactly. However, in November and December of '74, there were 149 154s and 315 185s built. So they probably did the changeover 12/2 plus or minus.

[harryo]

how soon did the engine get installed after the casting date? 1 month, 2 month

[RaymondDurban]

Some casting were used almost immediately, some sat around a few months. There is no real way to tell.
Do you have an concern that the engine may have been changed?

[Eugene]

how soon did the engine get installed after the casting date? 1 month, 2 month

Unknown. I would think considerably longer than 2 months. As a guess, 6 months to a year.

[gitractorman]

Keep in mind that all of the C-60 engine blocks were cast at a foundry, then sent to another shop for milling, then sent a part of the factory for build out, then on to the factory for assembly. They didn't really have "just in time" manufacturing back when these were being built, so IH would typically have run a little surplus so that milling and manufacturing would not be held up by the foundry, and vise-verse. There is no physical difference in the 154 and 185 blocks. The changes in horsepower were from carburetor and governor changes, which are both bolt-on items that would have been added to the engines as they were built, long after being cast at the foundry. Theoretically, one day (or one hour) they were building 15-hp engines, and the next day/hour they were building 18-hp engines on the same engine blocks. So, casting codes on the block won't tell you much if you're looking for that changeover. Since this was also a model change, I would guess that the first few hundred 18-hp engines were built and set aside while production of the 154 wrapped up. Then, once the 185 came into production, that small surplus of 18-hp engines would have been installed. There again, they could have had those 18-hp engines built and sitting for months while they used up the 154 parts and finished production, all of which is basically undocumented and complete guesstimation, but falls into line with what we have seen with other changes in the Cubs.

[Jim Becker]

As already stated, time spread from casting dates to final assembly can vary a lot. I have seen casting date variations approaching a year on individual tractors (not necessarily a Cub) depending on what part you look at. Variations tend to open up when production volumes were lower, as a run of any particular part would feed the assembly line for a longer time.

Although not relevant to a model 185, keep in mind that Louisville didn't even have a foundry until 1949. Until then, all castings were shipped in from somewhere else, adding even more to the cycle times.