Addiction-I fiigured it out

[ajhbike]

I was thinking the other day how immersed and obsessed I get about the various problems and obstacles I run up against with these old tractors. We joke about the "addiction" and while I don't know about that it certainly can take you over.

I got into this "hobby" quickly and deeply because I am in awe of tractors from the 40's, 50's and 60's for their design beauty, their exciting "state of the art" attachments and implements and their essential role in the agricultural revolution. Inventions and improvements to tractors and implements came fast and furious during those decades and it is exciting to be a part of preserving them, and it is an awesome feeling using them.

It is wonderful that I can have a stable of different makes and models, but the real hook for me are the problems that crop up or are pre-existing that absolutely confound me and drive me crazy because 4 years ago all I could do was change the oil in my car....literally. Fixing the problem requires the hunt and the hunt is the research, the searches, the conversations on the forums, the trials and tests and failures. All of it! And I am darn glad at this point in my life that I have it.

[Qtr Milr]

I can completely relate. That’s why my wife calls me a tractor nerd. I’m amazed at some of the issues, previous repairs that I come across as I work on them.....

[Angelofbrz]

I’m just getting into it and see how obsessive it can be. I spend a lot of time on this forum searching through it and asking questions. I’m not that mechanically inclined but this forum is helping me learn. I’m already doing stuff I never figured I would be doing. I love the old tractors. They were built to last and the designs have always fascinated me ever since I first saw my grandpa’s Cub probably more than 20 years ago.

[inairam]

I got into this "hobby" quickly and deeply because I am in awe of tractors from the 40's, 50's and 60's for their design beauty, their exciting "state of the art" attachments and implements, and their essential role in the agricultural revolution.

I am an engineer and was in aerospace for about 10 years. I have seen a great deal of design and manufacturing technology. What amazes me is these tractors were designed and built before cad, cnc machines, and computer models. They still go to work many many years after the people who designed them and built them have died.

what was it $575 in 1947 dollars? $6,701.92 in today's dollars. About the price of a low-end commercial zero turn that will not last 1/5 as long and you will have trouble getting parts in 5 years.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

In 1947, $575 could buy two good teams of horses, but a cub could work 2 teams of horses into the ground. The limiting factor was how long the operator could last, and driving a cub was the easiest job most of the farmers had ever had. If they got tired their 10 or 12 year old son, their daughter, or even the farmers wife could take over. Of course the wife taking over depended on the size of the family she was caring for.

I bought my first cub around 40 years ago, I had bought a place out in the edge of a wooded area, and the ground was rocky and too rough for the riding mower I had, and I got a good deal on a non running cub with a flail mower, molboard plow, 23A disk, cultivators, and a 22 sickle mower. I sold the cultivator and sickle mower for close to 3/4 of the price I gave for the entire set up. Another block, machine shop work and miscellaneous parts ran about $250 and I was in business. I recently overhauled the cub for the second time, and still have it and the flail mower, as well as 2 other cubs, a Wagner loader,and several implements I use on a regular basis.

[Nelson 634]

I have always wanted to know what an engineer would think of the job they did on these tractors back in the 40's and how they have lasted. Thanks

[ajhbike]

Great thoughts and stories