1950 Cub in Cool, CA

[Stanton]

...Maybe I am overly ambitious, but I thought we might drive it in our local 4th of July parade this year...

I don't see why not! At your speed, you should have plenty of time to work any major kinks out before 4th of July. Go for it!

BTW, I stand corrected. Glen is right that a serial number of 205000 would be a 1958. If you can really want to know the year of your Cub, take several casting dates and see what most of them are, including the serial number on your engine (should be a flat, milled spot behind the manifold/carb area). That should get you closer to the date of your Cub.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

52 ft/lbs, not inch pounds. The bolts are rated up to 50, but I gave it a couple extra because more is better, right?

I did double check the serial numbers and the chassis number is 105327 and the engine number is 106634.

Been busy with paying work this week, doing sheeptmetal replacement/repair on a Jeepster restoration for a client, but hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to play with it again. The fuel tank is clean and dry, so it can go back on and maybe I'll be able to get the tubes in the front tires. Looking forward to taking it for a spin.

Question - are these cooling systems pressurized? If so, maybe some aluma-seal will fill the leaks. Maybe I could run it with a pressurized cap on just to help with that process and then remove the pressure cap and install the non-pressurized cap. Worth a shot.

[Glen]

Hi,
105327 is a 1950 Cub. The engine serial number is usually a little higher than the tractor serial number, at that year.

Many Cubs use a non pressure radiator cap. IH offered a pressure cap, if you wanted it.

The radiator probably has to be good to use a pressure cap, or it may leak.

Below are listings for new radiator caps at TM Tractor.

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/co/1642fp.htm

They show 2 pressure caps, there were evidently 2 different lengths of filler necks, measure the length of the filler neck before buying one, if you buy one.

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/co/2537fp.htm

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/co/3146fp.htm

[Glen]

Hi,
The Cub owner's manual can help you learn about maintenance that the Cub needs.

Below is the 1950 Cub owner's manual. The experts on here recommend people read it. It has lots of info about operation, maintenance, and lubrication. There is a table of contents on page 1.
It shows how Cubs originally looked in it. The lube section begins on page 14.

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

It shows the electrical system that a 1950 Cub originally had.
Cubs made before mid 1964 originally had 6 volt, positive ground electrical systems.

You said the generator is gone, here is info about the original charging system.
The charging system originally has a cutout, or Relay, IH called it on top of the generator, there is a pic on page 33 of the manual with the hood off, showing the electrical system.
It has a 4 position charge and light switch on the dash, to control the gen output.
It was before Cubs had voltage regulators, you had to choose the charge rate yourself.
The switch has 4 positions, L, low charge, H, high charge, D, dim front lights, and B, bright lights.
The electrical system info begins on page 32 of the manual, and using the switch is explained on page 34.
You should be able to see what it is charging on the ammeter, when the engine is running.
The engine has to be above idle speed for the gen to charge.

The Touch Control uses Case IH Hy-Tran fluid. It is sold at Case IH dealers.
There are other brands, be sure it works with IH hydraulic systems before buying one.
The manual tells how to check or change the Touch Control fluid, and remove the air from the system.
Be sure to check the fluid level with the arms in the rear, or down position. The manual says that also.

I would check or change all the oils before using the Cub. Using it with low oil in a gear housing can damage the parts in the housing.
There are 3 separate gear housings, with 3 separate oil levels to check, in the rear area of a Cub, the transmission, and 2 final drives.
The manual tells how to check and change the oils.

The transmissions in Cubs commonly get water in them, from rain, or condensation inside the housing over time.

The air cleaner is an oil bath air cleaner. Dirt that is sucked in settles to the bottom of the oil cup. It should have clean, light motor oil in the oil cup to work right.

There is a search box at the top of the page, to the right of the Farmall Cub, you can find info in posts that have been made.

The engine oil pump can lose it's prime sitting, then if you run the engine, it may not suck oil up again.
Running the engine with no oil pressure can damage the engine.
Below is a link to a post I made about priming the oil pump, my post is about half way down the page.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91765&start=60

The ignition points get old and burned from use, and sometimes corroded from sitting.
The engine may not run if the points are burned or corroded.
The owner's manual tells how to replace the points, and set their gap, it's important that the points be in good condition, and have the right gap.

It tells how to fill the radiator in the owner's manual. Fill it to slightly below the filler neck, like the manual says.
The coolant expands as the engine warms up. It will push whatever is extra out the overflow pipe.
When the engine is off, and it cools down again, the coolant level will be about at where it needs to be. You can look in with a light and see it.
Usually it is just covering the baffle below the filler neck, when the engine is cold.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thanks for all the info Glen.

So I bought some new tires for it yesterday. Tractor Supply had some rather vintage looking 4.80 x 12 Hi-Run brand tires and they were only $45 each, plus the $30 to get them mounted. It was fun watching the two guys struggle with tubes. They probably don't get a lot of tube tires anymore...

[Clemsonfor]

Wow! Thanks for al the encouragement. I did not know what to expect, but you guys are great!

Yes, yard art. A lot of my childhood memories are centered around all the weekends spent at our cabin in Iron River, Wisconsin. My grandfather (Papa) was a do it all kind of guy who built his own snow-cat out of steel and a Studebaker flathead six, built his own snowblower for his JD to help with the runway at the Duluth airport, basically anything that could be cut out of steel and welded together, he and my dad were game. Growing up around that was priceless and obviously led me to the career I am in today. So it's no coincidence that I like to surround myself with classic, vintage, antique or just plain old stuff.

As far as restoring it, I am a firm believer that there are stories contained inside anything old, and there is a soul inside of each and every piece of machinery. Where is the soul? In the paint? In the engine? Chassis? I don't know, but I do know that once you start chipping away at that soul, it disappears rapidly. There's a saying in my business - you can restore a car a hundred times over, but it's only original once. While I can appreciate a beautifully restored car, truck, tractor, whatever, if it came to me in original condition, and can reasonably be useful wearing it's current clothing, that's how I like to leave it.

The serial number is barely legible, but it leads me to believe it is in the low 205,000 range, which would be a 1950, right? Anything this old is bound to have some parts interchanged at some point.

Engine-wise, and mechanically speaking, the overall condition of the tractor is impressive. The engine oil was black but thick enough to still be called oil, the piston rings were not stuck and there is virtually no wear to the main bearings. The rod bearings were loose, and scuffed, but I was able to polish the crank to remove the light scuffing and still be within spec. Near as I can tell, this engine has never been apart. It still has standard rods, mains and pistons. There was no ridge in the bores either, but measuring showed a solid .010" taper from the top of the bore to the bottom of the bore. I light hone was all it took to get them looking good again.

I did get it running and moving under its own power last night, and I'll post pics of that as soon as I can, but in the meantime, here are some pics I took last week. Enjoy! And again, thanks for all the enthusiasm.






There is no generator on this tractor. Somebody must have stolen it for another project.






Enjoying some shade for the first time in 20+ years.

Amazing shop and skill! Good work
I did notice there is a regular washer under the oil filter housing bolt. That should be a copper crush washer.

[Clemsonfor]

Thanks for all the info Glen.

So I bought some new tires for it yesterday. Tractor Supply had some rather vintage looking 4.80 x 12 Hi-Run brand tires and they were only $45 each, plus the $30 to get them mounted. It was fun watching the two guys struggle with tubes. They probably don't get a lot of tube tires anymore...

Yikes $30 a tire to mount!! I guess you are in California if the title is your location?

I'm surprised anything at TSC was that prices every tire I always price there is 2x what I can get it shipped to my house or bought at say Agrisupply.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

It was actually $30 for both tires, but still more than I wish it would be, after all, they aren't getting balanced.

The washer, I noticed that too, but thanks for pointing it out.

So the tractor runs and drives. My son and I took it down the driveway and back. I let him drive it too. It runs ok, but once it warms up, starts running lean. I think I'm going to buy one of those cheap repop carburetors just to see if that helps. I also checked the timing and the most I can get is about 5 degrees retarded, so obviously someone put the front gear in off a tooth. Is this an easy fix? Or do I need to tear down the entire front of the engine to move that gear? I think the advance inside the magneto is frozen though, so maybe it will get torn apart to inspect.

The governor seems to be working ok, which surprises me after sitting for all these years.

The tractor is parked for now. I did reach my goal of getting it running and driving, so now it's back to work. My primary goal for this year is to get our race car on the track, so the Cub will have to wait!

[CapeCodCubs]

Glad you got it running! Looking forward to more when you have time.

Side note: are you racing the baby Healey in one of the pix?

[Jim Becker]

There isn't really any advance mechanism built into the magneto. The impulse coupling puts in a 13 degree lag angle that acts to retard the spark that much (to be at TDC). Once the engine speeds up enough to keep the impulse coupling from latching, you have a constant 13 degree advance.

The gear on the governor shaft and the idler that drives it have timing marks. But they are obscured by the oil seal at the magneto. You can check the timing of that gear by positioning the engine at #1 TDC and pulling the magneto off. The drive slots should be 35 degrees off of horizontal at about the 2-8 o'clock position. Resetting this requires removing the governor housing, then removing/rotating/reinstalling the governor assembly in the right position.

[Eugene]

I also checked the timing and the most I can get is about 5 degrees retarded.

Retarded ? Advanced?

Double/tripple check you timing. Static time the engine/magneto. Then check with timing light at mid-throttle. Timing should then be to full advance, 13 degrees as Jim states.

If the spark were retarded to 5 degrees, engine would most likely not start unless tractor was pulled.

[Clemsonfor]

I also checked the timing and the most I can get is about 5 degrees retarded.

Retarded ? Advanced?

Double/tripple check you timing. Static time the engine/magneto. Then check with timing light at mid-throttle. Timing should then be to full advance, 13 degrees as Jim states.

If the spark were retarded to 5 degrees, engine would most likely not start unless tractor was pulled.

Not a guru on this but my eyebrow raised on the retarded part as well.

[Glen]

Hi,
You only need to remove the governor, and turn the gear slightly, like was said above, if the magneto drive is in the wrong position.

Below are pics of the magneto drive, and timing gears.

The 1st pic shows the position the drive should be in at number 1 cylinder TDC.
The 2nd pic shows the timing mark on the governor gear, it is a single dot, it is on the left in the pic.
The 3rd pic shows the timing mark on the idler gear, that drives the governor gear, it is a single dot, it is on the right in the pic. The mark is on the rear facing side of the gear.
Don't use the timing marks on the front facing side of the gear, they are for timing the gear with the crankshaft gear, when the engine is assembled.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The only timing light I have is a 30 year old Snap-On light, with a dial for adjusting the advance & retard. It is 12 volt, but I was able to get it to flash with the 6 volt system. Other than that, yes, it is retarded.

I did remove the magneto just to have a look inside behind the mag, and it was rusty, so I cleaned that out. I did not intend to look at the phasing of the slots, but I recall them being more at 1 and 7, not 2 and 8 as you guys have said. It will not run at all if the mag is turned back, but all the way up, it does run. Smoothly, but with little enthusiasm and a bit of popping.

So if there is no advance in the mag, there's really no reason to tear into it. I suppose I could remove the lower bolt, but leave the upper nut and clamp and turn it to where it should be and see how it runs.

Thanks again for all your help.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

@capecodcubs - I am not racing that red Sprite. I have a '62 Sprite which has logbooks all the way back to the late 60's which I bought last fall as a body tub. I already have about 100 hours into it and just got it back from the blasters yesterday. There's a pile of parts waiting to be installed, but I still have at least another 50-60 hours of body repair/replacement and roll cage work before I can start assembling it.

Here's a pic before it went to the blasters.