How would a 15 year old go about restoring his Grandfather's 1950 Cub?

[Alex M]

My Grandad's Cub has been sitting around the barn my entire life. I really wanna see this tractor run, I reminds me so much of him. The condition is pretty poor... There is a decent amount of rust but none looks to be in a vital place. I'm not exactly sure why my Gandad stopped using it, but I believe it ran when it was parked. Where do I even start? I've never done anything like this before so I'm pretty overwhelmed.

edit: trying to get hood off but intake cover seems to be stuck.

[Don McCombs]

There are several forum members in the SE Alabama-SW Georgia area. Maybe one will volunteer to help you get started.

[Eugene]

Welcome.

First thing. Period. Period. DO NOT PAINT the tractor until you have all of the mechnaical issues resolved.

OIL. PRIME THE OIL PUMP. Absolutely, first thing to do.

Engine condition. Compression tests, dry then wet. Record the readings.

High school shop classes or AG classes. Take them.

Read, read, ask questions, ask more questions.

Again, welcome. This site is a pretty good source for quality information. Many folks on this site have been in mechanical, electricial, ag, and other professions for years.

Edit. 4H club, join if one is available.

[Mht]

Spend as much time on the forum as you can reading about your cub. You can learn all you need to know right here. Determine if the engine will turn and then if you have compression. After that determine if you have fire and then determine if you are getting fuel to the cylinders. Ask questions as you learn more about your grandfathers cub. Most any question you have will be something that members on here can help you with. A cub is a relatively simple machine to work on. It doesn’t require a large amount of tools or specialized tools. As I first stated read read read. Start with the operators manual. Once you have a second post you will be able to access the manuals available here. As stated in the first post there may be someone near you that will lend a helping hand. Don’t get in a hurry and good luck with the project

[tinnerjohn]

Congratulations Alex. You have come to the right place for advice. My Grandpa's Cub was sold over 50 years ago and I'd love to have it today. Check out the other parts of this forum and hopefully some of the members who are in your area can help you. Just be careful, these little Cubs can be addictive!
John

[tinnerjohn]

Looks like three of us were replying at the same time! As the others said, READ. The manuals are in the PDF section as well as available as hard copies,
Get your post count up so you can access them, if you have a printer you can make copies of the PDF. Before you crank it, if you haven't already, I'd pull the spark plugs and squirt some oil, ATF or whatever in the cylinders and let it work in, then crank it over a few times with the plugs out. When you get it running, immediately look for oil leaks. When I bought mine at an auction, I was driving it onto the trailer when my brother in law started yelling "Get it on and shut it down" , The rear main seal was leaking like a sieve. I had initially thought if he couldn't haul it, I'd just drive the seven or so miles home. I'm glad the Lord watches over fools and little children.
John

[Waif]

Research before tearing into something can help reduce frustration of not having a tool or part or process understood.
Taking a carburetor apart and breaking a piece you didn't need to is one example...

Before you fire it up , study safety first.
Good safety now beats good safety after someone gets hurt.

You can look at what type ignition your Gramps's Cub has. Magneto or other.
What voltage battery if it has one. 6 or 12Volt.
Positive ground was original configuration.
Knowing where the Cub you are looking at fits in there , will help going forward.
What type plug wires will be needed next time they get changed and why.

Fluids can be checked / changed. Ignition given a look see / going over.

Congrats on looking at a special Cub , for special reasons.
It will reward patience. Always has...

After you understand how to prime the oil system , and have looked at the ignition , and fluids are good , and safe starting procedure is understood ,
And valve train is working right , and engine/ignition timing is close.... You'll be close to ready to fire it up.

Don't change too much at one time. Or if something goes wrong you'll have more to sort out backtracking what didn't change the way you planned.
A circuit /system at a time maybe.

[Alex M]

The air intake cover is stuck, what do I do?

[tst]

it just presses on, probably rusted with old age, try a rubber type mallet and tap it up from the bottom

[Pap]

Welcome Alex. Just like tst said just peck on it from the bottom and it should move. It's push down about an inch. Good luck with your grandfather's cub.
You are at the right place to learn a lot about it. Just read and ask questions.

I have my grandfather's cub so I know what it is to you.

Pap

[Clemsonfor]

Welcome.

First thing. Period. Period. DO NOT PAINT the tractor until you have all of the mechnaical issues resolved.

OIL. PRIME THE OIL PUMP. Absolutely, first thing to do.

Engine condition. Compression tests, dry then wet. Record the readings.

High school shop classes or AG classes. Take them.

Read, read, ask questions, ask more questions.

Again, welcome. This site is a pretty good source for quality information. Many folks on this site have been in mechanical, electricial, ag, and other professions for years.

Edit. 4H club, join if one is available.

if he lives in or around a city there is no shop or Ag classes. I went to High School o we 20 years ago. Many years younger than most here but growing up in a city, there was no shop, wood or auto, and there was no Ag classes.

[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, up to Cub serial number 115403, which was made during 1950.
IH changed the electrical system then some.
The Battery Ignition unit, and voltage regulator came out then.
If your Cub is newer than 115403, info for the electrical system is in the 1952 and 1955 operator's manuals.
Cubs made before mid 1964 originally had 6 volt, positive ground electrical systems.
Page 2 in the manual shows where the serial number is.
There is an engine serial number, it is different, after the first Cubs in 1947.

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 and change the Touch Control fluid, and remove the air from the system.
Be sure to check the fluid with the arms in the rear, or down position, the manual says to 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 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.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below is a post I wrote on telling how to prime the engine oil pump.
The post is part way down the page.

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

[Magnum]

I'd get it to run first. At least you can drive it around and enjoy it

[outdoors4evr]

Welcome to the forum!
I would treat it like a used (abused) cub that was just purchased and go through this checklist that has been assembled since 2006.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91765