Re: CUB vs BN

Posted by LenNH on November 24, 2008 at 13:24:09 from (71.235.191.159):

In Reply to: CUB vs BN posted by ftmfrank on November 14, 2008 at 06:53:53:

If you just LOVE the idea of a Cub or a BN and can't look at anything else, don't read any further!
I'm a dyed-in-the wool IHC guy, probably because I grew up on red (and grey) stuff made between 1926 and 1955. I used to have a chance to drive a neighbor's A and a relative's B. They are certainly one of the nicest tractors of that era, as far as comfort goes (good seat, wide, flatplatform, pedals well placed, throttle accessible, gearshift "falls to hand," as the sports car guys say). I thought the reversion to tiny wheels, after the great traction that 40" rubber provided on the F-12 and F-14, was strange, to say the least. I never got to use either of these in real hard going, so I can't compare them directly to the F-12s I drove for probably 15 years (my father's '38 F-12 on the 40" rubber and cast rears pulled two twelve-inch plows for years; originally rated for 1-16" on steel. Great, rugged tractor with a "heart of gold." Sounds like a reformed stripper, but I'm really referring to how hard the old girl would work to pull those plows or a 7' double disk that was intended for the 10-20 my grandfather bought in 1929.

The A and B are light-years ahead in comfort, compared to F-12 and F-14. They test out at about the same horsepower, so in theory should be able to do the same work.
One drawback to B/BN would be the lack of a good
power lift, unless there is some kind of retrofitted hydraulic system.
I bought a Cub a few years ago, intending to mow a large grassy space with it. Never found a mower before I decided to sell the house, but I did get to drive the tractor around the back 40 a bit. It is as charming as an A, but it is obviously a tiny, tiny tractor with not much horsepower. I have some original IHC literature from right after WW II, and it makes it clear that the Cub is a "real" tractor, but obviously intended for VERY small farms, maybe like the kind of place that used to be farmed with a couple of mules.
Now, to the treasonous part. Last year, I needed
a tractor and mower to keep the weeds down on about 8 acres of a field that overlooks a lovely mountain. I had just been keeping my eyes open, on the ads and along the roads. Lo and behold, one day, I spy, sitting in the yard of a guy I knew a little bit, a Ford (gulp! red face!) 1100 with belly mower. Wasn't crazy about the 2-cylinder engine at slow speeds, but at normal working speeds, it was pretty smooth. Very versatile transmission: TEN forward speeds, from a crawl to ten mph, in small increments. On a Cub or B/BN, you'd really have only first and second gear to choose from for hard work. Rear-mounted 4 or 5 foot mower (never measured), 3-point hitch, excellent hydraulic lift system. Nice seating arrangement, good platforms for the feet, pedals in the right place, accelerator pedal + hand throttle. Sips diesel through a straw. Seems sturdy and reliable, and would probably go for $22-2400.

I am a romantic about the old stuff, but I have to say that a modern utility tractor is a great way to go(mine is pretty "modern" even though it was made in the early 80s).
A note on rear-mount mowers. Super easy to put on and take off (3 pins and the pto shaft), but they do stick out and swing around in a turn. It is easy to whack a tree or a rock if you don't remember that it's back there. No experience with belly mowers, but I imagine they are more trouble to hook up.

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