Tractor Stories

When the weather was good enough to clear and haul some cedar trees, the 1949 Farmall Cub was called to action. It is the perfect size for a small acreage operation. After the trees were cut, I rigged a chain between the tree and Cub to drag the tree to a convenient location for further cutting and then running it through the woodchipper on the back of the 1952 8N Ford tractor. Also, it is very dry, and I could minimize fire danger from any sparks by working on ground which was mowed. It worked well and was fun. Tractor Boy

It was a cold, wet, dreary day in Central Texas. Perfect weather in which to replace the light switch I replaced last week. The first replacement was blowing a 20-amp fuse in less than a second when turned to the farthest right position. Fortunately, I had added a separate fuse holder to the circuitry when the replacement did not have a fuse position. I spoke with the nice folk at Farmall Cub Forever and ordered a three position six-volt switch which arrived a few days ago. This time I took pictures so you can see what I was doing. Again, I replaced one wire at a time. The switch has a protrusion which fits in a notch in the console, and I replaced it so the two were properly aligned. I discovered it was easier to take the console off this time, and I did not need a small monkey to reach in the confined space.  I did; however, forget that I placed a piece of board between the hydraulic housing and the hood/fuel tank. So, when I started up the Cub to see how well it would run, there...

Believing the original four position light and charging switch was mostly worn out, I ordered a replacement from Farmall Cub Forever. Nice folks with whom to do business. Yesterday I braved the cold here in Central Texas to enter my Tractor Building and replace the old switch. First, I placed a block of wood between the hydraulic system and the hood/fuel tank to keep the fuel tank from collapsing onto something and maybe damaging the fuel bowl. Then I proceeded to remove four screws from around the top of the console and two bolts which fastened the console to the tractor body. Much easier to write than to do. There is very little room to move, and I do not have a trained monkey to reach in there and turn a wrench while holding something in place. It turned out to be much easier to remove the part than to replace it later, but I was blissfully naïve then. The choke rod, the hydraulic rod, and the starter rod all had to be disconnected from one end or the other to allow room to move the...

Great news! The fellow who sells and makes run Nancy’s long arm quilting machine and robotics (quite a challenge) came to the house to help Nancy get the robotics working right. He asked whether I wanted help getting my Farmall Cub running and said he would look at it right after he was done with the robotics. Well, he did and began tracing through possibilities. He noted that the choke linkage was not working and the choke was one full, there was water in the carburetor bottom, there MUST be an on-off switch, and once all that was set right, the Cub started and I drove it in the yard. The light circuit fuse is blown so when I replace it, maybe I will have head lights too. Apparently I had simply been flooding the engine if I had any spark at all. I am most happy.   Emily came down and brought two rifles to hunt deer. She got a license last evening and we hope to get to the range before Friday afternoon. Going to get cold here about Thursday morning and colder still for a few days ...

‘Tis a fine day in Central Texas. The air is 35 degrees, and it is sunny, with a cool North wind. It is a perfect day to go for a drive on the 1949 Farmall Cub. That is just what I did. I saw it had not leaked gasoline anywhere, so I disconnected the six-volt battery charger and connected the negative battery cable. I managed to touch the battery box while snugging the cable and threw a nice spark which told me both that the battery is charged and to be more careful. Then I climbed aboard using the clever step device dangling from the platform, pulled the choke, pulled the ignition switch, and then the starter. The old Cub started right away and soon I had figured out how to give it just enough choke to keep it going while it warmed up. We backed into the yard and went for a drive ‘round and ‘round we went in second gear, making about five laps of the back yard. I stopped it in the sun to take pictures and to “bleed” the hydraulic system. That thing howled and squealed and scared me ...

Sunday afternoon I took the plunge and added fuel to the gas tank of the Cub. Then I tightened loose connections such as the fuel filter bowl so gasoline would not be dripping. It all seems to be holding. At this time, I have perhaps a gallon of gas in the tank to find out whether it will hold properly. Later I can fill it up or at least put maybe four gallons in it. The hydraulic system needed filling, so I removed the filler plug and used the last of the five-gallon container that I bought for the 8N Ford. I thought I had another 5-gallon pail or bucket and that turned out to be 90 weight gear oil. Had I remembered that I would have used it to fill the rear end of the Cub instead of buying gallons of the stuff individually. I moved the 5-gallon container to a location where it is visible in my Tractor building so it will be available for use next time. Earlier in the week I had painted the fuel cap and radiator cap IH red color. Both were new replacements for worn original item...

Nearly Complete. It was warm this week on Monday, so I got out and put some decals on my JANUARY 1949 Cub which is now 60 years young. I also put the fuel filter in place and attached rubber fuel line between it and the carburetor. I gave up temporarily on putting the metal line on as the exhaust pipe is in the way. If the Cub is returned to the vertical stack exhaust, then the metal fuel line can go on. For now, it is rubber. It is just about time to add gasoline to the tank and see whether it leaks at the fuel filter. I used a sealer so maybe it will be good and tight. While I was adding decals I painted both the radiator cap and the fuel cap. Both are new so I sprayed them with a couple coats of IH red paint. The next to the last challenge is to cut a one-inch hole in the battery box for the proper placement of the new and very long battery cable (negative cable). The box has a large hole to the front and needs a one-inch hole to the rear side of the box. It is a work in pro...

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, I have the hood back on the Cub for the first time in months. It looks good from a distance. This is the hood for which I have the fuel tank cleaned and relined. That was done with a torch, so the entire hood needed to be repainted. The front of the hood attaches to the front uprights with a bolt on each side. The right side was easy enough, but the left side was off enough that I needed a third arm to align the bolt with the hole in the upright. My daughter started the bolt while I was using a hammer to push the upright back and at the same time holding the hood up a bit. The grill is back on too. I had painted it some weeks ago. Something did not look right still and I realized I have used hex bolts instead of the flat head screws which were used originally. I have a set of them and they can be put on tomorrow. They go on the rear of the hood and on the grill sides. One the grill was on and the hood fastened down, I tried the head lights both on low...

The past few days and evenings I have been working like a bear to get the Cub operational again. First, I removed the auxiliary fuel tank so the hydraulic lift could go in the location where the wooden base of the fuel tank was bolted. Once I had the auxiliary tank off, I lifted the rather heavy hydraulic lift onto the space and slid it under the throttle rod instead of removing the throttle rod along with the choke rod. That was a mistake! In taking a short cut, I managed to disrupt the electrical system, so the lift had to be removed while I sorted out and fixed the problem. The rear light and the front light circuit did not work anymore. After a long time of fiddling and tightening, the light circuits worked again; however, the ignition switch refused to pass through any electricity. It had died. I ordered a replacement along with a metal fuel line and two wing nuts to secure the touch control lift stops. Actually, I thought I had purchased those expensive wing nuts earlier and foun...