I'm doing my best to stay on track and not get carried away. Nice thing is, having had to completely build the tractor from a pile of parts, I know what needs to be done and what doesn't. There's a few things that need fixing but I don't need to worry about in a hurry. Mainly, eventually I'll replace the head gasket and make sure the head is flat and level. The 30 year old gasket is holding up pretty well, no leaking or anything so I'll leave it alone. I'll also eventually replace the drive hub with onna those fancy new ones from Jeff in PA, but for now I can live with the knocking of the old one.

As for the grille bolts, it was actually the 2 upper ones that were more difficult. I'll explain why in just a moment...

Ok, so some minor progress made on the 107 tonight. I got the lights all sorted out and properly grounded, instead of just hanging on the bottom of the fiberglass cowl screws. A little difficult since I refuse to drill any holes, but I decided on the bottom bolt for the throttle on the right side, and the bottom bolt for the hood latch on the left side. Lights are still nice and bright, with a proper OEM push-pull switch that works like a charm!

I also took the time to adjust the governor sensitivity with the spring, I found that it was one hole off how it should've been set from factory. So I set it back to the factory settings and we'll see how that helps the governor!

Progress was hindered a bit today because of work finding front tires for a certain off-topic machine... tomorrow assuming all goes well, I might even be able to fire the 107 up for the first time in almost 3 months. We'll see though...

Keep up the good work!

We'll look forward to a fire-up report

Well I got some good news for ya,,,,,,,

It's Alive!!!!!

(again, for the first time in 3 months)


Changed the oil, tightened everything back up good, hooked up a battery, 5-6 cranks with partial choke and she fired up no problem. Blew some smoke for the first minute, which is normal for when it sits :biggrin2:. Took her for a drive, man the hydro control is nice now that it's all loosened up. Throttle sensitivity is much better but still needs to be increased a little bit.

Of course, pics or it didn't happen, she was idling in all these,

Attachment 107960Attachment 107961

Attachment 107962Attachment 107963

And here she is back in her home,
Attachment 107964

Also note the lights, they are working well and are nice and bright! I took a video of the startup and drive, I'll see about getting that on Youtube so you guys can see it.

So what's next? Well, still needs governor work. And I'm gonna add a 2nd flex disc to the driveshaft as the single one in there now seems to be taking up a lot of space that would fit 2 nicely. Hopefully it'll also reduce some vibrations, which will never completely go away til I order onna dem fancy new drive hubs from Jeff in PA.

But I'm happy! It feels great to fire up my pride n' joy and take her for a spin again!

Nicely done. There is something pretty dog gone special about hearing
it fire up after being torn down for a while. Also a bit scary, at least around
here. Not sure I will ever get over the jitters on the initial start up.
Congratulations, it's a big thing, I know.

Ken

You're completely right, it always feels really good to hear it fire up again!

Honestly I was more scared about it NOT firing up, especially since I was recording it! I guess worst thing that could've happened would've been bad gas or corroded points, but still, she usually always fires right up. Didn't let me down tonight though.

And, its cool to remember that this is the tractor that started it all for me. Without this 107 I wouldn't be "Cubcadet_107" now would I!

Interesting side note, the overhang where she currently resides, I actually constructed 2 years ago for the sole purpose of storing the 107. At that time, I definitely didn't think I'd have 4 Cubs that need a place to stay! :biggrin2:

This has NEVER happened to any of us :-) :-)

Congrats and I look forward to the video! Good work.

Attachment 107975

Did some driving today :biggrin2::biggrin2:

She's resting in the front yard

Nice! Nothing like hearing them start up for the first time and going for a test drive. Should almost feel like a new tractor.

Ok here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPgdfFJVMOo

Sorry for shaky camera, our yard is anything but smooth at this point :biggrin2:

Also don't mind the smoke or the rattling, that's normal