"O" with original K301?
 

Anyone have any knowledge about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/61-Cub-Cadet-802-/261484281170

That certainly is a very interesting setup. :ThumbsUp:

I agree.:beer2:

Yes sir , it certainly is interesting. I just keep looking and looking........

"interesting" indeed.
Betchya the 12hp engine block is post 1966 too.

It's about 10 miles from me. My son spotted it on a yard sale 3 weeks ago and stopped to look at it. Guy claims it is legit.

I guess anything is possible, it sure does look like an amazing piece. I'd love to have the deck.

It would be really great if someone close by would go take a look at that set-up, take some pictures, and then report back to us...

I'm thinking that is bs. He purchased it from the original owner but is listing it for a friend? A 3 digit left the factory in 65-66? Whatcha think O owners?

What's up w/the big hole in the hood and the goofy lookin' muffler?
The hole don't show in the "pre-resto" picture he posted in the auction ad?
One thing for sure...Whoever did the resto does have some $$$ tied up in it.

Muffler looks to be from an 86.
if you look close you can see the hole in the before pic.

I found some info in a google search that landed me on Cub Cadet Collectors. There is some info on it over there. I don't know about the motor swap part, but I think the deck is legit. :bigthink:

If I put my Columbo hat on, sounds to me IH warrantied this tractor and brought it back to the factory. Someone dumped a 12 hp in it and used it as a mower around the shop. The "original owner" bought it in 65/66, so it "left the factory" with a 12 hp in it. This guy got a Lew price from the guys son and sold it to a friend to make a few bucks. Now his friend is too old to work the computer so this guy is selling it for him (possibly make a few more bucks).

Just one more thing

If it was factory why would the hood be spaced up AND still need a window to clear the fill cap? :bigthink:

:biggrin2::biggrin2:

Bill

Yeah, Lew,......... I see the hole now that I expanded the e-bay picture.
Buck$ and more Buck$.....sad to say, but that's what a lot of this hobby is also getting to be about. Same thing over in the old car hobby to the point that if Ya don't have deep pockets (and/or high social status). you need not apply.

The mower deck is legit. Those are very hard to find. The O with "original" 12 horse I don't think is legit. Anyone can claim anything. I would hope that if someone would spend big bucks on a restoration like that, they'd atleast go through and replace all seals, especially the ones that leak. :bash2::bash2:

That "O" could have been an IH engineering test mule before it left the factory.
But without documentation to support that, it is only a nice story.

I would also imagine that any such equipment used for testing was scraped versus sold. Even to an IH employee.

No, IH sold a LOT of test equipment to employees. That is where they got rid of it at most of the time. The guy who was doing the testing, the engineer that designed it...... Lots of the IH/Cub Cadet history books back this up.

I hate to link to another forum, but here is what I found over on CCC.

I'm going to say that there is NO WAY this is a factory setup...

Jonathan,
the ebay link on the ccc forum says the seller was the same one in the link by the dx3

Serial number 802 was built January of 1961. It had an 7 horse power engine in when it was made in Louisville, Kentucky. The Hinsdale facility was a test area for all IH equipment. Odds are 802 was sent to Hinsdale for more testing-in this case it was attachments. The Pennington mower was one of the attachments that was tested. I have a feeling Hinsdale found out that the 45 inch Pennington mower needed more horse power that what the 7 horse Kohler had.

When 802 was put on ebay in 2011
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Or.../260779540824?
the add said it had a 10 horse power Kohler in it. Now it has a rebuilt 12 horse power Kohler in it. That tells me the 10 or 12 horse power engine is not orginal to the tractor.

This would be a neat set up to have.....not for what he is asking for it.

Cool info Merk. Yeah I have a book that shows an O with a Pennington front mount deck mowing some grass. I'm actually excited to see also that although the northern and western states are full of cubs as opposed to where I live, most of the "test" units, specifically serials 501 to 518 were delivered and tested in Georgia and Florida at golf courses, sod farms, and government institutions. One was actually in the next town over from me at a golf course and I'm thinking of stopping by one day just to see if it may have been forgotten...............why not right?

Definitely worth a try Alvy!:beerchug:

Go for it, Alvy. :ThumbsUp:

For what it's worth, the ad never says that this is a factory set-up.

It says "Yes a 12hp kohler motor is what this tractor had on it when it left ill. In 65/66".

Heaven only knows how many places in Illinois it was and what all was done to it before it went to a different state some 4 to 6 years after it was built.

Great follow-up information Merk, thanks.

I completely missed that Lew. Soooooo...... the same guy selling it now, sold it back in 2011? :bigthink: Or at least he tried to. Says 0 bids on the 2011 listing. It was listed then at $2K. Hmmmmmmmm........

And the same guy refurbished it since the 2011 ebay ad and again is trying to sell it for his friend Jerry.

Does "refurbished" mean a quick once over with a wire brush and a few cans of spray paint?