Hey from (chilly) New York
 

Hello all!

Looks like I have found a wholesome forum with some great info! I am an experienced (auto) mechanic and I do a good bit of fabricating and tinkering with small engine stuff on the side.

I have owned a couple Cub's newer and older. My current project is a 122, I recently purchased a Brinly plow and fabricated a sleeve hitch for it along with a electric lift feature. I am currently working on doing a v-twin swap, and considering putting 26x12 ag tires on the rear. My problem is I cannot leave anything I own stock, soooo I would also like to paint the rig in a traditional red IH theme. The main use for the tractor will be plowing (snow and ground) as well as other utility work, so I am not much concerned about the affect of the modifications on fitting a mower deck. I am open to ideas and such for my project!

Welcome ! sounds like a good project, i'm sure you'll get some ideas here !:beerchug:

cadetmike Welcome to OCC! The best IH Cub Cadet forum on the net! Sounds like you are having fun with a custom build! Having two separate lifts on a gt is awesome. Lots of good help from the group. Post pictures, and ideas will be had!:biggrin2:

Merry Christmas!

Hello Mike and welcome.

I'm sure we'd enjoy pix of your project!

:Welcome2: Lots of great info. here. We like pics.

I appreciate all the feedback and interest! I will probably start a project thread in the "IH Tractors" section (with pictures). My biggest hold up at the moment is acquiring an engine, I have posted in "wanted" so we will see what turns up. This is a budget build, so I don't have $1500 to shell out on a new engine.

I have a suggestion:

Put a built up K series Kohler in your 122. No better engine suited for that tractor. If you are any good at being a mechanic, rebuilding that engine will be a breeze. You can do a cam upgrade with some other mods and I think you will find that single cylinder to be pretty impressive. No need to hack up the frame and go jamming an oversized v-twin in that lacks torque and doesn't fit.

26x12-12 tires on the rear are too big to plow with. Even on a 12" plow a 12" tire doesn't fit well in the dead furrow. All the guys who understand plowing know this as fact. The best plow tire is a 23x8.50-12. Plus, going to a larger tire screws pretty bad with your drive ratio. You'll have to do some gear swapping to get things back right again.

I'm sure you will ignore what I have to say, and lots of people who have never swapped a motor in anything or pulled a moldboard plow will tell you I'm wrong. Be careful who's advice you take.....



Welcome to the forum!

J-mech, thanks for the input. I appreciate the suggestions and insight, you make very good points. do you know if a 16hp k series will bolt into that frame?
I just want more hp and torque than the 12 is delivering.

A K301 12 hp is the largest engine that will fit without frame modification. The 14 & 16 hp have a larger flywheel and won’t fit between the frame rails.

Jmech is right about the 26x12x12 tires being too wide for plowing.

A 12 hp has plenty of power to pull a 10” plow

That to me sounds like excellent advice given! I'd stick with a bored out, rebuilt, and hopped up Iron Line Kohler K301 for your 122. Or, you might find a great running K301! They have power, and longevity! Unlike the expensive task of repowering a 82 Series.

Also, I have read many times that the rear tires standard to a SGT, also have the gear ratios proportioned correctly. To what degree I can't say. If this is going to be a budget build, then consider the suggestions.

Perhaps you are going to surprise us with a twin cylinder repower? :biggrin2:

ok I am almost convinced to keep the 12... what up mods can I do to that engine?:bigthink:

can someone recommend a good website for performance K301 parts? I already have a running engine.

I can recommend everything you need, plus videos of plowing with 10 and 12hp's. They're plenty big enough to pull a plow. But, I'm working. It will be later today before I can link up and post pics.

What size is your plow?

Zach Kerber

Excellent! the plow measures 9" ( if i'm doing it right).

The engine I have runs but the ignition seems to be to far advanced as I get a lot of spark knock... not sure if timing is even adjustable on those 12hp other then point gap. I think I will bore it .30 over for starters but after that i'm not sure what else can/should be done.

You don't need to bore it .030" over unless it needs that to clean up the cylinder. Over boring for power is not applicable in this application. Won't gain you anything to justify taking it to .030" over. Before you get a bunch of ideas on how to do it, wait and I'll go through it.

Yes, the timing is adjustable. Download and read the Kohler service manual from the tech section on this site. Check out my thread on static timing in the "Tech Tips" section. It explains it.

You measured wrong. They didn't make a 9" plow. It's likely an 8".

Ok thanks, sounds good

First off, lets go through some stuff.

You can find and download the K series service manual here:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4646

You can find my article on static timing here:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=33461

How to measure a plow:
Attachment 89711


Here is a video of me plowing with a 10hp tractor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjoprqwTkrI

As a note, I have since went to narrower tires on that tractor. That is a gear drive 10hp Cub pulling an 8" plow. You can pull a larger one though. Just what I have. That was the only video I had uploaded on YouTube and easy to link without uploading others. You don't need anything bigger than a 12HP to plow with.



On the motor, read this article:
http://www.kirkengines.com/downloads...ohlerPartI.pdf

Then Part II:
http://www.kirkengines.com/downloads...hlerPartII.pdf



That will keep you busy for a while. I'll be back later this evening with more info on building...... just read. Don't plan yet. :biggrin2:

Random question, should I put a heavier clutch spring in?:bigthink:

Yes, and a Kevlar disk.

We posted at the same time. Don't miss my above post. I can address the clutch later tonight also.

You should try it stock first before considering mods IMHO. It's a pretty stout engine and will last a good long service life (especially) without modification.

that was a great read, didn't know there was so much you could with those old hunks of iron :biggrin2:

I have used it quite a bit stock, it needs some attention though. Not going to do anything too crazy

I'm going to move my future responses about the engine to the other thread you started about the tractor. Two threads dealing with the same thing are silly. I'd move my posts, but I can no longer do that....

Here is the other thread for those following this one:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=50928

makes sense i will look for you there