Mark's O Project

[mobermiller]

Here is what I started with. This O was built February of 62. This Cub was a barn find. It has sat in a dirt floor barn for the last 8 years. The O was a rust bucket! My daughter said that she would have to get a tetanus shot just to sit on the seat. The choke and throttle cables were shot. The carburetor was all frozen. It took several hours of soaking and cleaning to bring the carb back to life. I had to chase the problems with the ignition but finally got a good spark. The tires and rims were shot from sitting in the barn all those years but believe it or not, they still held air. I finally got it to fire. Smoke, noise, and dirt flying everywhere from the mud dabber nests under the engine cowl. The Original had come back to life.

To be continued.

[TheSaturnV]

Very nice, will be following your progress.

[IHCadetCollector]

Are you positive this was built in Feb. of 1962? The reason I ask is I see it has collared spindles, no hole for creeper, and no hole for steering adjustment.

[mobermiller]

Originally Posted by IHCadetCollector

Are you positive this was built in Feb. of 1962? The reason I ask is I see it has collared spindles, no hole for creeper, and no hole for steering adjustment.

According to the serial number on the rear end, that's when it was built. It does not have collared spindles. They are the bolt on type. Of course who knows the history of the machine. Someone could have easily replaced parts with different model parts.

[mobermiller]

Reassembly has begun. I am in a waiting mode for parts so my reassembly has slowed to a crawl. Grrrr I hate waiting for parts to arrive in the mail. I ordered engine parts and clutch parts from the same vendor. This will be a first and last time I buy from them. It's been 4 weeks!

I can't even start putting my engine back together. The parts I'm waiting on are for the governor and this is where you begin. I also have valve guides coming. Waiting makes me mad!

I have 2 parts coming for the clutch and drive shaft. It's still in pieces. This is what I get trying to save a buck!

To be continued.

[KiwiUSA]

Yep waiting for parts suck, following this thread, i love seeing a restore in progress.....and the finish product......good job so far.

[mobermiller]

Originally Posted by IHCadetCollector

Are you positive this was built in Feb. of 1962? The reason I ask is I see it has collared spindles, no hole for creeper, and no hole for steering adjustment.

You are right, I was wrong. When I first bought this Cub, my son read to me the serial number and I looked up the build date. The other day I needed the serial number and was very surprised that it was a 4 digit number of 9643. It was a May of 61 build.

[mobermiller]

It's official. Today, Sept 18, 2015 my custom 1961 International Cub Cadet was completed! Of course, are they ever complete? I want tri-ribs on the front, I want headlights, I want fenders, I want a creeper, I want ......... Here are some photos.

[john hall]

Looks great! Are your plans to show it or just ride around the yard occasionally ? Either way enjoy it!

[mobermiller]

It was now time to take the O apart for a good sand blasting and to repair and replace worn out parts. The engine was worn out and smoked very bad. It was an early model K161 and had the 2 7/8 piston. Since the block had to be bored I opted to use the 2 15/16" piston that was used in later versions of this engine. The crank had to be turned 10 thousands as well. It seems everything is worn out on the O!

Praise God the rear end was in good shape and only required seals, bushings and new rear cover gasket. These parts alone were $75. I disassembled the O down to a pile of parts and started to sand blast, prime, and do a thin coat painting of each part. After final assembly of most of the parts on the frame I will do a final painting. Rather than replace all the IH labeled bolts I am sandblasting them to help maintain that original look. The frame had several cracks where it bolts to the transmission. Welding and new metal was needed in this area. I rebuilt the steering column, and replaced all the tie rod ends. Since my tires and rims were shot and being on a limited budget I decided to put a set of wide tires and rims on the O. I bought 7/8" ID X 1" bushings to put on the front spindles so I could use my 1" bearing front rims that I had.

To be continued.