Newbie in WV Eastern Panhandle

[Barney Five]

Thanks to all for the enlightenment, especially T-Mo, Diz Jr. and ACecil. Had a nice time looking at pictures way too late last night. More questions: can I assume the wide frame units would be more suitable for moving mountains (that is, built heavier), or does it make any difference other than to avoid the 1100 series? And where does the 82 series stand in that respect? In the action photos it seemed that there were several models plowing with equal success. Would I logically look for ones with the larger engine sizes? My heavier uses would tend more toward gravel road upkeep and pushing snow. Soil here is too rocky to plow with any degree of ease. Thanks.

[T-Mo]

Basically, the IH Cub Cadets can be divided into a few different series.

First was the Original (so-called because it was the first). It had a lot of unique features to it that you won't find on the other series, including attachments, etc. One feature was the frame was turned down (in other words, the flat part of the frame was on top with the sides angle down, unlike the other which were flipped up). This drove the designers to place the engine higher than the transmission, therefore a belt came off the flywheel side of the engine down to the drive shaft. Also the frame stop forward of the transmission which was bolted to the rear of the frame. This design allowed for the tractor to sit lower, with lower ground clearance and also cause stress cracks where the transmission bolted to it.

Second was the narrow frames, which included a few series within in itself. 70/100, then 71/102/122/123, then the 72/104/105/124/125, then the 73/106/107/126/127/147. To eliminate the belt in the drive train, the frame was flip upside down from where the Original had it, allowing the engine to sit lower in the same plane as the transmission, thus no belt. Also the frame rails now extended further back, surrounding the transmission on both sides, eliminating the cracks that were prevalent on Original. Attachments can be mounted throughout the series. The only drawbacks to the narrow frame was the frame was too narrow to fit anything above a 12 hp, though the 147 had a 14 hp, but it was notched, and the frame being narrower made it harder to work on.

Third, the wide frames came next. I will divide this up into different series as each had their own “uniqueness”. The 86/108/109/128/129/149/169 were the first. The frame width was increased in the front only to allow for a placement of larger engines. The 169 marked the first 16 hp Cub Cadet as an example. These took the same attachments as the narrow frames, but a different undercarriage was needed. Also, now the fender and footrests were integrated into one piece and there was a removable tunnel to allow easier access to the mechanicals within the frame.

Then came the Quiet Lines, 800/1000/1200/1250/1450/1650. It used the same frame as the wide frames and should be considered a wide frame also. (Every Cub Cadet from then on were wide frames). The engine now used isolators to reduce vibration, engine side panels were used to help silence the engine, and a larger, redesigned muffler was incorporated. And for the first time, Cub eliminated the starter/generator and went with a flywheel starter and a stator.

The narrow frames had this modeling system. All tractors with an even last digit, i.e. 100, 102, 124, 128, etc. were gear drives and all tractors with an odd last digit, i.e. 123, 105, 107, 149, etc. were hydros. The exception to this was the 70, 71, 72, 73, and 86 which were all gear drives. The quiet line changed that, the gear drives ended in 00 and the hydros ended in 50.

Next came the 82 series – all models now had the digits 82 on the end. It should be noted here that also included the lawn tractors. The garden tractors though were 582 (except for the 582S), 682, 782 and the Super Garden tractor 982. I won’t go into the tractors after the IH era. The tractors now were painted red for the first time.

All models above are capable ground engaging tractors and are true garden tractors regardless if it’s a narrow frame or wide frame or Quiet Line or 82 series, gear or hydro.

[Methos]

Great post T-MO!

[Barney Five]

Boy! Talk about a great history lesson! I need to print that out so I can refer to it when I look at CC's. Well, guys, believe it or not I ran out of questions. (For the moment, at least.) But just wait till I get my hooks into a CC. Now I want to just poke around on the site and listen in on others' conversations. Amazing what you can learn from someone else's questions. When I was in school I used to love it when we went on field trips. Usually there was some nerd that asked a lot of dumb questions and we learned a lot more from listening in on the answers. Not that questions here are dumb, you understand. Many thanks for an informative thread.