A Young Man’s Junk Is an Old Man’s Toy

By Staff
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Above, the befores, below the afters.
Above, the befores, below the afters.
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Above, the befores, below the afters.
Above, the befores, below the afters.
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Above, the befores, below the afters.
Above, the befores, below the afters.
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All the sheet metal came from an old fire truck, '16 gauge.'
All the sheet metal came from an old fire truck, '16 gauge.'

403 Glenmore, Victoria, Texas 77904

A young friend gave me this Cub Cadet Model 72. I don’t know
the year model, probably in the low ’60s.

The spindles were stuck, the tires were rotted. The engine was
free, the steering gear was shot and the generator starter was
shorted.

I decided to make a show tractor to play with. The engine is a
12 HP Kohler with re-ringed valves ground along with new seals,
gaskets, points and condenser.

This model tractor drives by a drive shaft with a dry clutch.
Some of these models came with a creeper gear which, when engaged,
cuts the speed in half, mine doesn’t have this. I tried to find
one, but no luck. I left a place for it on the deck. It belts
directly to the transmission. Perhaps someone will read this
article and sell me one. The 16 inch wheels on the rear put a
little extra speed in low gear.

The front spindles were reamed out and new spindles made four
inches longer to raise the front end.

The foot rests are 3/16′ aluminum diamond plate.

A new regulator and armature were installed as well as a side
battery box. The steering shaft was cut and a universal joint added
to bring the shaft out at a lower angle.

A small console was made to hold the ammeter, ignition switch
and the light switch with the throttle and the choke mounted below.
The seat was raised two inches. I used the original gas tank with
the filler neck through the hood, as is the exhaust and mufflers. I
fabricated an adapter to bring the exhaust through to look like the
real thing. The adapter was insulated to protect the hood
paint.

The rear rims are old spare tire rims, four inches wide. A set
of decals was from John P. Hiniker.

P. S. I’ll turn 80 October 30th.

  • Published on Dec 1, 2000
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