4805 266th Street East Spanaway, Washington 98387
For the past five years, restoring tractors has been my hobby.
During that time I have tried to get my wife, Beverly, more
involved and interested in the hobby. As I attend a number of shows
each year and exhibit one or more of my tractors, it has been my
hope to get her enthusiastic, as it’s always more fun to share
events together. I found myself wracking my brains to think of
something that would appeal to a wife who finds herself somewhat
bored with the noise and smell of the show and the putt-putt sounds
of stationary engines. Because my wife is a nice person, she would
accompany me to the shows and take the obligatory pictures that I
would ask her to. One year I brought two of my S series Cases to a
show so that she would drive one in the tractor parade. After each
show, I would invariably ask her what she liked best, and she would
always mention the Farmall Cubs. After viewing some of the more
outstanding exhibits at a number of shows such as the Aultman
&. Taylor that was so big you stood inside the rear wheel and
couldn’t touch the top, or the big cross motor Case, her
comments surprised me. I asked her why she liked the Farmalls and
she said, ‘Because they’re cute.’ Being the typical
man, I had to inform her that tractors are working mens’
machinery and these items are not referred to as ‘cute.’ It
was a number of months where I had occasion to recall that
conversation.
This past spring, the annual tune up time was due for our 18 HP
Craftsman lawn tractor. It takes a long time to mow three acres,
and I was somewhat envious of my other neighbors who had a Honda,
John Deere and Wheel Horse. While reading’ one of my tractor
books on a drizzly northwest evening, I read an article about how
Farmall Cubs were used back in the ’60s for mowing large lawns.
A 59-inch deck could mow three acres an hour. My wife does most of
the mowing and I thought here’s a way to get her a tractor she
likes and have the neatest lawn mower in the neighborhood, but
where could I find a good restorable Cub at a fair price?
One Saturday morning our club newsletter came in the mail and in
it was a Cub for a reasonable price. I knew the fellow’s dad
well he is Dennis King, our show manager for Branch 20 of the
EDGE&.TA. I called him and asked if it even ran. He said his
son Fred had done a nice job on it and it ran great. My wife and I
went to take a look at it. I could see right away that my wife
really liked it. Two hours later it was in my garage. Two weeks
later it had a brand-new Woods 59-inch deck on it.
In the next couple of weeks I did some extra things to the
tractor. I replaced the piston rings and valves, a head gasket, and
redid the sheet metal with a more lasting acrylic enamel paint.
It’s not that Fred King didn’t do an outstanding job for a
22 year old; it’s just this picky fellow wanted to get his hand
in the restoration of this tractor, too.
When I got done we rolled it out for the neighborhood to see.
With some fine tuning she mows great. The 1989 Craftsman is gone,
replaced by a 1951 Cub. We’ve gone from low man on the mowing
totem pole to the neatest mower in the neighborhood.
We took the Cub, along with my SC Case, to our annual
EDGE&TA show in Roy, Washington, in July. Beverly not only
drove it in the parade, but also participated in the 1500 to 2500
pound class tractor pull. Upon completion of her round, she
received a good ovation from the people in the stands for being the
only woman driver. Being shy, she has a hard time dealing with all
of the people telling her she owns one beautiful machine.
My wife now looks forward to exhibiting and driving the Cub in
other shows, we can now mow 2.5 acres in 45 minutes, life is good.
The more I continue to learn about Farmalls, the more impressed I
am with their looks and performance. We’re both proud of our
Farmall, and a lot of people, as well as I, would have to agree it
sure is cute!
