[James_B]

I've been offered what I think is a good deal on a 70s vintage Cub Cadet with accessories. I've told the seller that I'll take and I'm just waiting on a response to my offer.

Don't know the model number yet (it's a good 2+ hours away), but it has a 14 hp Kolher Cast Iron Motor and Hydrostatic drive, so from the specifications and pictures, I suspect it's a Model 1450.

The engine runs, but has problems (knocking sound from the engine), so I'll most likely be stripping it down pretty soonish to have a look at the bearings.

It's the accessories that come with it that make the deal.

50" Mower Deck

48" Tiller (with some new spare tines)

48" Snowblower

If I can get the rig running with the 48" Tiller, then I'll be happy (and I can probably sell our older walk behind Troy-built tiller). Anything else that I can get to work will be a bonus. Getting the snow blower to work may even tempt me to sell our 30" walk behind model.

 

[Diesel332]

It looks like a good, honest Cub. I would buy it, even with an engine knock. Those big Kohlers are tough. I would keep the tiller with it, as they are not common.

 

[James_B]

At the moment, I'm still waiting for the seller to reply to my email letting him know that I'll take the lot at the price he was asking. I have the trailer hooked up and I'm ready to go at a moment's notice.

The tiller is the feature we were after, so if we get the CC, after I get the engine sorted out, the tiller is the first accessory that I'll be hooking up and making operational.

 

[James_B]

The seller has replied to my email, so unless he sells it out from under me, it looks like I'll be picking it up on Sunday. It's about a 2½ hour each way trip to the seller's place.

Last week we were ready to buy a 30" rotary tiller attachment from Sears, but nobody could guarantee it would even work on our older Sears Craftsman/MTD tractor. They had a more expensive self powered 36" tow behind tiller that would work, but looked a bit flimsy and more trouble than it was worth, and was probably no better than our older Troy-Built walk behind tiller. After paying taxes, the cheaper of the two Sears tillers is still almost 3 times the figure we'll be paying for the Cub Cadet and all the attachments, so I've got over $1000 to get the Cub Cadet plus tiller running before I'm any worse off.

 

[James_B]

Well, I did the trip up Nova Scotia's Highway 101 and came home with my new toy. Here's some photographs I took after we got home again.

Cub Cadet 1450




QA-42A Snow Thrower.

This appears to be missing the discharge chute positioning crank handle.

1A Roto Tiller.

The 1A Roto Tiller appears to be complete, although the long belt from the front PTO pulley to the rear mount gearbox is missing, but as a bonus, there are 2 more brand new 6" extension kits still in an original IH branded "6 inch extension kit" cardboard box.

Haven't gone through the manuals yet, but at a quick glance, other than the bits already mentioned, it looks like apart from the odd missing clevis pin retaining clip, everything of importance is there.

 

[rustyrideon68]

nice haul :fing32:

 

[glenn27]

Nice that you got the complete package, also--and the manuals!!

Like your trailer, too--first class, bro!

glenn

 

[James_B]

Thanks.

The manuals were downloads I found online, not a part of the package I bought.

I haven't done much more than move the Cub into a corner and go through the bits. The restoration work is planned as an over winter project.

I don't plan on doing a total restoration. This machine will be used as a working tractor, so stuff like the paint finish, etc, have a lesser importance than getting the mechanicals right.

I've discovered that the linkage and lift arm for the rear implement lift is missing, so one of those has to be found or fabricated before the tiller is of any use. Hopefully, I'll get things sorted out before it's time to prepare the ground for next year's kitchen garden plantings, otherwise we'll have to use the TroyBilt Horse again to do the tilling.

The trailer was bought just a few days prior to the trip we made to pick up the Cub. It's a bit flimsy compared to the similar configuration U-Haul trailers we had been renting, but it's quite light. Since we bought the trailer, we've saved a significant amount in trailer rental costs (and as we are in a semi-rural location, a good distance from any U-Haul depots, we saved even even more than the rental costs in gas by not having to do trips to pick up and return a trailer). I have a small 750 pound pull ATV winch that I'll be mounting onto the trailer to make loading stuff a bit easier. I used the same winch with a pulley block and a bit of muscle to single handedly load my non-running Jaguar project car onto a U-Haul car trailer, so it'll be quite adequate for anything I can legally load onto this trailer.

 

[James_B]

It's been almost a year since I got the CC1450. I finally have the time to start the rebuild process.

First up, find out why the front axle wobbles around.

That was easy. The front axle pivot pin hadn't been fully fitted and was not supported at the back. Looks like somebody has hit the pin with a hammer a few times to try to drive it in and it's now quite peened over. I'll have to attack it with a file or die grinder.

Next up, have a look at the motor (Kohler K321AQS). The previous owner said that it had a bit of a knock, so he stopped using it.

Motor's out ...



... and head is off.

• lots of ash on top of the piston and valves
• exhaust valve is stuck open. It'll move, but you've got to hit it with a dead blow hammer to get it to close. Spring looks OK, so new valve and guides should fix that.
• In regards to the knock the previous owner mentioned, rotating the crank back and forth by hand reveals a lot of travel before the piston actually moves and an audible clunk. I suspect the piston pin or bearing is shot.

The pressure washer is the next item to get running after winter storage. As soon as it's running properly, it'll be time to hit the Cub Cadet's engine bay and front suspension parts with some degreaser and then the suds.

 

[U.S.A Tractor Joe]

I'm a big-time 1450 fan, and I'm glad to have found your thread! I will be reading with excitement! Thanks for sharing :fing32:

Question: I have noticed on many different 1450's, that the Kohler K321 AQS sometimes have different oil fill tubes. I have the oil fill tube on the outside of my engine block. Yours goes right into the block. Why the different fill tubes?

Hope you can find the lift, or what you need for your tiller. That is a nice tractor, with some good attachments!

:thThumbsU

 

[MikMan48]

Hey Joe i think the tubes are still what i mentioned about the balance (grenade) gears. My understanding is if the tube is in the block there are no gears, itll be interesting to see if it has them when he cracks it open


Mikey.

Thread on my Ford (Profile Tractor)
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=495546

 

[U.S.A Tractor Joe]

Hey Joe i think the tubes are still what i mentioned about the balance (grenade) gears. My understanding is if the tube is in the block there are no gears, itll be interesting to see if it has them when he cracks it open


Mikey.

Thread on my Ford (Profile Tractor)
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=495546

Mikey, Your comment a while back rings a bell... and I recognize that thought. However, the John Deere garden tractors were a different animal all together from a International Cub Cadet garden tractor. Meaning Kohler set up the engine according to JD. Everything can be different and yet still be a K321, for example.

Now, I have opened up two Kohler AQS for IH Cub Cadets, Bill has opened up a few, and we both have found zero balance gears. I believe those gears were in the International Cub Cadet models before the IH Quiet Line, based on the balance gear reputation.

I know the early QL models had a cast iron grill, and the transmission too. I'm just puzzled about the difference in the oil fill tubes between Jame's and mine because I see this difference often between the QL's. I may have to resort the question to my Higher Up's.

James_B - http://www.cubcadetspecialties.com has QL muffler boxes for $50 bucks plus ten for shipping if your interested. I may have a IH emblem for you if interested when that time comes.

Keep up the good work!

 

[James_B]

AFAIK, it's the Spec. No. that determines the configuration of the engine.



And while there are lots of K321AQS engines, the 60291d specification identifies it as the engine variation that appears to have been fitted only to the CC1450 models between 1976 and 1978.

I checked out ccspecialties.org and the photo of the Muffler Box matches a part I couldn't identify, as when I got it, it was with a million other bits in a cardboard box. When I got it, there was nothing under the hood other than the engine and a lot of disconnected wires.

 

[James_B]

I know the early QL models had a cast iron grill, and the transmission too. I'm just puzzled about the difference in the oil fill tubes between Jame's and mine because I see this difference often between the QL's. I may have to resort the question to my Higher Up's.

James_B - http://www.cubcadetspecialties.com has QL muffler boxes for $50 bucks plus ten for shipping if your interested. I may have a IH emblem for you if interested when that time comes.

My 1450 has a cast metal lower grille section, and a magnet test reveals it to be a ferrous material, so it's probably cast iron.

Just went outside and checked on the "Muffler Box". I definitely have a Muffler Box, but the die cast alloy part is in a lot of bits, some of which have been crudely rejoined, but other pieces of the alloy section are long gone.

 

[James_B]

In my research on the Lift Kit that I need for the Tiller, it appears that there was a design change in the CC1450s between Serial No 616145 and 616146, and different mounting parts are required.

The plate on my CC1450 has the Serial No: 2050660U606638, so I guess I need parts for the earlier lift kit, but the hole size seems wrong.

The information I've been seeing is that the earlier Serial No models use a pin to hold the Rocker Shaft, and the later model use a pair of machined bolts. Mine has a roughly 0.85" hole through the frame and matching holes through the inner fender, but this size seems to match up with the threaded section of the machined down 7/8-14 bolts, so I'm just a bit confused.

Also, unless there's some kind of spacer (which I haven't seen in the parts listings), it would seem to me that the later model mount assembly using the machined bolts would need a slightly wider frame to provide room for the nuts that fit on each side between between the frame and the Rocker Shaft and hold the two machined bolts in place. This would indicate that the rear frame on the later models was something like 3/4" wider than the frame on the older models.

Complete used lift kits appear to be available ... there's one at Cub Cadet Warehouse for $230, and it does appear that they have all the parts available individually as well.

While I could get the lift parts now, I'm more interested in making sure that the rest of the machine actually works before I start worrying about the lift kit.

 

[James_B]

No progress yet.

I'm still in the process of building a serious work bench in the garage before I can even think about starting the engine tear down.