New From Madison, Ms

[mikemartin]

Hello: I am new to this forum and live in Madison, Ms. I am a long time Cub owner having a 1975 IH Cub 108 since 1979. i restored it several years ago. I recently bought a 1985 cub 1711 Hydro. this was a well kept unit with about 410 hours on it. It not run in years and i spent plenty getting my lawn mower mechanic guy to get it going (he bought $900+ of parts - new carb, starter, tires, some pulleys, belts, and more). It is a nice machine. I will restore it (mainly paint and decals) sometimes soon but I plan to mow some with it. Glad to be on this forum.

 

[jkoenig]

Welcome Mike! Glad to have you here. Nice 1711!

 

[mikemartin]

Glad to be here. Here is that '75 108.

 

[mikemartin]

I have a classic car restoration shop. A guy recently deceased had some high end European cars and a '65 Corvette roadster. They asked me to look at the Corvette as I am a member of NCRS and have a '65 Coupe. They wanted help selling the cars so I went over there. I saw this 1711 Cub when I walked in and asked if they intended to sell it too. They said they would call me and they did so in a month or two. Price? $250. It was good it only cost that much as my lawn mower guy charged me about $1k for parts and about $2k for labor (30 hours). (I

cannot fix anything myself!) I still think I got a deal.

 

[wh cc guy]

Welcome. Two very nice looking machines.

 

[Cubbie]

Hello Mike, welcome to the forum.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Mike, WELCOME!

 

[mikemartin]

I joined the Supporting Membership.

 

[mgonitzke]

That is a VERY nice looking original tractor. I would not repaint it. Some buffing and waxing will make it look great.

 

[mikemartin]

I need some front hub caps for the 1711. Anyone got such?

 

[Cubbie]

I joined the Supporting Membership.

Thanks for being a supporting member.

 

[mikemartin]

A good guy on this Forum had the front hub caps and I bought same. My wife fails to understand.

I am a sucker for these good lawn tractors and have two JD 345's. One a '98 and one a '01. Those are tough too. Both water cooled Kawasaki's. They will out last me.

 

[cubs4lifeofme]

Nice Cubs, Do i see a couple of Corvettes resting in the background ?

 

[mikemartin]

Yes on the Corvettes: a '65 Coupe (327/300, PG, NCRS Top Flight car) and a '97 S#771 (real early built C5 car) I have a classic car restoration shop (hobby run amuck.)

 

[mikemartin]

I mowed this past weekend for the first time with the 1711. It cuts better than those JD 345's I have but at 44" v 54" takes a bit longer. I have somewhat of a learning curve on controlling the hydro speed control, the mower deck height and driving at the same time. Seems I need another arm! Those Cubs run on and on. The hour gauge shows around 410 hours. The wife of the past owner told me that the deceased owner had problems with the original engine and the engine was replaced sometimes in the past. So it is really a low time unit. My yard use to be a field (40+ years ago) and took 3 hours to mow with that IH 108 w 44" deck. I planted so much stuff, trees, etc that now it takes about 45 minutes with the 1711.

 

[-CӞ]

JD Kawasakis: bought a well-used JE75 walk-behind mower for my nephew. Never encountered a smoother-running mower engine before or since.

 

[mikemartin]

The deck hub assemblies on the 1711 were worn (after about 40 years.) My lawn tractor fix it guy is replacing the hub/pulley assemblies. These things are expensive ($300+ each). They could perhaps be rebuilt but I have elected to replace them. My $250 1711 is way beyond that now!

 

[wh cc guy]

Welcome Mike. We are glad to have you with us. I also live in Madison but in TN. I also restore cars ( Camaros and chevy2) as a hobby. Sound like you stay busy taking care of all your toys.

 

[mikemartin]

My little classic car restoration "hobby" has a bit too much momentum. Here is a Facebook site a guy keeps up for me:

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We've got a lot going on. I like it.

 

[mgwin]

I live about 2 miles from Madison, N.C.