Questions deck & wheels

[twhaberkamp]

Hi All, Im slowly restoring a 125. I have a 42" and a 48" deck and heres my question: is one more desirable than the other? other than the extra width of course. I only plan to restore one of the decks and they both are about in the same condition. 2nd question - is there any trick to removing the front wheels on a 1450? and if I can get them off can I use them on the 125? added a few pics for fun.
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

 

[jkoenig]

A certain keeper of photos and I grew up on that series. I’m sure he will be along soon with comments as well.

42 vs 48 deck is pretty much a wash. Wider may have slightly better resale value, but you won’t get your money out of it anyway. Redo the one that suits you better.

I think 1450s came with two sizes of spindles: 3/4” and 1” diameter. 125s should all be 3/4”. The wheel offset may be different on 1450s than on 125s as well. Eye them up very well before you commit to the 1450 wheels. I prefer the narrower front wheels/tires on a 125 because that’s what our 124 had.

I’d sure like to hear the story behind that steering wheel.

That seat may look bad, but do not scrap it! At a minimum, the blue trim may be reusable.

Have fun, enjoy it, and take pride in it. You will both be doing each other a favor.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Wow, that 125 has led a rough life! That fiberglass pan seat can be reupholstered, be sure to save the blue edging as it is no longer available and can be reused. The square headlights bezels are actually from the next Cub Cadet series, the correct headlight bezels for the 125 would be round. Nothing wrong with using the square bezels just wanted to point out that they are from the next series.

As Jim mentioned the 1450 could have either 1" or 3/4" diameter wheel axles (spindles?) The wide front wheels were an option on the 125. I agree that the offset could be different. To remove the front wheels/rims just remove the single bolt that's holding them on the spindle. If they don't want to slide off, the bearings could have worn a groove into the axle and may require a bit of finesse to wiggle them off.

Just personal preference but I would go with the 42" deck over the 48".

It appears to have the original grill screen but the vertical braces/brackets are not stock. The grill screen would normally be held in by two little spring clips that look like this:

If you don't mind me asking, where are you located?

 

[JPrattico]

Now I'm no 125 expert, but I must say, kudos to you for deciding to restore a tractor in that shape! Most people would have looked at that and said that it's basically scrap, but you didn't, and I admire that.

and believe me, it may take a while, but it is possible! Although not a full restoration, my 107 went through quite the transformation to bring it to the state it's in today.

from this...

to this...

she sat in pieces in the weeds for 30 years because of a bad hydro. Took me 3 years to complete the project. Man I bought it from could hardly believe it was the same tractor!

so I wish you luck, and I'm almost certain that with some time, patience, replacement parts, New paint, and a whole lot of penetrating oil, you'll have that 125 looking brand new again.

 

[wh cc guy]

Looks like lots of fun ahead. Good luck with it.

 

[twhaberkamp]

Thanks everyone! Ill take a closer look at the front wheels for width and spindle size - I also have a Sears tractor of the same vintage that had the chrome hub caps on it - and they do swap to the 125. but im going to sell of the sears to fund the 125. (I dont know why im doing the 125 too - the 2 sears I have are very nice lol and Im doing the 125 anyway. ) Thanks for the info on the headlights - I thought they were wrong.
The 125 was pushed under the front of a 40 storage trailer and then the trailer sank into the wet ground bending the wheel and hood. It sat a long time in a wet area. The wheels are deeply pitted and the deck was beyond any repair. Im in rochester Michigan. Here is a pic of a 1250 I restored.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Wow, nice job on the 1450!

 

[hydroharry]

Tom - I'll be amazed (and I'm sure other members will to) if you can restore that 125 to look similar to the 1450. The 1450 is of course one of my favorites. (I have to say yours might ride a bit hard with no springs under the seat).

With regard to using front wheels from a 1450 on the 125, I have to say no you can't.
The 1450 is a wide frame tractor and front wheels have the wide offset of the wheel towards the inside.
The 125 is a narrow frame tractor and the front wheels have the wide offset to the outside.
If you try to mount the 1450 wheel on the 125 with the wide offset to the outside the valve stem will be on the inside of the wheel and will hit on the axle spindle.

Basically, you can use a front wheel from a Narrow Frame tractor on a Wide Frame Tractor, but you cannot do the opposite.