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Starting a rebuild my dad never got to start.

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BrianBridges

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2022
Messages
8
Location
Amite, Louisiana
My dad passed away Dec.15th. He left behind an IH Cadet model 70, 71, 72 or 73... not sure, it's in bad shape. It belonged to his brother who died of self inflicted wound. I want to start and finished this restore for my dad in his memory but I am by no means my dad when it came to mechanical. So, I have a lot of reading and knowledge acquiring to do and I am looking to this forum for that knowledge. I uploaded a picture of the project and as you can see, I think I have a doosy. So, if any of you have any advice or sources for parts, I am deeply grateful.

My first task is identifying the model of the tractor and engine. I believe it to be a 70, 71, or 72. The engine is a Kohler, and I'm guessing a K161. The tractor had caught on fire and burned markings off the i.d. tag but there are numbers etched. I'm going to remove the tag and see if I can lift the numbers from the backside by paper and pencil. I looked up what I could read and it decodes to a 1978 engine which can't be right unless it was swapped. I don't know, maybe y'all can help.
 

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Brian, WELCOME! My condolences on the passing of your father.

Where were the stamped numbers located? Can you upload a photo of the cast grill housing, and the lower front frame area? There are details that will help us ID the model for you. Here are some photos to help ID it.

Here is a photo with a model 100 and a model 70.

100_Brochure03a.jpg


Here is a model 71:

Cub 71.jpg


Here are two photos of the 73. Note the white dash on the 73. The 72 would look very similar except for the hood decals, the white dash, the mesh grill insert and perhaps a few other subtle details.

CubCadet73.jpg


CubCalendar73.jpg


Both the 72 and the 73 would have QA (Quick Attach) mounts on the lower portion of the frame at the front like this:

QA Hooks.jpg
 
Brian, WELCOME! My condolences on the passing of your father.

Where were the stamped numbers located? Can you upload a photo of the cast grill housing, and the lower front frame area? There are details that will help us ID the model for you. Here are some photos to help ID it.

Here is a photo with a model 100 and a model 70.

View attachment 147334

Here is a model 71:

View attachment 147335

Here are two photos of the 73. Note the white dash on the 73. The 72 would look very similar except for the hood decals, the white dash, the mesh grill insert and perhaps a few other subtle details.

View attachment 147336

View attachment 147337

Both the 72 and the 73 would have QA (Quick Attach) mounts on the lower portion of the frame at the front like this:

View attachment 147338
I'll post some detailed pictures this weekend when I go to my parent's. Here's an engine pi
 

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Welcome to the forum! There's lots of great people here and lots of info.

Couple things I notice right away looking at your pictures.

In the photo you've used as your avatar, I can see the side of the front grille. Just from that grille I can tell you've got either a 70 or 100. Upon looking at your photos of the engine I can see that it isn't a k161 but rather a k241, indicating that you most likely have a 100, or a 70 swapped to 10hp. Both are essentially the same tractor as the engine was the only real difference between the 70 and 100.

Looks to still be in fairly good shape. With a good carb cleaning, battery, some fresh gas, and a quick clean of the breaker points, it'll probably fire up and run. Make sure the oil is clean and full too.
 
Welcome Brian! I am sorry for your loss. You are embarking on an extraordinary journey. What are your goals for the tractor? Just to get it operational? To put it to work, and maybe freshen the appearance? A better-than-new restoration? ( I put it this way because certain paint runs were practically standard, and most restorers don't want to replicate those.) Give some thought to your intended use of the tractor, your appearance goals, etc. We love them all here, and there is a vast amount of knowledge, experience, and reference material here.

You're on the right track finding the engine and tractor serial numbers for starters to find out exactly what you have for finding parts.

At the top of each page, there are four boxes. These are our sponsors, and offer great options for parts acquisition. New parts, used parts, implement parts, and optimization parts.

The IH Cub Cadets are all roughly 40-60 years old, so engine changes are common. Dealers sold replacement engines for them through the nineties or so.
 
Welcome to the forum! There's lots of great people here and lots of info.

Couple things I notice right away looking at your pictures.

In the photo you've used as your avatar, I can see the side of the front grille. Just from that grille I can tell you've got either a 70 or 100. Upon looking at your photos of the engine I can see that it isn't a k161 but rather a k241, indicating that you most likely have a 100, or a 70 swapped to 10hp. Both are essentially the same tractor as the engine was the only real difference between the 70 and 100.

Looks to still be in fairly good shape. With a good carb cleaning, battery, some fresh gas, and a quick clean of the breaker points, it'll probably fire up and run. Make sure the oil is clean and full too.
Thank you. That engine caught on fire years and years ago and my dad never got it running but I think he spent much time on it with all his other projects. I can it over with my hand with no resistance so I'll be tearing it down. I do appreciate the information and I will post more pictures when I go to my parent's this weekend. Im looking forward to starting the the rebuild
 
I did this 72 a few years back. They are great models.
All the best with your project.
 

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Brian
You have a great project and it will bring back memories as you work on the Cub.
I cleaned up my Dad's Cub 147 that he bought in 1971. My brother-in-law had it after Dad passed in 2000 and he gave it to me. have fun and reminisce.
Ken
 

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I can it over with my hand with no resistance so I'll be tearing it down.

.

These Kohlers can be deceptive. They have a compression release mechanism that might be allowing the easy rotation. Of course tearing the engines apart is one of my favorite parts, so suit yourself
 

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