I belong to a 4X4 club that puts on an annual off road race that draws competitors and spectators from around the country.  Most of these folks camp on our grounds. So what does this have to do with Cubs?  I was visiting with some friends that have been coming down from Michigan for years and one of them asked what I had been up to.  I told them how my barn refurbishing was going and the garden was great this year and so on and so on.  Then I mentioned my interest in Cubs.

 

One of the guys that was there mentioned that he had one that he was going to junk (be still my heart).  I asked why he was going to do that and he said it was sitting in his woods the last 4 or 5 years and he never used it.  He said he started it about a year ago but left it sit.  His wife told me to they’d let it go cheap just to get it out of there.  She said to come get it so she didn’t have to look at it anymore.  I said it was too bad they lived so far away because I’d like to see it. 

 

He said he only lived about 10 minutes away in Indiana.  I told him I knew he had Indiana plates but I thought he lived in Northern Indiana near Michigan by his friends.  He said he just knew them all these years from racing with them so he camped with them.  Hot Dog, I thought, here’s a Cub that isn’t on the radar yet so I have a good chance of beating anyone else to it.  We went over to his house Monday night to check it out and I asked what it would take to get it.  He said he was gonna junk it so just make a good offer over junk price.  A little haggling ensued and needless to say #19 joined the fold in the barnyard.  I picked it up that evening and took it back to the campgrounds until I could get it home.

In order to remove the crank pulley it was necessary to remove the radiator and bolster. A chain hoist comes in awfully hand when that is needed to be done.

 

Another saved Cub!

 

It is a 1949 and has a plate over the starter hole, never had a battery, generator and naturally none of the related electrical wires and such.  The dash has nothing more than a switch to start it.  The guy said he always had to crank it to start it.  With no starter I’m not surprised.  I couldn’t find a crack or weld anywhere on it.  The tires are in pretty good shape with a little weather  checking but should hold up well.  This one has front/rear weights, a swinging draw bar, manual implement lift and for sitting out side it looks pretty decent even with the bent hood and grill.

 

I got to tinkering with it during some spare at our campsite and got  it running pretty easily.  Put a starter on it along with a battery and a fresh magneto.  It ran well and has pretty decent torque.  However the next day when I went to load it to take it home I heard a terrible racket coming from the engine.  I shut it off and a buddy helped me push it on the trailer. as soon as I got it to the barnyard we pushed it into the shop until I had time to check it out.