Hey!!   &^%#$ Cub owners!   Let's get a word or two going here.   My topic is based on last week's comments in the ATIS list about the suitability of a Cub in cutting grass.  I admit I gave up on my 1949 Cub with belly mounted mower for my 4 acres of lawn when an 8N Ford came by.  9HP is enough to spin the blades on a lawn that is not a lot up-hill or too long.  But I:) miss sitting way up in the air and just plain riding that Cub.  Now it does other chores around, but the mowing is better with the Ford or the old 300 series JD garden tractor, if necessary.

I think part of my troubles with the cub were 1) waiting too long to cut the grass, 2)the drive pulley on mine at the PTO was wobbly (splines bad) and difficult to keep belt tension , 3)the PTO tended to slip out of engagement so I was busy re-doing that.  BUT! I did mow a lot of grass with it.  What has been your experience??  

Been around a lot of Cubs mowing grass. Likewise, lowboys, 154's, 184's etc. Bottom line to me is a Cub for mowing is about the equivalent of a decent lawn mower from the 70's. By the '80's so many mowers began using higher powered engines that they would out-mow a Cub. Today it's not uncommon to see over 20hp hung on a 48" deck on a riding mower.  A Cub with a 60" 3 blade deck is just not fast. However if you are not in a hurry, I think they are a good machine.
  I liked the IH mower decks with the "overunning cutch" built into the pulley (was that just on the single blade 48" models?). It made shifting gears a lot easier. A more decent machine in my opinion is a Super A, 140 etc. You got enough hp there to get into some rather tall grass and still be able to handle it.
 I guess part of my bias against using a Cub for mowing is that I never grew up with a tractor that small/underpowered. That said, dad has one he uses quite often. We completely rebuilt the engine and only mow lawns with it so it performs nicely.

It's been quite a while since I've mowed with a Cub and never with the Cub I have now.  They work ok with a narrow mower like a 42" or so but the early ones lack the power for a larger mower IMHO.  I have an old BushHog 412 mower that I could use with my Cub but it needs quite a bit of work and I have other equipment to mow with.  It didn't help that the PO welded the mower pulley to the spindle, ruining the seals and ultimately the bearings.:mad:  Proof of passing some form of IQ test should be required of all people purchasing welding equipment!

I have 4 or 5 cub mowers around here.  Only 2 of them stay mounted all the time.  I have a 62 lo-boy with a 42" Woods mower and a 76 cub with the 60" IH C 3 deck.  The 76 is a little peppier than the older cubs and handles the 5 foot deck fine.  When I want to relax, I mow with one of them.  Most of the time I mow with my green thing lawn tractor.  It's quicker and more maneuverable than the cubs and of course the deck is live all the time.  But it sure does beat you to death.

I agree with Bigdog. I have 4 cubs with 5 foot mowers and a Massey Pony as well, but do not use any of them. I have A Toro 48 inch cut with Hydrostat that will out cut the cubs. It is a little rough, but I also do not want grass stains all over the cubs inner wheel rims as it quickly messes up the paint finish. I have mowed with the 184 and it has plenty of power, but has been repainted to look like new, it will never mow again.

Larry D.

I have a 1948 Farmall Cub and I only use it for grading my driveway. I use the 42 in IHC blade mid-mounted. My grass mowing fleet is made up of IHC 140 with a Woods 59m mower, Cub Cadet 106 , 2806 , Economy power king with belly mower and JD 2040 with 60" bush hog. Merton

Sorry guys, my Farmall M doesn't classify as a cub!

Sorry guys, my Farmall M doesn't classify as a cub!

Two things Dave;
1) Thats Cub--with a capital "C"
2) You should really get one--they are the worst engineered yet one of the best selling pieces of equipment IH ever built! You got to hate them before you can love them!