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I was talking with Freddie, the retired foreman from my father-in-law's factory the other day. He's a cheerful fellow from Portugal with a heavy accent and a twinkle in his eye whom everyone respects for his mechanical genius. He retired in February after 50 years at the shop but still shows up most mornings to tinker around, lend a hand with the production details and hang out with his friends. He pulled out his little camera and started showing me photos he'd taken of the Cub Cadet 124 that my father-in-law gave him many years ago. He has tricked it out with a snow thrower, heated cab, wipers and automatic snow chute adjuster. It was so beautiful I insisted that he let me copy the pictures to share them here. In fact these are what pushed me into joining the forum. They are too good to keep to myself, and with winter coming on, they could provide some inspiration for the ingenious among us and entertainment for the rest of us.


Doesn't this look cozy on chilly New England day? The cab is welded from aluminum plate. The shop he ran for 50 years makes marine windows and doors so it was a cinch for him to put together these gasket-mounted windows.


Check out the way the door is gasketed so that the weather doesn't get in.


He set up a blower to draw the heat from the engine and warm the cab. It blows up onto the windshield to defog. Nice custom dashboard, too.


It looks like he has a fan to warm the driver as well.

Here are a few more picutes of the outside. I love the paint job. Notice how he cut and hinged the hood at the front of the cab.



We make marine wipers at the factory so he put one on the windshield. There was one on the back too, but he found he didn't need it. Notice the pantographic arm that keeps the blade parallel with the sides of the window and maximizes the wiper coverage.




I'll have to ask him what the bracket at the top of the cab is for. Any ideas?


It looks a little like an Amish buggy from the back.

Here's where it gets even more interesting.

He hooked up a wiper motor to a cog which engages a slotted ring around the blower chute. This allows him to aim the chute as he is driving.


Of course the ice jams the chute so he piped the exhaust to blow onto the base of the chute.


I'd love to hear you comments on this one. I think Freddie will enjoy the appreciation.

Interesting theory concerning piping the exhaust. I always thought heat from the engine through the grill caused the problem. In the winter I block off the grill so the engine air must exit the sides. I only did that last year and we only had one snow where I could use the blower. So I am still in testing mode.

Very cool 124!

Yea, I agree with Joe, quite the craftsmanship in that machine, the cab and the chute heater system. Keep us updated on how well it works.

Nice tractor! Everything looks top notch. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure the bracket was for a light of some sort. Probably a yellow rotating becan...... cause he was the town snow patrol.....

chzuck wrote:Interesting theory concerning piping the exhaust. I always thought heat from the engine through the grill caused the problem. In the winter I block off the grill so the engine air must exit the sides. I only did that last year and we only had one snow where I could use the blower. So I am still in testing mode.

That makes sense about the engine heat causing ice on the chute. Let us know how it works out.

chzuck wrote:Yea, I agree with Joe, quite the craftsmanship in that machine, the cab and the chute heater system. Keep us updated on how well it works.

He's been using it and refining it for years. I'm sure it works great, as does everything this guy builds.