New (sort of) Member from CT

[markmdz]

I think I'm going to start being a be a bit more active than I've been for the past few months, so I might as well introduce myself.

...but I'm not new to cubs.
When I was 11, we moved to a bigger house with way more yard. Shortly after we moved in, he brought home an old 100 which he, my brother, and I all used to mow, plow, snowblow, cart wood from the woodpile to the house (wood burner for heat), and anything else we could find to use it for.

How'd I get stuck with yellow fever?
In Feb '13, I decided to rent out my house with a small yard and move my family to a slightly bigger, more comfortable house with a much larger yard. At the old house, I just mowed the lawn with a push mower and 45 mins to an hour later I was done. In the recent years, I gave the push mower to my brother and hired the neighbor to cut the lawn, which yielded a nicer lawn (because it actually got mowed once a week instead of whenever I got around to it) and more time with the wife and kids.

Anyway, fast forward to the bigger house/yard, and I was faced with the reality that paying someone to mow was entirely too expensive, so I'd have to pick up a rider and start doing it myself again. I called my 'ol Man and asked him to start keeping an eye out for a decent machine on the cheap. I was dead-set on avoiding the new plastic disposable junk, so if it wasn't old, I wasn't even considering it. I looked at Simplicity, Chalmers, Wheelhorse, etc and just didn't like them compared to the old 100. Then my dad called me about a Deere 214 his buddy had for sale. $600 with a plow, deck, and 75lb weights and in very good shape. He told me I had to jump on it because it was a great deal on a great machine. I balked because I didn't want to part with $600. My budget was closer to 300-400 (tops).

A week later I called him to admit defeat in my cheap tractor search and tell him I'd go buy the 214 from his buddy. His response was a bit of a surprise "Too bad, because I just bought it yesterday, but even though I know it's kinda rough, you can have the old 100 for free." I nearly shat myself. The following weekend, I was at his house loading up the 100 and it's been my trusty grunt since.

One problem:
That 100 created a monster. Fast forward less than a year now and I've already had or have: O, 100, 100, 100, 102, 102, 122, 122, 123, 124, 127, 128, 1450 and 1650.

The current stable consists of:
100 - (my dad's old one) Fenders, creeper, headlights, taillight, 42" deck, weights, 36 Blower, plow, snow cab
100 - Fenders, headlights, 42" deck, 3-pt w/spring assist, weights
102 - no options, but a pretty cool stack in lieu of the stock muffler
122 - very rough, creeper only, and a popped motor
122 - headlights, taillight, creeper, 3-pt, rear PTO (it's a 2 owner machine that's dead original [until I do a resto on it])
123 - 3-pt and hydro lift (may or may not restore it, and may or may not pull the hydro lift and put it on the 100 or 122)

[stevet]

Welcome to the site....and meet a bunch of guys with the same addiction! I also had a lot of narrow frames when I first got into the Cubs. My first was a 73 that I had about 13-14 years ago that my son and I used to enjoy. Wound up selling it and 2 others I had picked up in the meantime due to financial issues, etc. got back into them a couple of years later with a 124, then got my son a 123, which led to a 100, a 782, and on and on. At one point I was up to as many as 15 tractors! I've now gotten that back down to 5, 2 of which I use on a regular basis. I have a 782D, a 982, a 782 gas, a 4 digit O and still have my sons 123. Enjoy the tractors and the hobby, I know we all do! And pics of your tractors are always welcomed and enjoyed by all of us!!!