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)
New (sort of) Member from CT
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- Posts: 365
- Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:45 pm
- First and Last Name: Steve Townsend
- Location: White Hall, MD
Re: New (sort of) Member from CT
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!!!