Cub Cadet Collectors dot com

I stopped by to see a buddy's "Tiger Cub" a couple of weeks ago. I've been too busy to post a picture. He did a really good job on it. He found the 123 upside down in a dump. It doesn't have the correct seat or steering wheel, but still looks great.

From being upside down in a dump, to shiny like that, it looks great.

As far as the paint scheme......... Let's just say I've never seen one painted like that.

Jeff

Jeff, as I understand the story, when IH first introduced the hydrostat (123) they painted up several Cub Cadets as "tigers" and did jumps and stuff at county fairs to prove how durable they were. As far as I know, none of those are still around, but there are several pictures. My friend used the pictures to duplicate the tractors. He has before and after pictures of his work. The transformation is pretty remarkable.

Maybe someone can post some of those pictures of the original 123's. I don't have them.

Paul,
I never heard that story, that would be worth looking into. I might actually have learned some cub history

Jeff

edit

Here's what i found so far
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cub_Cadet

From the third paragraph of history

The hydrostatic transmission allowed the operator to have complete control over their speed eliminating the requirement to clutch and choose gears. Because International thought people would be skeptical of the reliability of a hydrostatic transmission, they painted a few 123s as tigers and put them in circus acts in which operators would perform tricks on them jamming it in reverse and forward to prove the durability of the new transmission.


I did learn something today

There are some photos on this page;
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/res ... _type1=and

Pretty sure I recall seeing this one when I was a youngster in Popular Mechanics magazine
The shot is taken from the Wisconsinhistory.org page Pretty cool

It seems like the tiger one shows up in the pictures but another one was a leopard and I'm guessing a lion. A member of the IH registry member(Ron Clark) made a 123 tiger one about 5 years ago(photo from 2005 at Alum Bank, PA Show) .

I guess the "Jumping Tiger" and the story of how IH showcased their introduction of the hydrostatic transmission to their garden tractor line with the 123 ("Easy as 1-2-3") is what attracts me the the 123s. There's 5 of them here, one of which I sold to a friend and "winter over" for him, 1 is for parts, and the other 3 are useable, if not "just right". They're all from different states - RI, MA, NH, NY, and PA. I thought I'd build a "Tiger Cub" for the 50th Anniversary of Cub Cadet in 2011, but now I guess I'll shoot for the 123's 50th in the Fall of 2015! According to Ken Updike in FARMALL CUB & CUB CADET (gotta love that book) the list price of a 123 was $1,082. I imagine that was without any attachments.

Now Frank,
Looks like you could use one from N.J.
I still have 4 of them 123,s.

These are some of my fastest hydro's.I raced with my wife and the 125 lost.

Lewis: I've got Emma, Rhoda, The Hampster (parts), Yorkie and Penny. WTH would I call a NJ 123? But I digress. It takes a lot to get me to leave my "Aroostook County Cocoon" but Jeanne is from Wallingford, CT and has family and friends down there and by going South in May we can kill two birds with one stone. Zagray Farms. I'd really like to see a seperate thread for Zagray Farms here. Here's a plug - do a search for QVAC. Try it, you'll like it.

Frank
Jersey Girl,here name shall be!!

Zagray in May, we'll say WHOOPIE!