123 cub

[Boudreau33]

Hello everyone, I’m new to the whole cub cadet addiction however I have an opportunity for a purchase.

1450 hydro and a gear trans? 50 buck parts tractor
128 needs a ring job 100 bucks
128 runs  and drives 150 bucks
123 runs and drives with plow weights and tiller 150
250  carbs off been sitting 150

Here  are my questions  - which ones are the best deal?
                                    - is it worth the money to get all of them?

just looking to see which ones would be a better profit if gone through to sell?
 

[Tom Scott]

Topic moved to appropriate sub-forum.

Robert, Welcome!  I'm not as up to speed on the older IH stuff as others on here, but I'll say that this isn't a "money making hobby".  You'd make more as a greeter at Walmart.  So I'd buy and restore because you enjoy doing the work, have a need for the tractor when it's done, something like that.  Hopefully someone comes along and gives some thoughts on each model.

Again, Welcome, and keep posting!

[Klapatta]

Well it all depends on ones point of view. Mine are all workers and they each do their assigned jobs very well. 
I recall very well that around twenty years ago everyone thought that they were going to get wealthy wheeling and dealing these machines.
That wound being up reserved to the couple dozen or so that went past the casual stage into the full on buying and parting out or flipping or whatever point. Once most people got what they were after things quieted down. Many of these people were children of parents that wanted one back in the day but were unable to afford one. Dad wanted a Cub but I wound up mowing the lawn with a 4 HP Springfield. Of course this is just opinion on my part.
While the model 126 is one of the rarer machines, I stopped hauling mine around to shows years ago. It simply did not generate all that much attention. That or somebody would come along and chat for a minute and then the conversation would morph into how their Wheel Horse or Simplicity was the superior machine. I grew pretty tired of listening to that especially when said machine was nowhere in sight to be seen.
To me, the only ones worth seeking out are three digit 'O', the SO 76, 169, and 800. Speaking of which that 800 never made any sense to me, releasing it during the height of the horsepower wars was a terrible plan. And then of course the more unique attachments such as a front end loader, sicle bar, belly blade, post hole machine, etc. are highly collectable. This in spite of the collectors base continuing to shrink as the hard core collectors grow older with fewer stepping forward to fill those shoes. The rest of them all remains quite common with plenty of them still parked in fields or the sides of sheds.
The bottom line is don't go paying a lot.
Still, they do bring a smile to my face when it's time to grade the driveway like I just did today-

[chzuck]

I would agree Klapatta.  My first plow day in 2003 found a fair amount of the cast iron Kohler Cubs.  By 2009 many had moved up to the newer 2 cylinder Cubs.  So it seemed the early cubs was a phase the hobby went through.  I still have my cast iron cubs and they handle variety of chores around my home and probably will until I can't operate them anymore.  I would like to try a zero turn, but would still need the cubs for things a ZT cannot do.
As was mentioned don't buy that stuff with dreams of making money.  Engine rebuilding is very expensive especially if one cannot do any of it themselves.  Most people do not rebuild carburetors because they are so cheap on Amazon even if the don't work properly.