IH Cub Cadet garden tractors were built to last
By Oscar H. Will III
An obvious standout at its debut in 1961, the International Harvester Cub Cadet is still a poplar and versatile lawn and garden tractor nearly 49 years later. These tough "titans of the turf" were the result of less than two years of intensive development and filled a significant gap in the lawn and garden equipment marker. Equipped with a farm tractor transmission, differential and Kohler-made engines, the machines were clearly built to last and hold a special place in the hearts of many equipment collectors.
Cub Cadets were expensive at the time...but they were inexpensive over time. In the original advertising campaign, IH noted that the Cub Cadet was the "most advanced compact tractor of its day."
No doubt that was true, but they remain popular to this day-thousands are still in daily service and even more are preserved in private collections.
Birth of an American original - By late 1958, IH executives recognized a potential market for small, four-wheeled tractors equipped with air-cooled engines. The largely suburban post-war market demanded a multi-purpose tractor that was capable of easing lawn and garden chores year round. While the Farmall Cub was considered an ideal choice to fill the niche, the popular farm tractor was far more expensive than the $500 price that successfully sold other garden tractor brands.
As a result, by mid-1959, IH designers envisioned the Cub Cadet as the "Cubette." The tractor would sport a 7 hp Kohler engine, an off-center disc clutch, all-gear transmission and differential borrowed from the Farmall Cub, as well as cam and followed steering. In early 1960, IH engineers completed designs for a high-quality machine that could withstand the rigors of heavy use and ground-engaging implements.
By June 1960, three experimental Cubette tractors were built and tested exhaustively. The engineers concluded that these Cubettes performed as well as or better than the competitive models in all tests, and moved forward with the project.
Encouraged by early tests, IH built 10 prototypes in October 1960. Six of these tractors were placed in the hands of potential customers for testing, two were used for implement development, one was used for owner and service manual production and the last was used for photographs to generate marketing materials.
Paul Bell of Louisville, Ky., owns prototype number 409. The locations of the other prototypes remain a mystery.
The company then built 25 pre-production Cub Cadet (note the name change) tractors in November 1960. These machines were sent to potential customers in the field, each slated for 50 hours of testing with mowers and/or blades. These pre-production field-test machines had consecutive serial numbers beginning with 501.
Regular Cub Cadet production began in January 1961 with serial no. 590. IH conservatively projected initial annual demand for the machines to be in the 5,000-10,000 range. Lucky for IH, those numbers were seriously underestimated. In fact, just less than 49,000 units were actually delivered in the first two years of production, and about 65,000 units were sold by late 1963.
"The product had been a greater success than anyone had dreamed of," Harold Schramm says when describing IH's entry into the lawn and garden tractor market. As a young engineer for IH, Harold designed the Cub Cadet's drive-line from the engine to the transmission input shaft.
This initial Cub Cadet - built from 1960-1963 - is called the "original" by enthusiasts today. To identify subsequent models, IH attached model numbers to the Cub Cadet name and regularly changed the numbers with new line introductions.
Narrow frame numbers By March 1963, Harold and his team had designed a new, improved line of Cub Cadets. While there was no pressure from the top to change the highly successful original, Harold had worked to incorporate a shaft-powered mower drive into the design to eliminate the mule belt, which connected the mower to the PTO on the front of the engine.
"We wanted to bring the frame up to make more clearance for the mower," Harold explains about why he designed a new full-length, ladder-type frame with parallel rails. This frame bolted to either side of the transmission case above the axle housings instead of just to the front of the transmission.
That single change strengthened the frame-to-transaxle connection and allowed the 7-hp engine to be mounted low enough that the crankshaft aligned directly with the clutch and drive shaft. The clutch was no longer off-center, thus IH could eliminate a belt from the drive train.
"The original Cadet met the requirements for a tractor as far as design specifications were concerned," Harold says, "However, the belt drive detracted from the feeling that this was a true tractor."
The IH team convinced Kohler to change its 10-hp engine's mounting base so that it would fit between the new frame rails. Add styling changes-including a new grille, hood and brake system-and in late 1963, the Cub Cadet models 70 to 100 were released - ironically without the shaft-driven mower, which proved too expensive for most consumers.
In July 1965, IH replaced the Model 70 with the Model 71, the Model 100 with the Model 102, and introduced a new 12-hp Model 122. The new models retained the narrow frame, but styling changes included a new hood and grille for all three versions. The Model 102 and Model 122 also received two-piece angular fenders that bolted to the footrests as standard equipment. Fenders for the Model 71 were optional and resembled the older, rounded two-piece design.
By fall 1965, IH added the Model 123 to its garden tractor line. This 12-hp tractor was the first with a hydrostatic drive. The Model 123 had a Sunstrand Co. hydro system coupled to the Cadet's differential through a reduction gear. The cast iron transmission case served as the hydraulic fluid reservoir.
International Harvester introduced a new line in 1967, with a modified hood, instrument panel and grille. A quick-attach system for mounting implements was the key addition to the line. The Model 72 replaced the Model 71, while Model 104 and Model 124 replaced the gear-driven 102 and 122 models. The Model 125 replaced Model 123, and the Model 105 was added as a 10-hp hydrostatic version. Again, fenders were standard equipment on all but the Model 72.
Additionally, Cub Cadet models 73, 106, 107,126 and 127 were introduced in 1970 to replace the 72, 104, 105, 124 and 125 models. This line featured a one-piece stamping that integrated the fenders and footrests into a single piece, and a raised panel stamped into the hood. A new 14-hp hydrostatic Model 147 was also introduced, which required frame modification to accommodate the larger-sized flywheel and blower housing of the 14-hp Kohler engine. This trend toward larger engines spelled the end of Harold Schramm's narrow-frame design when the series was replaced in late 1971.
Harold says that the styling changes were generally made to update the Cadet's look and to call attention to the line's updated or new features. Narrow-frame Cub Cadets were introduced on a 24-month cycle, but the latest significant change to the Cub Cadet had to be completed within 20 months. Needless to say, Harold and his dedicated design group met the deadline.
Wide frames and more After nearly a decade of narrow-frame machines, IH relied entirely on a wide-front design after 1971. "Once the fender change was made on the 73-147 line, the frame change was not difficult," Harold explains about the genesis of the wide-frame Cub Cadets. "The new, formed frame had more space and it also made the tractor look beefier."
The sixth line of Cub Cadet tractors was introduced in late 1971, and included models 86, 108, 109, 128, 129, 149 and 169. The tractors sported new hoods, grilles, instrument panels and many safety and convenience updates. Of course, the frame was wider up front to accommodate larger engines. For the first time the grille casting was painted white, and the grille was constructed of black plastic.
The gear-driven models - 86, 108 and 128 - used the Farmall Cub's transmission. The other models were hydrostatic, including the Model 169, which was the first with a 16-hp engine. All models used the original Cub Cadet's cast iron rear end and differential. The hydrostatic pumps on the two highest horsepower cub Cadets were fitted with auxiliary ports to serve the machine's lifting and remote hydraulic needs.
In the fall of 1974, IH introduced a new series called the Quietline. These wide-frame Cub Cadets had a new numbering scheme, rubber isolation of the engine from the frame and an enclosed engine compartment. Initially, the Quietline Series included three gear-driven units in 8-,10- and 12-hp called the 800, 1000 and 1200, respectively, Cub Cadet Model 1250, Model 1450 and Model 1650 were the 12-, 14- and 16 hp hydrostatic models. All three still used Kohler engines. In order to remain competitive in the lower price range, IH introduced the Model 1100.
The Model 1100 was a significant deviation from the rest of the wide-frame Cub Cadets. IH dropped the Farmall Cub transaxle, opting for a less expensive four-speed Peerless brand lawn tractor transmission, which was standard for most competing models. The Model 1100 was powered by an 11-hp Briggs & Stratton engine. To further cut costs, engine compartment side panels weren't included ... which meant that it wasn't a true Quietline, because the side panels were the main noise-abating component of the Quietline Series.
Although it wasn't planned, the 1977 design was based on what would become the last of the IH Cub Cadet lines scheduled for release two years later.
Finest of the fleet In 1979-Cub Cadet's most profitable year-IH again introduced a significantly redesigned line of Cub Cadets. Styling included an all-enclosed engine compartment. However, the tractors were updated with safety and comfort changes, enhanced hydraulics and many more engine sizes and brands. After 19 years of yellow and white paint, IH painted the new Cub Cadest red and again changed the nimbering system.
Epilogue High quality notwithstanding, IH fell into deep financial trouble by late 1980, and sold the Cub Cadet line to Machine Tool & Die Co., as the Cub Cadet Corp. in 1981. Within a few years, CCC was dissolved and the now-exclusively yellow and white Cub Cadet was manufactured directly by MTD, which remains the case today. N one of the Farmall Cub components remain in the new Cub Cadets, but the name lives on for these titans of the turf-as does their reputation of quality, dependability, versatility and power.
Harold Schramm worked as an engineer for IH during 1958-1985 and was directly involved with the Cub Cadet product line for most of those years. He splits his time between his home in Downers Grove, ILL., and his place in Winamac, Ind., where he stores his fleet of vintage Cub Cadets.
This article was reprinted from the Farm Collector magazine. April 2004, Volume 6, Issue 9.
The IH archives: A gold mine of knowledge: Probably the single-most important research resource for International Harvester enthusiasts is the McCormick/International Harvester Collection archived by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. More that 12 million items, spanning the years 1753-1985, are housed within, and all relate to Cyrus McCormick and the International Harvester Co., Fortunately, the collectin is open to the public and includes thousands of historic photographs, advertising images and documents pertaining to IH Cub Cadet development, evolution and marketing.
Visit the archives at 816 State St., Madison, WI 53706. The archives can also be reached on the Internet at www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/ihc or by telephone at (608) 264-6460. If you plan a visit for a specific reason, it's advisable to call or e-mail ahead so that the items you are most interested in can be gathered.