I bought this tractor and started restoring it in December 2017. Here are some pictures from the day I brought it home, along with my 147. They were the only two I had at the time.
Cub Cadet 149 Restoration
- Thread starter IHCubCadet147
- Start date
Some more before pictures. The pictures actually make it look good. Most of it was painted with a brush, over rust and dents. When I started sanding it, I found at least 4 different shades of yellow under it, so it had been painted a few times in its life. It had some incorrect parts on it too, like the steering wheel, gas tank, taillights, wrong size wheels and tires.
I didn't take a whole lot of pictures while I was taking it apart, and getting stuff ready for paint. I now wish I did. I started taking a lot more when I started painting stuff and putting it back together.
I sandblasted most of the parts. Here’s a few pics from when I was doing the frame. I used some paint stripper first to get to get the heavy stuff off. 
The first few parts in primer.
The first few parts in primer.
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The engine ran ok, but burned oil bad, so I had it rebuilt. The guy who did it sent me a lot of pictures while he was working on it.
A few more:
Transaxle, front axle, and engine parts in primer:
And painted:
And painted:
Most of the parts painted:
Assembly pictures coming soon, stay tuned.
Assembly pictures coming soon, stay tuned.
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Thanks Bill. Here’s a better picture of the Prowler.
Sweet..
Yours or the families ?
No, one of our customers.
Turning out nice. We did all of our cubs the same way. Tear down, blast and paint everything. We used stainless hardware on all the exposed bolts you could see. Gave it a nice pop.
I don’t remember exactly what primer, probably 5 Star or Transtar Urethane. Someone gave me two started cans of actual Cub Cadet yellow and white paint. There was only enough there to do a few parts, so we used that up first, and after it was gone, we had that camera matched and mixed in Nason Ful-Cryl.
Thanks Aaron. I did the same thing, stainless bolts for what you see, the rest I wire wheeled and painted.
It’s well worth it. We have sold all of our restored cubs except for 4. They never touched a blade of grass again after the restoration…
Going back together…
The aftermarket decal sets come with a decal for the dash, instead of a tin. I wanted the original textured tin, but it didn’t look great. Sometimes you can find NOS ones, but they are not cheap. I’ve seen some other guys restore the original ones, so that’s what I did. I scuffed it with scotch brite, then masked off the unpainted sections and sprayed it with satin black. After that dried, I masked that off and sprayed clear on the unpainted sections. Then I cut the labels out of the new decal and put them on it. I think it turned out pretty good.
I also got the correct steering wheel for it. Not sure what the one that was on it before was off, but it was not correct.
The engine and PTO clutch all together and ready to go in…
The aftermarket decal sets come with a decal for the dash, instead of a tin. I wanted the original textured tin, but it didn’t look great. Sometimes you can find NOS ones, but they are not cheap. I’ve seen some other guys restore the original ones, so that’s what I did. I scuffed it with scotch brite, then masked off the unpainted sections and sprayed it with satin black. After that dried, I masked that off and sprayed clear on the unpainted sections. Then I cut the labels out of the new decal and put them on it. I think it turned out pretty good.
I also got the correct steering wheel for it. Not sure what the one that was on it before was off, but it was not correct.
The engine and PTO clutch all together and ready to go in…
New wiring harness going in…
New driveshaft.
Brand new front tires. For the back, I have another set with original turf tires that are in good shape. I still have to paint the rims on them. 
I also had the seat reupholstered, the one on the left. The one on the right is the original seat of one of my other Cubs that I had the guy copy.
New driveshaft.
Brand new front tires. For the back, I have another set with original turf tires that are in good shape. I still have to paint the rims on them. I also had the seat reupholstered, the one on the left. The one on the right is the original seat of one of my other Cubs that I had the guy copy.
Here it is back together and ready for its first start and test drive. 
Here is the video of its first start up:
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That was in 2019, after that I stopped working on it for way too long. Now I’m starting to work on it again want to get it finished this time. There’s not too much left to do. I’m going to repaint the hood and dash, and still have to paint the rear wheels, gas tank, seat back, and maybe a few small things. I’m proabaly going to get it running again this week and start breaking in the engine.
Here is the video of its first start up:
That was in 2019, after that I stopped working on it for way too long. Now I’m starting to work on it again want to get it finished this time. There’s not too much left to do. I’m going to repaint the hood and dash, and still have to paint the rear wheels, gas tank, seat back, and maybe a few small things. I’m proabaly going to get it running again this week and start breaking in the engine.
Isn't much you're missing on this Nick. Might look better than when it was new.
Gotta love attention to detail.... right down to the rags on the foot rest to keep from getting stuffed up..
Going to be quite a tractor when you're done..
Gotta love attention to detail.... right down to the rags on the foot rest to keep from getting stuffed up..
Going to be quite a tractor when you're done..