Making a Cub......faster ?

[Pete in Holland MI]

Hey all -

I have a '52 Cub that will spend much of it's time as a butt-buggy. Factory top speed is 6 mph. Any relatively easy ways to increase the that 6mph to 8 or 10mph ?

Guessing the easiest way is to tamper with the governor. What would be needed there?

Any other ideas ?

Thanx !

Pete

 

[old]

Best way would be larger tires as in say instead of the 24 inch tires figure out how to go with 28 inch rear tires. Mess with the governor could also throw rod out the side of the block

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

That year of Cub turned 1600 engine RPM. The later ones were 1800. Unless I'm missing some detail, I guess you could turn it up a touch. There's also the Keystone turbo kit. Don't recall if that raises your R's or not.

Mike

 

[DR. EVIL]

You have to keep in mind you only have 60 cubic inches of displacement, rather low compression flat head engine design, just under 10 drawbar HP per Nebraska test. If you increase the speed much via larger diameter tires you will decrease your hill climbing ability significantly.
The Machine Repair mechanics and electricians at the FARMALL PLANT had Cub tractors laden down with extra fenders, fabricated boxes, all kinds of stuff to allow them to carry parts and supplys and tools to the machines all over the plant they were working on. The normal gearing and travel speeds served their needs. The maintenance guys that emptied the trash barrels all used hydrostatic drive Cub Cadets. They had BIG steel carts maintenance welded up for them, 8 ft long, 4 ft wide 4 ft high sides, 4 swiveling casters and quick hitch snap couplers front & back. The would pull 2 & 3 loaded, and 4 empties.

 

[Duner Wi]

Numbered Cubs with C60 engine turned 2200-2400 RPM depending on the model.
I would be looking at what changes were made to engine internally to make that RPM.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Yeah, a tired old Cub has enough trouble moving in 3rd gear factory. You may have trouble maintaining speed.

Keeping the tires small and running the RPMs up may be the best chance you have.

To get more R's get the governor off a later tractor.

 

[the tractor vet]

Ya want to go FASTER , then get a bigger tractor with more Hp. and Bigger tires . Pulling more RPM's out of that STOCK engine is likely the makings of spare well used parts . Those CAST IRON pistons don't take kindly to high RPMS . Ya want to make it run faster then ya need the alumim. Pistons found in 154 and 184 then ya need to do more work and spend more money like balancing the rotating members , bigger carb gov work so the fly weights do not try and leave . And besides whats your hurry ??? when i was a KID i had a 58 Cubby that got a lot of road miles between jobs of plowing gardens and new lawns in the spring and fall and snow plowing in the winter. and i believe it was 7.5 MPH . I know my ground speed was a lot faster then my competition and his GRAVELY but not as fast as the guy with the new 641 ford . Now ya want FAST then build yourself and Oliver 88 with a 67 Ford gt 390 with a 735 CFM carb and a C8 AZ 6250 C cam a med rise intake and 10.5 to 1 pistons a dual point out of a 427 add in a prince gov. with and over ride and let her eat at 6 grand on 18.4 x34's Lets just say you will exceed the 25 MPH rating of the SMV sign and you may make new friends . Or hows about a Farmall 460 gasser with a LIGHTLY built engine and a larger carb and a gov bypass yep setting on al track 15.5x38's at 5500 will get you better then 65 that fast enough??

 

[Duner Wi]

Well try this, mount a 20-25 HP Briggs lawn mower engine hidden in a big beer cooler on the draw bar. Be sure it faces the right direction or you will have a fast reverse. Use a electric PTO from 50 inch Toro walk behind as it has about a 7 1/4 inch pulley.Belt it to your PTO . When you get Cub going in high gear with PTO engaged Flip the electric PTO switch and slip Cub transmission into neutral. Around a 5 inch pulley on PTO should get you over 20 MPH at 3600 RPM. If I remember correctly Cub PTO runs engine speed only opposite direction. Have fun!!

 

[Bermuda Ken]

IH offered the C-60 engine as a power unit setup for Palmer Marine. IIRC it was 3000 rpm and rated at 30 HP.

 

[DR. EVIL]

I saw a Cub 184 at a Red Power Round-up in Penfield, Ill several years ago that somebody did a REAL nice job of dropping in a Boss 302 Ford engine. Bet it would run fast enough for a tractor cruise. I checked TractorData, yes, the 184 & 185's spun the C-60 up to 2300 rpm full load rpm, but still with the stock gearing and rear tires only ran 10-1/2 mph.

Dad had a 154 Cub that was almost a basket case when he bought it. He bought it about the same time I bought my 982 Cub Cadet, I would NOT have traded him tractors. Anyhow, he sold it at his last auction. Neighbor who lived about 3-1/2 miles away bought it. I don't think he EVER drove a tractor, or anything with an synchronized transmission. Slight up-hill grade out of Dad's driveway going this guy's way home, He slowed to a stop grinding the daylights out of 3rd gear THREE TIMES before he finally got onto level enough road he completed the shift. I'd pulled out that drive a thousand times and shifted H, M, SH, SM-TA, 450 going up that slight rise and never clicked a tooth doing the shift.

 

[timcasbolt]

When I was a little kid my uncle got ahold of an Allis B that somebody had stuck rear tires on it that were about half again the size that came on it. That little rascal would go fast enough in first gear to seem like road speed. Completely worthless, but a lot of fun for a couple kids to run up and down his driveway.

 

[D7fever]

When I was a kid, we had a Cub, wanted to go faster. I took a small cable and attached to the governor and the other end to near the hydraulic lever. When I wanted to go faster ,just pull on the cable. Couldn't hold it too long, the governor pulled back pretty good. It would go fast enough to be scary.

 

[DMartin9N-2N]

Good evening, D7fever: I am just passing through, reading everybody's posts; I like the expression of "fast enough to be scary". I think like that too, I have a 9N Ford with Sherman overdrive, I think it was meant for traveling on roads from one field to another. I found that using my normal high gear, with Sherman in overdrive, on our blacktop road will scare me when I go to full throttle.

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.

 

[Leroy]

Something was radically wrong with that tractor then. I have both a 9N and a 2N with the overdrive and used them all the time on the road at full speed and nothing scarry about them But then my front ends were in good condition. So no shimmy to front wheels. Only thing I can think of that would make them dangerous at full speed, that is if roads were in good condition.