Restoring an
IH Cadet Spirit of ‘76 By Scott Urshel Huntington Indiana cubconnection@aol.com In 1992 I restored my very first Cub Cadet. It was a Spirit of ’76 garden tractor. Upon finding it, it was an unrecognizable piece of junk. The engine did not run; the good news was that is was not stuck. I needed to replace the piston rings, grind the valves and seats, rebuild the carburetor, put in new crank seals and also install new points. I purchased it for a cool $100 which made the costs of these repairs more bearable. In this article I will highlight the details of the restoration process. First, when restoring one of these tractors, make sure that the engine is in good running condition before pro40
LAGC September/October 2008
ceeding to the cosmetic restoration. The Briggs and Stratton engines used in these tractors were not heavy-duty grade. Make sure that the engine runs good, producing no smoke, unusual sounds or oil leaks. If the engine does not run, check the compression, spark and fuel. Proceed with these repairs to get the engine in good running condition. You may find that cleaning and rebuilding the carburetor and a valve grind job is sometimes all that is needed. If the engine is severely run down, it may need new piston rings or possibly the engine may need to be replaced. You can get a replacement engine from Briggs that is very close to the original. Let’s move on to the cosmetics of the tractor. One weak spot on this tractor is the fiberglass hood. If you are lucky enough to find the tractor, you may
discover that the hood is damaged. Repairing the fiberglass can be time co nsu m i ng and expensive. They tend to break at the hinge or by the dash where they latch close. Sometimes they will break apart where the grill hooks to the hood. If the hood is not salvageable try to locate a good, used one. I replaced the mine with a new hood. The price in 1992 was $280. The current price for a new, correct hood is $398. If you are planning to paint the tractor, you can replace the hood from a Cadet 76, Spirit of 76, 80 Hydrostatic, 81, 182, 282, 382, 382 Hydrostatic or a few of the newer MTD-built lawn tractors.
If the original, white steering wheel is in good condition, it can be easily cleaned; otherwise it will be necessary to repair the cracks and repaint it. The steering wheel on my tractor was very weathered and I had to paint it. If you are fortunate enough to find an original, white seat, again, just clean it. A nice original is always better than a restored. If it is badly ripped then it may need to be reupholstered using off-white material. Note: If you need a seat redone for a Spirit of 76 I have a source that can remake it very close to the original. If your tractor is missing the seat or has the wrong seat on it, use a seat pan off one of the Cadet lawn tractors mentioned earlier, painting it with white vinyl upholstery paint, rather than leaving it black. Using the right decals is a very important part of restoration. If you have nice, original decals it is best to just tape them off and paint around them. If they are torn up or faded, you will need to purchase new ones. Since I purchased a new hood, I searched for a NOS decal set. I located 2 partial sets at a dealer about 30 miles from me. I purchased them but unfortunately neither set was complete. There was enough to combine the two to create one complete set. To my disappointment, after being boxed up since 1975 they would not adhere to the paint. I was able to have them reproduced to match this NOS set. If you plan to display your tractor at a show, make sure your decals look as close to the original as possible. If you need a decal set for a Spirit of 76, contact me for assistance. If you read the previous article about the Spirit of 76 in the July/August is-
sue, you will recall the controversy regarding the red paint used on the tractor. I elected to use IH 2150 Red, as recommended by Clyde Berkshire, who claims that this was the correct original color. Notice in the picture before the restoration, the paint has an orange tint to it, which led many to believe that they used a different red. At this time I cannot verify what IH actually used. The white is the standard IH white used on the vintage Cub Cadets. These tractors are real attention getters and are quite rare. When I first started
Owner’s View
displaying mine at shows, it was a rare sight to most. My restored Spirit of 76 was selected for a special deck of cards featuring IH tractors. They chose from tractors at the Red Power Round Up show. The Spirit of 76 was printed on the Joker card. The caption: This is not joke—it’s a special Cub Cadet, the IH Spirit of ’76, built to help celebrate our 1976 Bicentenial. Editor’s Note: Scott welcomes questions from other collectors. You may reach him at cubconnection@aol.com. LAGC
Should the opportunity ever arise to purchase one of these little tractors, don’t hesitate to spend the money! They are a neat addition to your collection. Of course, you’ll be lucky to find one that is in 100 percent, original condition. Even one in rough shape is worth buying and restoring. If you by chance find one that has been restored, check it’s authenticity. There are several regular 76 models that have been painted to duplicate the Spirit of 76 tractors. Check the build date and the steering wheel to verify its authenticity. I don’t completely agree with the model 76 being converted to the Spirit model. For the buyer it is important not to get caught paying good money for what you believe to be a very rare original tractor that is really a knock-off. I have been fortunate to own 5 originals over the last 10 years. Most were found in the local paper, at garage sales or in the junk pile. Keep your eyes open; you never know when you will spot one.
- Scott Urshel, cubconnection@aol.com
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