Scott, there may be a way to make money on restorations and solve your need to work on something meaningful to you. The Army has several different levels of overhaul/restoration for military fighting vehicles. The range from full overhaul to the 10/20 programs. Basically a full overhaul is every part being disassembled, reworked/tested and reassembled and painted to new specs. Basically, a 10/20 vehicle is tested against the Army minimum operational standards manuals (10/20)to determine exactly what works and what doesn't. The vehicles are disassembled only to the point where all components identified on the checklist can be removed/repaired. During the process the major components are cleaned, repaired/rebuilt (where necessary), painted and reinstalled in the chassis. The whole vehicle is then cleaned again, painted (whole vehicle and components) to required standards and retested.
The 10/20 program only repairs/replaces what is wrong - thereby saving money and man hours of time on turning the vehicle around for Army units. These programs are used on main battle tanks, self propelled howitzers, and various support vehicles. This ensures a reliable vehicle at a minimum cost, since each Army unit has to pay for repairs to vehicles assigned to it.
If you approached Cub Cadets in this manner, you might be able to make a go of a restoration business. You could offer services from frame off restorations to test/repair and repaint. A 10/20 vehicle will look like a full restoration to the naked eye, and everything will function as it should. The only difference is not everything was taken apart and then put back together.
Thought I'd pass it along, for what it's worth. BTW, I work at Anniston Army Depot, the largest tank rebuild center in the free world. I was a mechanic for 17 years and then moved to production managment. I spent most of last year in Iraq working with Army personnel to move their heavy equipment/weapons back to the states as they redeployed back home or to other theaters of operation. The 10/20 programs work.
Good luck and Roll Tide!