IH Cadet 76 parts

[stritle]

I just bought one of these for next to nothing. It needs some TLC, and a few parts. What kind of availablity is there for parts for these?

Motor smokes bad, should I rebuild it, or go new. I bought this for my 10 year old to help me mow with.

 

[kmoe]

I got 76 for free two year ago and had no trouble finding parts. If the engine is smoking it's probably worn rings. It's a relatively easy teardown for inspection, just pull the head. The engine has an aluminum cylinder wall so it shouldn't need honing unless it is worn badly. So long as the cylinder is within spec you can put in a new set of chrome rings and it should run fine. When I did mine I found very little wear ( other than a broken con rod, which I caused by not checking the oil one day) and used standard sized rings with no problems. If the engine turns out to be non rebuildable you can get a used briggs to put in it ( or even a new one). The briggs L head engine was used in a huge number of things and didn't have any major differences form one application to the next, other than HP rating and carb type.
BTW that is a perfect choice for a ten year old to mow with. My son loves using ours. He even is pretty good at remembering that the trans is non synchromesh, hardly ever grinds the gears.

 

[stritle]

Thanks for the info. Have you come across any sticker kits for these? Maybe I should just paint it yellow and get away from teh Spirit coloration.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Steve, are you saying your "76" is a "Spirit of 76"? The decals are available for them, Travis at CC Specialties has them for $125. You should keep it red white and blue as it is a collector tractor.

My daughter has a SO76 but it has a none stock replacement engine that a previous owner had installed and they notched the hood! It also has a black replacement seat instead of the correct white seat. The paint and decals on this one are original though.

 

[mbounds]

Steve T: The Cadet Spirit of 76 was produced only for the 1976 year of the American Bicentennial. The production was limited to begin with and they are few and far between these days. They are very collectable and I urge to you restore it. Like Kraig, I also have one which is very popular at the tractor shows. I got my decals from Tony Giletto at Maple-Hunter Decals. [email protected]. I have attached the front of their brochure (not new) for your information.

Myron B
CCSupplyRoom

 

[stritle]

That's it! Thanks for the info. I would have never thought this thing would be a collectable.

I need to find a new hood for this one as it is cracked. I will wait until after my son gets good on it first.

 

[kmoe]

Steve,
Fix the cracked one if you can. Used ones in good repair are very difficult to find. New ones are still avalable for around $300.

 

[stritle]

I would assume the colors are the traditional CC red and white. Am I correct? I have the motor out and will be ordering rebuild parts shortly.

Secondly, what kind of attatchments, if any were available for this tractor?

I have attached a picture of the old girl for you all to see. Sunday, the boys and I tore out the motor and tore it down. All it needs is a ring, gasket and valve kit, along with a good cleanup. Probably needs a carb rebuild as well, as the bowl and the tank are full of junk.

Thanks for the gobs of info you all have provided me so far

 

[kmcconaughey]

Steve, the 76 came standard with the 36" mower deck but it could also be fitted with a 42" snow blade or a 36" snowthrower.

 

[mbounds]

Steve T: Your hood can be repaired by a boat shop fiberglass repair guy. I suggest that you have him reinforce those corners on the inside. It also needs the "headlight" spaces red/white/blue decals along with the blue star hood strips and the cowl decal that says "Spirit of '76" in script. Also, the fenders need the decals with the big blue stars. Repair that steering wheel carefully...Ya can't get white ones any more!! Take great care of the li'l ole center cap. If you take the seat to an auto upholstery shop and have it recovered in "GM White" vinyl it'll look good. The color will be right. It will likely have a seam around the bottom rear because there aren't any vacuum formed covers available either. I had to do mine the same way....Looks pretty good even with the seam....

The colors are IH 935 white for the fenders & hood/grille & IH 2150 Red for the rest.

That translates to:

PPG 91607 (IH White) or Navistar 0935
PPG 71310 (IH Red) or Navistar 02150

All the decals can be had from Tony Giletto as [email protected].

Myron B
CCSupplyRoom

 

[mbounds]

I didn't mention the wheels but they are obviously IH 935 white also. The plastic wheel (hub)caps are black

Myron B

 

[kmcconaughey]

Myron, about how much did it cost to have your SO76's seat redone?

 

[mbounds]

This is how mine turned out. Not perfect but pretty good...Myron

 

[mbounds]

Whew!...CRS...If I recall correctly, I paid $65.00 or so in 2002 to have the seat recovered .... It's hard to tell much from that photo with the sunlight glare but the color is IH 935. The upholstery guy called it GM white and had it on a roll (for vinyl topped cars, I think). Myron

 

[kmcconaughey]

Myron, thanks!

 

[stritle]

Myron, that is a nice looking tractor. THanks for the info.

 

[shenderson]

Steve, Kraig, Kyle, Myron:

I have a SO76 that I'm about to start on. I need whatever center cap is supposed to be on the steering wheel. Does anybody have one or know where I can get one?

Other than that, this little tractor is pretty complete. The information provided here will be helpful. Thanks!

Steve H.

 

[mbounds]

Steve...That little ole white steering wheel cap in NLA extinct. There may be one lurking out there somewhere but you may win the lottery a couple of times before you find one...What you can do though is find one of the black ones from a standard 76 and paint it IH 935. There is also come vinyl color stuff out there but I haven't found anything that resembles IH }935. You may have better luck...but the paint trick will work and be near invisible.

Myron

 

[shenderson]

Myron: Thanks for the info. I've got an 81 parts tractor, so maybe I can use the one from that. I thought maybe the SO76 had a red, white, and blue one with stars, etc. I gather that's not the case, that it's the same as the regular mowers.

Yours looks great. Any advice would be appreciated.


Steve H.

 

[mbounds]

Steve...Yep, the same as the regular ones except it matched the white color of the steering wheel on the SO76.