Cub Cadet 4586 4-WD
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Mike Braun put two 2-WD, 125 Cub Cadets together and made a 4-WD, articulated Cub. While the Cub looks massively modified, most of the work involved simply cutting away what wasn’t needed. The end result was a mini International 4586, 4-WD articulated tractor.
“I built it without a plan,” admits Braun. “I cut away the front axle off the first Cub and everything ahead of the axle on the second Cub. With the remains up on stands, I figured out what I needed to do.”
Sometimes he walked away from the project in frustration.
“I would wake at 2:00 in the morning with a solution,” he says. “The next day I would head for the shop and work it out.”
One of the solutions was to build a subframe under the Cub frames to mount the axles to. This gave him the height he needed for the look of a 4586 with the clearance needed for some of the modifications.
Another solution was to extend the frame of the lead Cub by about 2 ft. behind what was originally the rear axle. This allowed him to move the seat and operator controls back, so the seat and steering wheel post were now behind the axle.
Getting power to the rear axle required another solution. Braun set up a jackshaft with pillow block bearings on the left side of the frame. He powered it with a Diamond brand timing chain from the hydrostat on the front gearbox.
“I used a Diamond chain and gears from a 318 Dodge pickup,” recalls Braun. “I needed something that would handle the stress.”
The jackshaft ended ahead of the seat. A second salvaged chain and gears transferred power to a driveshaft ending in a universal joint. A matching driveshaft brought power directly to the rear axle’s gearbox. Braun simply bypassed the rear hydrostat.
Braun pinned extensions from the 2 sections together allowing them to pivot, but not flex. He says that this was never a problem when using the articulated tractor around the farmyard.
Steering on the original 125s was mechanical. To steer the articulated Cub, he reversed the direction of the steering rod at the gear from front to back. He connected it to an arm on one side of the rear axle’s frame. This gave him a push/pull steering control of the rear axle.
He enclosed the battery mounted above the rear axle with its own hood before giving everything the IH Red color with 4586 detailing.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Braun, 106 W. Decatur St., Greenville, S.C. 29617 (ph 989 351-9042).
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Cub Cadet 4586 4-WD TRACTORS Made-It-Myself Mike Braun put two 2-WD 125 Cub Cadets together and made a 4-WD articulated Cub While the Cub looks massively modified most of the work involved simply cutting away what wasn’t needed The end result was a mini International 4586 4-WD articulated tractor “I built it without a plan ” admits Braun “I cut away the front axle off the first Cub and everything ahead of the axle on the second Cub With the remains up on stands I figured out what I needed to do ” Sometimes he walked away from the project in frustration “I would wake at 2:00 in the morning with a solution ” he says “The next day I would head for the shop and work it out ” One of the solutions was to build a subframe under the Cub frames to mount the axles to This gave him the height he needed for the look of a 4586 with the clearance needed for some of the modifications Another solution was to extend the frame of the lead Cub by about 2 ft behind what was originally the rear axle This allowed him to move the seat and operator controls back so the seat and steering wheel post were now behind the axle Getting power to the rear axle required another solution Braun set up a jackshaft with pillow block bearings on the left side of the frame He powered it with a Diamond brand timing chain from the hydrostat on the front gearbox “I used a Diamond chain and gears from a 318 Dodge pickup ” recalls Braun “I needed something that would handle the stress ” The jackshaft ended ahead of the seat A second salvaged chain and gears transferred power to a driveshaft ending in a universal joint A matching driveshaft brought power directly to the rear axle’s gearbox Braun simply bypassed the rear hydrostat Braun pinned extensions from the 2 sections together allowing them to pivot but not flex He says that this was never a problem when using the articulated tractor around the farmyard Steering on the original 125s was mechanical To steer the articulated Cub he reversed the direction of the steering rod at the gear from front to back He connected it to an arm on one side of the rear axle’s frame This gave him a push/pull steering control of the rear axle He enclosed the battery mounted above the rear axle with its own hood before giving everything the IH Red color with 4586 detailing Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Braun 106 W Decatur St Greenville S C 29617 ph 989 351-9042
