REFLECTIONS

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28/6/39 Buckeye Engine Q. See the two photos of
a Buckeye gas engine made by the Buckeye Machine Co., Lima, Ohio.
It is 12 HP, runs at 325 r.p.m., and is s/n 12028. This engine has
magneto ignition, although I’ve been told that all Buckeye
engines used battery ignition. If this is so, was a conversion kit
offered? I would also like to know the year and proper colors for
this engine. Stanley Lippi, 309 S. Chestnut St., Van Wert, OH
45891.

A. It’s quite possible that the magneto was
offered as aftermarket equipment. Perhaps some of our readers have
specific information.

28/6/40 Lauson Engine Q. In the photo is what I
am told is a 1930 Lauson 5 HP engine. Can you verify this and
provide further information? Above the pulley is stamped VC5, below
the spark plug is 1VC 194, and below the oil level rod is 3VC051.
Any information will be appreciated. Fred Whitcomb, 4400
Peaceful Glen Rd., Vacaville, CA 95688.

A. It’s a Lauson engine, but we have no
manuals for it.

28/6/41 Witte Headless Q. What is the year
built for a 4 HP Witte engine, s/n 49379? Lee Booth, Box 75,
Porters Falls, WV 26162.

A. Your engine was made in February 1921.

28/6/42 Pioneer and Reo Motors Q. I would like
to find the age, horsepower, color, and further information on the
following engines: Pioneer Model A, s/n 2-22431; Pioneer Model 6S,
Type SS3989, s/n 3-20301; Reo Model 556, Type A, s/n 2876; Reo
Model 552, Type A, s/n 208767. Please write to Dan Menzel,
17410 Bedford Dr., Brookfield, WI 53045.

28/6/43 Reaper Etc. Q. I recently purchased the
reaper shown in 43A. I cannot identify the company that made this
reaper. It has an International guard and pitman, but no other
identifiable markings .Also, how does the tongue fit on this
reaper?

See also the photo of the stove in my kitchen. It is missing the
swing posts that you see marked in white and also the reservoir top
from the lower right side. Could anyone send me a sketch of the
proper fixture so I could have one made? The stove was made in
Edinburgh by Gray & Co., and patented in 1850. Ross Kerr,
RR 5, Campbellford, ONT K0L 1L0 Canada.

28/6/44 Wade Drag Saw Q. See the photo of a
Wade Drag saw, 4 HP, s/n A7872 .I’d like to know the proper
colors for this unit, and the date built. Any information will be
greatly appreciated. David N. Stewart, PO Box 86,837 Davis St.,
Lamar,SC 29069.

A. Can anyone provide the color scheme? To our
knowledge, there is no serial number information.

28/6/45 Information Needed Q. Can you tell me
the year built of the following? Fairbanks-Morse 686137;
Fairbanks-Morse 765656; Stover TB 216798; Toro Lawn Mower, 69309.
Dominic Centonze, 1902-A Mt. Pleasant Rd., Mount Joy, PA
17552.

A. In order: 1927; 1931; 1932; no
information.

28/6/46 Unidentified Engine Q. I would like
further information on the following engine: Monarch; Grand Rapids
Gas Engine & Yacht Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. It carries No.
1237. The electrical system is a Wizard dynamo. Further information
regarding this engine and its manufacturer will be appreciated.
Graham (Rodney) Golchert, 40 Harvey Street, Bundaberg 4670
Queensland, Australia.

A. Can anyone provide further information on
Monarch engines to Mr. Golchert?

28/6/47 Continental Color Q. What is the
correct paint color for Continental Air Cooled and/or Air 8
engines? Paul Burkle, PO Box 1871, Waterloo, IA 50704.

Readers Write

Our April Editorial We received many, many
letters in support of our April editorial regarding the scope and
sequence of the Reflections column. We do indeed appreciate your
comments. Essentially, this column is your column, with ye olde
Reflector serving as an intermediary, contributing where possible,
and encouraging all of you to do the same.

‘The Tractor .. .’ Article I think
there may be some incorrect statements in the April article,
‘The Tractor That Changed Farming.’ At one point Mr. Bowen
says that the Farm-all H replaced the F12. I have always been told
that the F14 replaced the F12 for a year or two, and then the A and
B replaced the F14. The A and B were used by truck farmers in our
area.

Back in the 1950s an old International man (at that time he had
about 40 years as parts man and shop foreman) told me the H
replaced the F20 but did not equal it. The M replaced the F30 but
did not equal it.

I do not know if IH was working on making a Cub in 1941,
however, as far as I know it was not sold until after World War II,
I think 1947. Halsey Genung, RD2, Box 316, Pittstown, NJ 08867.

28/4/15 Maynard Color Question In regards to
the Maynard color question, my two sons and I went to see an old
gentleman 85 years old who had a Maynard for sale. He told us he
purchased it new and has owned it all of his life. It has or had
the original paint on it, and it was green, quite a bit lighter
than a Fairbanks. As the price he wanted was a lot more than I
thought it was worth, I did not purchase it. It looked a lot like a
Nelson Bros, engine. The name tag was from the Charles Williams
Stores. Wesley G. Ball Sr., 11239 Alleghany Rd., Forestville,
NY 14062.

You are indeed correct on the subject engine. We believe that
Charles Williams Stores sold several different makes of engines
over the years, although they all carried the Maynard nameplate.
The engine you refer to was likely made by Nelson Bros., and that
would account for the green finish, probably something comparable
to DuPont 2015 Green. By comparison, Sears-Roebuck sold the
Hercules-built Economy for years. They also sold the Cushman
horizontals as well as the Stover CT engines. The latter were
painted red and called Stover-Economy or Economy as the Sears
advertising potentates dictated.

The six replies that follow were submitted by Mark Baier, 11
Pleasant St., Mil ford, MA 01757:

28/3/3 Nelson Bros Supplies both MacLeod and
Sun Power at various times. The engine pictured in American Gas
Engines is a Nelson Model N.

28/3/27 Hertzler & Zook This is a Nelson
Model CC, 3 HP, 450 r.p.m..

28/3/36 Maynard Engine Your Maynard is likely
the Nelson Model N, 1 HP. Color of this engine was a medium
red.

28/3/45 MacLeod This one is a Nelson Model TA
set up for a Delco-Remy magneto. This magneto was used only briefly
in the late 1920s before going to the Wico.

28/4/15 Nelson Bros. Supplies the Maynard
engines, starting about 1919, the ad here pictures the Model DB. I
believe they were all a dark maroon. Jacobson was the supplier in
prior years.

28/4/32 United Type C This engine was supplied
by Nelson Bros. The pictured engine was a standard Nelson Model C.
A l HP Model N is pictured under the United Type C in American Gas
Engines.

28/3/8 Fordson Comments The Ferguson plough was
an important accessory in the Ferguson System of which the Ferguson
tractor became a popular machine following World War II.
Unfortunately I don’t have a plough. Roger N. Jackson, 11
Forest Gardens, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7AF United Kingdom.

28/4/9 Dead Websters Webster magnetos which
appear to be in perfect order, yet won’t produce a spark, may
have the armature reversed. Ideally, the peak magnetic flux should
occur at the time of point opening. This relationship is upset if
the armature is installed the wrong way.

It is my understanding that this magneto could be used on
engines which ran counter-clockwise or had the magneto mounted on
the right-hand side of the engine. For these applications, the
armature would be turned end-for-end from the ‘normal’
position to obtain the proper timing. One end of the shaft has a
mark on it. As I recall, a ‘normal’ CW rotation requires
the mark to be on the trip lever side. Neal Matheson, 1828 E. 6th
Ave., Mesa, AZ 85204.

The point is well made … we did the same thing (reversing the
armature) and the magneto was dead as a stone, even though
everything checked out. Besides, this is one of those little things
that isn’t in the text books!

28/4/23A Flywheels & Hooks Never hook
chains on the flywheels, especially as tight as shown in this
photo. If it don’t break one or both, it causes extreme stress
and could break apart while running. Eugene Alt, 1720 Heron Ave.,
Audubon, IA 50025.

The point is well taken. If at all possible, drop the chain down
through the spokes and hook over the outside hub, or hook onto the
hubs inside the spokes. In any case, be sure that the chain
can’t slip off the outside of the hubs and lose the engine.
Another method is to put a block, cut to size, between the
flywheels to eliminate the side pull on the spokes. A 3-foot
flywheel will have a rim speed of about 1,000 feet per minute for
every 100 revolutions. At 300 r.p.m., that’s 3,000 fpm! Should
one of them break, we’re talking instant shrapnel! If this
column never achieves anything except to create more safety
awareness, then so be it, we’ll consider that a major
accomplishment!

April Mystery Engines The one on page 9 is a
Sattley. I have an identical one that is a Sattley 1 HP, Type C,
sold by Montgomery, Ward.

Chevrolet 216 Engines In the March 1993 GEM,
Mark Farnsworth takes John G. Ruff to task for calling the
lubrication system in a Chevrolet 216 ‘splash.’ While, as
Mr. Farnsworth states, it may be accurate to use the term
‘splash’ in a very narrow sense only for engines in which
all distribution of oil is accomplished by the spray thrown up by
rotating parts, ‘splash lubrication’ is a commonly accepted
term for that part of the lubrication systems of Chevrolet and
other engines which depends on the connecting rods to distribute
oil to other internal parts of the engine. To remove this statement
from the realm of personal

opinion, I quote from Motor Service’s Automotive
Encyclopedia (1958) by Purvis and Toboldt, both highly respected
writers of technical manuals on auto-motive theory and repair:
‘One very popular engine uses a combination of pressure and
splash. The oil in this case is pumped through pipes into troughs
under each connecting rod. These pipes are located and aimed so
that a jet of oil is directed into a scoop on the rod bearing as
the rod comes around. The rod also splashes into the oil in the
trough and throws it around the interior. The aiming of the jets is
important and special gauges are available for locating them
correctly.’ (Pages 90, 91a; I have omitted only the references
to two numbered illustrations). Although the engine is not named,
the illustrations of the oil pan and of the dippers on the
connecting rods are taken directly from the Chevrolet repair
manuals. I have a 1948-52 Chevrolet truck repair manual, which
describes the operation of the lubrication system, but it carefully
omits the term ‘splash.’ I suspect that GM did not want to
emphasize the use of an oiling system that was already obsolescent
when the first Chevy Six came out in 1929! The 1929 Chevrolet Six
engine used dippers on the rods, but there was no jet of oil. The
mains were lubricated by gravity; oil was pumped into reservoirs
above each main, and then descended through a passage to each
bearing (I am relying on a description of this engine in Chevrolet
Car and Truck (1932) by Victor W. Page, pages 94 to 101). Cam
bearings and valve lifters are lubricated by the spray thrown up
from the connecting rods. Beginning with the 1932 engine, the
center main bearing and the camshaft bearings are lubricated
directly, by a lead from the pump, and distributing lines from that
point provide lubrication for the other mains and camshaft
bearings. This configuration appears to have been used through the
1934 models. The instruction book which I still have for the
Chevrolet Master that my grandfather bought in 1934 has a cut of
what appears to be the same block as the 1932 engine, and with the
lubrication system described as pictured in Page’s book for the
1932 model (1933 and 1934 Master Series had a 4-inch stroke,
compared to 3 inches used in 1932). According to Motor’s Auto
Repair Manual, 7th Edition (1944), the 1935 Chevrolet engine has
jets, like the 216. In all the engines with the jets, the splashing
goes on as before. Although the rods bearings are now oiled by
jets, the dippers send up a spray of oil everywhere as they pass
through the troughs.

Full pressure lubrication had already been used in airplane
engines in World War I (the Liberty engine, for example), and by
1929 it was not uncommon in automobiles. I have often wondered why
a splash system would have been designed into a new engine as late
as 1929. It could be that the drilling operations for full pressure
lubrication would have made the engine more expensive and therefore
somewhat less competitive in the low-priced market. Given the low
speeds of most car engines of that era, it may be that no real need
was seen for full-pressure lubrication. After all, the
‘new’ Ford A engine (the car appeared in the showroom in
December 1927), used a pump and splash, as did most of the
International Harvester tractors whose engines were similar to the
10-20 and 15-30 (Farmall F-20 etc.), right through models still in
production in 1939. In an original sales brochure for the Farmall
which I have, International Harvester forthrightly calls its
lubrication method ‘Circulating splash oil system,’
referring to the use of a pump to get oil up to where it can be
splashed around by the connecting rod dippers. As to the durability
of splash-oiled engines, I don’t think that there is any
question about the effectiveness of splash for slow-speed engines.
The IHC engines were marvels of longevity at their 1,000 to 1,200
r.p.m. rated speeds, and the Chevrolet Six and the 216 were as
tough as they came, as long as they were used at reasonable speeds.
My father had a 1932 Chevrolet 1 ton, which we used for exactly
twenty years without even a top overhaul. I cannot remember how
many miles it had on it; we drove it a lot in low gear next to
hayloaders and corn binders, so that it would be more appropriate
to speak of hours of use, rather than miles. A good many hours, I
think. I had two Chevrolets with the 216; a 1941 and a 1952. The
’52 was used for several long trips at 55-60 mph. The 4-11 axle
used on those models meant that the engine was turning fairly fast
at 60 mph, but I never had any trouble with the engine at those
speeds. I do remember hearing of people who ‘raced’ Ford
V-8s against Chevy 216s over fairly long distances on country
roads. It was said that the pressure-lubricated Ford V-8s could
take it, but that the Chevys would eventually throw a rod if driven
40 or 50 miles at top speed. I must not have run in the right
circles, because I was never tempted to race either of my
Chevrolets. In any event, this is hear-say. Perhaps readers with
experiences of this kind could tell us if those rumors were true.
It is easy to imagine the foam … more air than oil… that must
have developed at high r.p.m. inside the crankcase of an engine
that depended on rotating parts for lubrication. It is also easy to
imagine that the rods were going around so fast that the jets never
got a good dose of oil into the dippers, that at very high r.p.m.
the oil might have spattered against the dippers, and so on. Even
Bugatti, who didn’t believe in pressure lubrication, eventually
had to admit that splashing oil about wasn’t a very good way to
lubricate a racing engine. Leonard J. Rahilly, 1421 Dill Road,
DeWitt, MI 48820.

28/3/40 Engine Question In the October 1951
issue of Country Gentleman, their ad states that they have seven
models to choose from, starter and lights were also available. They
were sold direct to the user for only $498. John Supple,RD 5, Mullen Rd., Fulton, NY 13069.

28/3/39A That is a corn mulcher. It can only be
used on muck ground, other soils are too hard! David Bontrager,
PO Box 98, Wawaka, IN 46794-0098.

The Missing Twin The Reflector’s mention in
the March 1993 issue that timing gears on gas engines might yet be
of equal size, while operating at different speeds through
differing driveshaft angles, caused me to prick up my ears. But
that is true, and, for example, may be varied over such range as to
terminate in worm-gear fashion and thus allow any ratio
1-to-anything on up! But this also brought to attention an incident
which you may get a bang out of.

Back in 1920 a friend came by an Indian ‘twin’
motorcycle which was a surplused relic of WW-1. The mechanic in the
regiment had apparently been unable to solve its trouble of hitting
on only one cylinder, so it was junked out.

Well, neither friend Tom nor I knew anything about it at that
time, and inasmuch as we did yearn to graduate from our bicycles
and ride this powerful mount, we became constrained to put it into
safe storage for the time being. Someday, surely . .. !

Shortly thereafter I enrolled in Sweeney’s Vocational
Automobile School in Kansas City. It was deemed superior to Rahes
in the same city, as also the Michigan State Auto School. So I
studied hard and graduated head of my class in three months and
took a short vacation at home before going into industry. But while
home I was determined to make that old Hendee job do its stuff.

After checking the valve and ignition timing, I was quite elated
to find that the trouble was maybe one-in-a-million. The v-angle
between the cylinders was 42 degrees (on the Harleys it was 45
degrees). During overhaul maintenance, the Army chap had apparently
set the wrong lobe of the magneto cam to #1 (the rear cylinder
against rotation) cylinder. This caused the front cylinder to fire
(2 x 42) degrees late, so that cylinder did not fire at all! When
the error was corrected, that old red mare took off like a shot,
and we youngsters had oodles of fun! Frank J. Burris, 1102 Box
Canyon Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028.

28/3/1 Duro I have an engine just like the one
pictured. Mine says, Duro Pump & Mfg. Co., Dayton, Ohio, s/n
101175, ‘/2 horsepower. I can’t help Mr. Derouchie because
mine didn’t have an ignition system either. Mine has an idler
cog next to two stud bolts, where no doubt a mag was mounted, but I
don’t know what kind of mag it had. I run mine with a mag off a
chain saw driven off the end of the crankshaft. Ray O. Reed,
420 Sand Creek Rd. Pomona, KS 66076.

28/3/34 Frost & Wood The Frost & Wood
Co. was founded in 1839 in Smith’s Falls, a town in eastern
Ontario. Their slogan was ‘The quality goes in before the name
goes on.’

They manufactured a long line of farm implements, including
reapers, grain binders, corn binders, mowers, dump rakes, side
delivery rakes,  tedders, and hay loaders. They also made
ploughs, both single and gang, field cultivators, disc harrows,
seed drills, and land rollers. Their implements were well liked in
our area, especially their mowers and seed drills.

Cockshutt Plow Company of Brant-ford bought out Frost &.
Wood in 1933. Frost & Wood bought out Coulter & Scott
of  Oshawa, Ontario about 1900. They made cultivators and seed
drills. I think Mr. Kurtis’s mower was made between 1900 and
1910. John J. Henderson, RR 2, Rockwood, ONT NOB 2K0
Canada.

28/4/13 Pioneer Gen-E-Motor We got lots of
responses on this one. A sampling includes a 1984 listing of
Pioneer Gen-E-Motor being changed to Pincor Products in 1979. Their
address at the time was 11600 W. King St., Franklin Park, IL
60131.

David Pirtle Writes Mr. Pirtle reports on his
article on pages 29 and 30 of the April 1993 GEM. By the end of
March he had received over 30 letters, plus 8 phone calls! He
wishes to extend his thanks to everyone who responded. David’s
address is: RR 2, Box 195, Bedford, KY 40006.


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  • Published on Jun 1, 1993
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