Reflections

By Staff
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36/10/4b
36/10/4b
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36/10/2: Montgomery Ward Garden Mark Squire 9 HP.
36/10/2: Montgomery Ward Garden Mark Squire 9 HP.
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36/10/4a
36/10/4a
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36/10/5a
36/10/5a
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36/10/4c
36/10/4c
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36/10/5b
36/10/5b

A Brief Word

This month it is our sad duty to report the passing of a great
friend, Roland Porten. Many of you were acquainted with Roland,
particularly if you accompanied me on various tours into Germany.
Roland and his daughter Christine operated the Rebstock Hotel at
Stuhlingen, Germany. However, the major attraction for engine and
tractor collectors was Roland’s phenomenal collection housed in
his Alphof Museum, just outside of Stuhlingen. Roland had
experienced health problems the past few years and died suddenly in
June of a heart attack. At this point the future of the Alphof is
uncertain.

We’re moving forward on plans for a tour to Switzerland and
Germany next July. Exact dates have not been set yet, as we are
trying to schedule in a Rally or two and it might be necessary to
juggle things a bit. However, we are planning on a 16-day tour,
Chicago to Zurich and Frankfurt to Chicago. We’ve never thought
it quite right when tour companies offer a ‘two-week tour
package’ that includes one day on each end sealed up inside an
engined aluminum tube. That leaves only 12 days on the ground, and
we all know that the day of arrival is mostly spent on adjusting to
the new surroundings. The final day is carefully planned to avoid
missing flights or a 3 a.m. wakeup call to scurry to the airport
and go through their usual and sometimes frustrating routines!
Thus, the two-week tour really ends up with ten good days on the
ground!

Contacts are being made in various places, and it looks like
we’ll be seeing some iron almost every day. Ladies, don’t
be frightened by this, because we’ll also be including some
very nice stops that include a bit of retail therapy. One small
stop we are planning is to the birthplace of N.A. Otto, inventor of
the four-cycle engine. We plan on this when in the neighborhood of
our good friend Robert Geyer and his Bulldog Press. Robert has
published a great many books at Bulldog, and is known throughout
Europe and in other countries as well.

Within the next year we hope to retire from the construction
business. Perhaps we’ll then have the time to attack some of
those dormant projects, moldering for some time now in forgotten
recesses of the mind. Since we have most of our own printing
equipment, we hope to do some of these from start to finish, thus
cutting down on the costs, and keeping the retail price more
palatable. We’ve kicked around in the publishing business for
well nigh 40 years now, and we can assure you that all is not as it
seems when you plunk down 15 or 20 samoleons for a book, or maybe
much more than that! We’ll allow that there are some publishers
in this world who set their retails primarily on what they think
the market will bear. By and large, though, most publishers are
willing to sell at a reasonable profit, and to this no one but an
abject cheapskate will object, and no one but a wiseacre will
complain. ‘Nuff said on that subject. We are planning several
different books, and even hope to revive our Power in the Past
Series
with which we began publishing books back in 1971, or
30 years ago.

As is usual this time of year, we don’t have many queries
since everyone is busy with shows and restorations, but here
goes:

36/10/1 Utilitor Information Needed Gene Corns,
3257 N. Charles St., Wichita, KS 67204-4159, has a 1935 Utilitor
for which he needs information. It has a Bosch magneto and a Holly
NH carburetor. In particular, Gene would like to have the proper
settings for valve clearance, plug gap, etc. ‘My father-in-law
bought it new in 1935 and it was last run in 1948, starting it up
again in July 2001. My wife rode on this tractor as a young
girl.’ Any information would be greatly appreciated.

36/10/2 Montgomery Ward Tractor See the photo
of a Montgomery Ward Garden Mark Squire 9 HP garden tractor. It is
Series 990309 and s/n 36X 505. Any information would be
appreciated. Jerry Willis, 15758 Butte Mtn Rd., Jackson, CA 95642.
Email: jswillis@volcano.net.

36/10/3 Witte Replacement Parts Alan Killian,
24257 Beltrami Line Rd., Bemidji, MN 56601, has a Witte Diesel
Engine. It is Model CDREA, 12.2 – 14 HP. He needs replacement
sarts, and would like to find a parts source, particularly the main
bearings. If you can be of help, please contact him at the above
address.

36/10/4 Neward Engine Q. See the photos of a
Neward engine and saw rig I am restoring. The engine may have been
built by Waterloo (Gasoline Engine Co.) for Montgomery Ward. My
grandpa bought this engine in 1972 from a man who had bought it new
from Wards. It is about 4 HP, has a 5 x 9-inch bore and stroke, and
s/n C4909. Any information on this engine would be appreciated,
including the color scheme. Jason Williams, HC80, Box 480-25,
Piedmont, SD 57769.

A. Your engine is no doubt a Waterloo Boy made
at Waterloo, Iowa. For a time, Montgomery Ward sold these under the
Neward trade-name. But then again, M-W sold several different
engine makes over the years. We’re not sure of the color, but
it may have been similar to DuPont 2564 Dark Red.

36/10/5 Allen Tester See the photos of an Allen
magneto, starter, and generator tester. It was made by Allen
Electric & Equipment Co., Kalamazoo, Mich. It has a 1 HP, 120
volt motor with moveable brushes to operate in either direction at
0 to 3700 rpm. Some of the wiring on the back of the panel is
missing, so any Information such as a wiring diagram would enable
me to get it running again. Don Miller, 13697 NW 1700 Road,
Westphalia, KS 66093.

36/10/6 Stover Q. I have a Stover 6 HP engine,
s/n KC155001, and would like to know the year it was built. I have
never seen another like it – the carburetor is unlike any other
Stover engines I have seen. Any help would be appreciated. Greg
Best, 901 Shallow Run, Sarasota, FL 34240.

A. Your engine was built in November 1924, but
we have no further information.

36/10/7 Pulley Needed Tannehill Ironworks
Historical State Park has a spike making machine of 1860s vintage.
They need a 72-inch pulley with at least a 10-inch face, preferably
with s-spokes. It will fit on a 3-inch shaft. If you know of
anything that will be of help for the Iron & Steel Museum of
Alabama, please contact Vicki Gentry, the director. The address is
12632 Confederate Parkway, McCalla, AL 35111.

36/10/8 Harley-Davidson Stationary Engine?
Recent references in the Harley Owners Group magazine
indicate that Harley-Davidson began by selling ‘stand-alone
engines.’ In fact, prior to 1907 they considered themselves to
be an engine company! Does anyone have or know of a Harley
‘stand-alone?’ John L. Hamilton, 910 West Marvin Ave.,
Waxahachie, TX 75165.

A Closing Word

By now, most of you have heard of the Medina County (Ohio) fair
tragedy. A steam traction engine exploded, killing five people and
injuring numerous others. News reports have it that some people
were seriously injured by ‘flying shrapnel’ in referring to
the pieces of cast iron and steel sent off by the engine like
bullets. Some news reports have it that water coming into contact
with ‘red hot metal’ caused the explosion. We have no
comments or judgments to make regarding this disaster. However, we
hasten to point out that steam traction engines aren’t the only
thing that can cause a tragedy like this one.

We’ve seen gas engines at shows that should have been left
at home. They were running far too fast, and should a flywheel
rupture that, too, would send large-sized chunks of cast iron
flying in all directions. Then we’ve seen engines with cracked
flywheel spokes or even welded spokes! We’ve seen engines with
flywheels that were sprung out of alignment.

Now, each of you has to dance to your own fiddle, but please be
careful about such things. Likewise, don’t walk off and leave
your engines unattended. Suppose while you are gone some little kid
breaks away from the parents, darts over to an engine and sticks a
little mitt right into those moving parts.

Aside from the injuries, who is going to be the BIG loser? Aside
from the engine owner for negligence, the whole hobby ends up the
loser … we all end up with a black eye.

Folks, we’ve preached about safety for years and years. All
in all, the old iron fraternity has done pretty well.

Keep in mind, though, that many of our old engines are up toward
the century mark. In some foreign countries, such as Australia,
engines are enclosed in a virtually ‘hog-tight’ display
area. An occasional gate is included, and spectators are not
allowed inside except by invitation of the owner. Let’s not
hasten that scenario!

C.H. Wendel is a noted authority on antique engines and
tractors. His books constitute a vital reference resource for
collectors and hobbyists. If you have a query for C.H. Wendel, send
it along to Gas Engine Magazine, 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS
66609-1265, attention: Reflections.

  • Published on Oct 1, 2001
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