A short story about my collection of “Tired Iron”: of about 35 old gas engines ranging from 1 hp to 10 hp. Some were made by Termaat and Monahan (T. & M.) of Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Simplicity made by Turner Manufacturing Co. in Port Washington, Wis.; Root and Vandervoort, Stover, F.M., I.H.C., McCormick, Hercules, Sandow, Economy. John Deere, Witte, Sattley, Fuller and Johnson, Galoway, Monitor, Lansing, Ottawa and Fairmont. I have a couple that I can’t identify. One is an upright with a 4 inch bore and a 4 inch stroke. It is a hit and miss with make and break ignition, a cam operated fuel pump to pump the gas from the base up to a Lunkenhiemer carburetor. The exhaust valve is operated by means of a roller mounted on the timing gear which runs on a lever to operate the push rod or rather pull rod that moves about two inches. On the way down it operates the igniter. At the bottom of the stroke it operates the exhaust valve. It has a separate water tank for cooling. On one fly-wheel it has the letters B & E Co. Maybe someone could tell me the name of the engine and where it was made. It was in bad shape but I have it almost ready to run. When it’s complete I’ll send a picture and a better description.
I recently found an engine that was on an old dredge in the middle of a marsh near Omro, Wis. With the help of a couple of friends and a snow sled we hauled it out in pieces. There was no other way to get to it. We had to wait till it froze and snowed. It was a mile from the nearest road. The engine is a Simplicity. It has 10 hp at 325 RPM, 6 1/2-inch bore, 10-inch stroke, 45-inch fly-wheels, hit and miss, Webster mag, make and break ignition. The weight is over 2200 lbs. without the axles and wheels. These axles and wheels are not original. The piston was stuck in the cylinder but with a lot of soaking, heat, and rough treatment it came out. The head was badly broken. One valve guide broke in two pieces inside the water jacket. But with a lot of welding and handwork and two homemade valves and valve springs plus some rebuilt pins here and there, a good cleaning, fresh paint, rebuilt gas tank, and polished brass it now runs and looks better than new.
In the September/October 1967 issue of Gas Engine Magazine there is a picture of an engine sent in by Ruben Michelson, Anamoose, North Dakota. I believe this engine is a Termaat and Monahan. It looks exactly like the one I have. But I think he will find it is a hit and miss and not a throttle governor, and that the gas tank mounts underneath with a long filler pipe that comes up aside the connecting rod.
In the November/December 1967 issue of Gas Engine Magazine there is a letter from Verne W. Kindschi of Prairie du Sac, WI about the Monitor engine. I would like to add a little about the sizes of these engines. I have an 8 hp horizontal and I have a friend that has a 7 hp vertical. I met Verne at an engine show in Baraboo, WI. He introduced me to this magazine and I immediately subscribed.
1968 Engine Show
Plans for the 1968 Reunion are being discussed. Always a lot of work to do and plans to be made. Once again there will be an auction on Saturday. This proved a good drawing card for last year and will be tried again. All proceeds are to go to the club.
A new attraction this year will be a garden tractor pull on Sunday. This will be a new venture in this part of the country, although they have been held in Ohio. Anyone with a four wheel garden tractor will be eligible to participate for a small entry fee. Prizes will be given.
Reunion dales are July 26, 27 and 28th at Fairville, N. Y., four miles north of Newark on Route 88. If you come from a distance, some interesting things to see while you are in the neighborhood are the Rose Gardens in Newark, The Morman Pagent at Palmyra, and the Brookwood atomic generating plant at Ontario.
