As you might expect, we get a lot of phone calls and e-mails from collectors asking a lot of different questions about their antique gas engines. Some are looking for basic company history info that we’re able to find for them through our archives, while others are looking for answers to questions that are simply above our area of expertise. In other words, they need an expert.
I’d wager that there are quite a few experts reading this column who don’t even realize that they are experts. I’m thinking specifically of the custodian of an engine registry (like Stover Stuff’s Joe Maurer) or someone who’s done a lot of research into an obscure company (like Chris Jerue did with the International Gas Engine Co.).
Essentially, we’d like to build a comprehensive resource list of experts that the entire gas engine community can utilize. At first, it will simply be a list of names, area of expertise and contact information that we’ll run in every issue, as well as on our website. We hope to include experts on every segment of the hobby from scale models to industrial engines. If you’ve acquired a decent amount of knowledge on a specific company, engine, restorative process, or anything else you think others would want to learn about related to antique gas engines, we want to hear from you.
We’ve made a call for experts in the past, and while we’ve received some responses, we know that there are more people out there who have a lot of information to share. So don’t be modest – the entire hobby will benefit from your expertise, and we can make that happen with an organized and centrally-located resource list. To become an official GEM Expert, e-mail me at the address listed below.
GEM Extra digital supplement
The premier issue of GEM Extra was delivered to e-mail newsletter subscribers on Aug. 18, and the response has been very positive.
If you want to start receiving our new digital supplement, all you need to do is sign up for our free weekly newsletter. This will allow us to send you e-mail notification of the latest supplement when it’s ready for download. To sign up, simply send your name and e-mail address to me at cwilliams@gasenginemagazine.com.
We expect the next digital supplement to be available for download around October 15. And don’t forget that with the digital supplement and the magazine, there’s more room than ever for your submissions, so keep them coming!
