We have just returned from our annual sojourn to Midwest Old
Threshers at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. We’ve been attending this one
for more years than we care to remember, and over the years we have
made friends with lots of nice people from all over the U.S. and
several foreign countries. There were some surprises too … we met
up with several of our friends from England and Australia this
year, along with a great many friends from here in the States.
Many people asked us about our forthcoming Catalog of
American Farm Tractors. We have just heard from Krause
Publications in this regard, and they tell us that publication is
now set for early 2000. Apparently, the size of the book has held
up things a bit, since it is quite a large volume, and the
editorial time takes quite a while.
Several people have been asking about a tour to Australia in
2001. That’s when they have their next National Rally, and this
time it will be in Tasmania. By this fall we will be assembling a
tour to the 2001 Rally, and we will let you know about it in future
issues.
Our thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at Midwest Old
Threshers. Your continuing support is greatly appreciated.
We don’t have many queries this month, but here goes:
34/11/1 Mar-Vil Unit Q. I recently acquired a
small Villiers single cylinder engine (see photo). It is a MAR-VIL
unit made by Villiers, Wolverhampton, England. It has s/n MVB4392
on the crankcase and FM 4316 on the flywheel Any information on
this engine would be appreciated. Henry G. Liot, RR 1, Grafton,
Ontario K0K 2G0 Canada.
34/11/2 Stover Engine Q. See the photo of a
Stover Type K engine, 6-8 horsepower, s/n Kc222664. I would like to
know the age and original color. Lanny E. Dickinson, HC1, Box 22,
Rew, PA 16744.
A. Your engine was built in 1935. It is
comparable to DuPont 2015 Brewster Green. The latter varied a bit
over the years, depending on where they bought the paint. In
general, we would say that any brand of Brewster Green would be
close.
34/11/3 Cletrac 40 Tractor
Ken Hopkins, PO Box 561, Romney, WV 26757 is seeking information
on the Cletrac 40 Series, s/n 1618 and 1621. Both have Wisconsin
water cooled engines, Type Z-T and were used by the U. S. Forestry
Service.
34/11/4 Unidentified Engines Q. See photo 4A of
an air-cooled slant cylinder engine (2? inch bore) that runs
backwards. The intake carburetor tube is attached under the
cylinder. The Tillotson carburetor is mounted in front of the head
and spark plug. The engine is cast iron with a stamped steel base.
The rod bearing is copper. It was painted industrial yellow and may
have been used for a generator.
Photo 4B shows a four-cylinder water cooled engine with the
water outlet tube attached to the center of the head. The
distributor shaft runs through the engine and powers the oil pump
on the left side. There are no identification marks except a small
tag on the lower left rear side which reads: 11-24. Any information
would be appreciated on these engines. Larry Kastens, 9956 S. Deer
Trail, Hereford, AZ 85615-9693.
A Closing Word
That’s it folks . . . that’s all we have for this month
. .. probably our shortest column in history! Given the activities
of summer, we understand that everyone is busy. However, we know
there has been a lot of activity within the hobby, so we welcome
your queries. If we can serve as the helper who can put you in
touch with someone who can provide you with needed information,
then our goal has been accomplished.
Before we leave you though, this copy will be in your hands in
mid-October. DRAIN YOUR ENGINES! Are you sure you got the petcock
under the water pump on your tractor? Are you SURE that your
engines are dry for the upcoming cold weather? If this message
saves but one engine, at least one owner will be happy to have read
this little reminder.
Acknowledgement
In our September issue, we published a story by Robert Urich of
Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. Part of the material he sent was a
section entitled ‘The Rototiller Story,’ which appeared on
pages 20 and 21.
We heard from Robert C. Antram AM 7620, Kaiser-Frazer
Owners’ Club, 734 Antram Road, Somerset, PA 15501. Apparently
the full text of ‘The Rototiller Story’ comes directly from
a handout he prepared. Importantly, the source material for the
brief history is Gardening Beyond the Plow, copyright 1981 by
Garden Way, Inc.
We thank Mr. Antram for alerting us to this fact, and would like
to remind our contributors to let us know when someone else has
written something you send us for publication.