Q. How long have you been collecting gas engines?
A. I have been collecting gas engines since I was 8 years old.
Q. What attracted you to the hobby?
A. My grandpa gave me a Maytag Model 92 to get running. I got it running, and have really liked engines ever since.
Q. Who else in your family collects engines?
A. My grandpa also collects engines. He has more than 160 running engines.
Q. What engines do you have in your collection?
A. I have nine engines: a Maytag Model 92, a Maytag Model 72, an Ideal lawn mower, an International LB, a 4-1/2 HP Ottawa, a 2-1/2 HP Fuller & Johnson NC, a Fairbanks-Morse Type ZD, a 2-cylinder Wisconsin and an 8 HP Lister diesel.
Q. What is your favorite engine in your collection?
A. My 2-1/2 HP Fuller & Johnson because it was my first hit-and-miss engine and it will sit there and run all day.
Q. What projects are you currently working on?
A. I am working on a Maytag washing machine with a 2-cylinder Maytag engine.
Q. Which shows do you normally attend each year? What show haven’t you been to yet that you’d like to see one day?
A. I go to Coolspring in Pennsylvania, Rough and Tumble in Pennsylvania, the Blue Mountain show in Pennsylvania and the Long Island Antique Power Association show. I would like to go to the Florida Flywheelers show.
Q. What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve come across in the hobby?
A. The prices of engines are a big thing.
Q. What are your favorite engines and why?
A. I like hit-and-miss engines because they run very smoothly.
Q. If money weren’t an issue, what is your dream engine to own?
A. If money weren’t an object I would get a slide valve Otto because they are very unique.
For more information, email David Shepherd at shepherdboyjr@msn.com.
Young Iron is looking for gas engine collectors, age 35 and younger. If you or someone you know would like to be profiled, please contact Associate Editor Beth Beavers at (800) 682-4704 or bbeavers@gasenginemagazine.com.
