Reflections

By Staff
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Almost every issue we get requests for the proper color match on
engines and tractors. Although there is such a listing in the
September 1988 issue of GEM, some readers don’t have this list,
others can’t find it, and then there are constantly some new
additions to it. One such addition comes from a Kansas collector
who found an original DuPont number in an old IHC parts catalog.
This number is for the IHC Famous and Titan engines, and we are
told that it matches the color on original engines perfectly. The
number is DuPont Dulux Red 4992-OH Crimson. This color is more
maroon than the newer IHC red. This new number will probably stir
another controversy about the proper color for the Famous and Titan
engines. However, we tend to believe that the original color was
somewhat darker than the later IHC red, and so, with this
information we can probably approach the original color within a
shade or two.

In reading of various diesel engine designs of the 1920’s
and 1930’s, we note that some of the early mechanically
injected models used very high injection pressures, some of them
running as high as 5000 psi. We know that there is an interest in
vintage diesel engines, so we caution you in the strongest possible
terms to be careful with these units. For example, if you take one
of these injectors out of its cylinder and reconnect it to
discharge into the air (for test purposes) be sure to stay well
outside of the spray area. The diesel fuel under these high
pressures coming in contact with the skin can cause serious injury
or illness, since it will penetrate the skin and be absorbed into
the body.

In the last issue of GEM there was a notice concerning a trip to
Australia next year to visit a couple of engine and tractor
rallies, various museums, and other scenes of interest for American
engine and tractor collectors. As matters stand at this writing, ye
olde Reflector is planning on this journey. With the enthusiasm
already displayed by many Australian collectors, it should be the
trip of a lifetime!

The Annual Swap Meet at Waukee, Iowa is now history, and we made
our usual pilgrimage to the event. As in years past, there were
engines, tractors, parts, antiques, and who knows what else in
abundance.

One of our collectors was inquiring whether anyone knew of any
old Excelsior machines, and if so, the patent numbers on them. He
is hoping to build one of these machines, using either an existing
machine or the patent drawings as guidelines. Our first question
this month is:

25/8/1 Majestic Engine Q. I recently acquired a
5 hp Majestic engine, s/n 200382. I would like to hear from anyone
with information on this engine; year, color, instructions, etc. I
am also looking for a drawing or photocopy of the original muffler
and carburetor. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ed Paquette,
77 Ahlgren Circle, Marlborough, MA01752.

25/8/2 IHC Engines Q. What is the year built
and the proper color for a McCormick-Deering 3 hp engine, s/n
BW21547; also an IHC 3-5 engine, s/n LBB3527J? L. D. Knapp, 1507
Shepard Circle, Placentia, CA 92670.

A. The 3 hp engine was built in 1927; the LBB
in 1944. DuPont 7498D or 93-84155 Adirondack Green are comparable
for the earlier engine, and IHC Red for the later style. Changes in
the LB Series compared to the earlier LA included: Improved
cylinder head and head cooling, removable exhaust valve seat, and
automatic lubrication of the valve rocker arms.

25/8/3 Magneto Problem Q. I have a
Fairbanks-Morse s/n 496836 with a magneto problem. Any help will be
appreciated. Also, I have heard about an engine built at Lebanon,
Pennsylvania called either the Nanzy or the Whittle. Can anyone be
of help? David P. Rhine, 1124 Park Drive, Palmyra, PA 17078.

A. Without knowing what type of magneto you
refer to, we can’t be of much help. Perhaps some of our
Pennsylvania readers can be of assistance regarding the Nanzy
engine.

25/8/4 R. A. Lister Q. I have a Lister engine,
s/n 12114, DH2, 1.5 hp. (See October 1985 GEM, page 23 for
picture). Can anyone tell me its approximate age? These engines are
rather unusual, such as with the single cam lobe for both push
rods, etc. Any information will be appreciated.

Also, I collect old telegraph equipment and would like to hear
from other individuals or groups interested in this subject. Todd
W. Kuhns, PO Box 142, Kingman, KS 67068.

25/8/5 Ottawa Engine Jon Fielding, 37
Leominster Rd., Princeton, MA 01541 needs information on an Ottawa
21/2 hp engine. Any help will be
appreciated.

25/8/6 Junkers Diesel Tom Salmons, Box 547,
Mango, FL 33550 sends along a couple pix of a two-cylinder Junkers
diesel. Photo 6A shows it with one of the top con rod cases
removed-the ball bearing of the top rod is plainly in view. The
other photo shows the engine completely assembled. Tom writes:

Here are some pictures of a Junkers that wintered in Florida.
Owned by Jack Heemooth, Marshall, Michigan. A twin from Hobart.
Started so easy it was disgusting.

25/8/7 New Way Engine Q. See the two photos of
a New Way engine. The flywheels are 15 inches, the bore is 3? and
the stroke is 5 inches. This engine runs backwards. As you can see
in the photo with my five year old brother, it is a small engine.
Can anyone tell me more about this engine, the horsepower, year
built, etc.? Also, what is the original color and striping? All
information will be appreciated. Bill Mort, PO Box 23, Salisbury,
PA 15558.

A. The horizontal New Way is not particularly
abundant in engine land. This model is probably a 1? hp size, and
was likely built in the 1912-15 period. Most of the engine is a
deep maroon, with dark Brewster green, ample striping, and even
some painted flowers. About the only way to get it right is to
actually see one, or get some pictures of one. New Way catalogs
often illustrated this engine in full color, and that is the only
accurate measure we know of to get it back to original.

25/8/8 Beaver Garden Tractor Q. Can anyone give
me the color scheme for a Beaver garden tractor? It uses a
Wisconsin B K N engine. The wheels appear to have been yellow, and
there is some red left on the seat. A name plate on the tractor
reads, Baird, Stratford, Conn. Gordon E. Hopper, 75 Kendall Ave.,
Framingham, MA 01701.

25/8/9 Fairbanks-Morse Q. I have an engine that
has me puzzled. It has Fairbanks numbers on the flywheels, looks
like a FBM 6 hp base, cylinder, and water hopper. However, the
cylinder head and mixer looks like a 6 hp Economy. There are no
serial numbers or name tag. Can anyone supply any information on
this engine? Art England, 204 -216th SW, Bothell, WA 98021.

A. If you get the opportunity, send us some pix
of this engine, and perhaps we can find out a little more.
Meanwhile, perhaps some of our readers might have some
information.

25/8/10 Kohler and Maytag Q. Is there a source
for manuals on the Kohler power plants, and has anyone reproduced
the Maytag Gyrofoam Washer machine decals? Eugene T. Bassi, PO Box
36301, Greensboro, NC 27416.

A. We believe that you might be able to get
photocopy material directly from Kohler at Kohler, Wisconsin. We
don’t know of anyone making the Gyrofoam decals as yet.

25/8/11 Sears Farm Master Q. We have a Sears
Farm Master engine, Model R30, 4 hp. There is some red paint
onityet. Where might 1 find a service manual? What about decals for
this engine? Ronnie Thompson, RR 1, Box 3345, Fitzgerald, GA
31750.

A. Your engine is a Cushman R30, and we believe
that some of the GEM advertisers have reprinted this service
manual.

25/8/12 Elgin Haf-a-Hors Q. Could someone give
me the proper colors for this engine? Richard K. Brehm, 22 Tyler
Road, Lexington, MA 02173.

25/8/13 St. Marys  Engine Q. I am working
on a St. Marys side shaft engine. It is of the 8-10 hp range.
However, it is missing the governor unit and the mechanism to
control the fuel. It came with a magneto but the mag gear is
missing. 1 sure would like to hear from anyone having one of these
engines so as to get photos or drawings of the missing parts.
Morrie Robinson, 1087 Potts Rd-Day Creek, Sedro Woolley, WA
98284.

25/8/14 Independent Harvester Q. What is the
proper color scheme for the engines from Independent Harvester
Company? Any information at all on these engines will be greatly
appreciated. Mine is a 2hp model. Rudy M. Hanson, 24909 Layton Rd.,
South Bend, IN 46614.

25/8/15 Information Needed Q. What is the year
built for the following engines: Fairbanks-Morse, s/n 13554;
105567; and 176397. International Famous KA25275 International
Titan LA26259 Edjuenke, 22451 Annette Ave., Farmington, MN
55024.

A. The years in order are: 1913,1911, 1916,
1911, 1916. We have no information on the Ideal and New Way engines
also mentioned in your letter.

Readers Write

25/6/11 International Industrial Tractor This
item shows an International Industrial tractor with an electric
starter and other differences from a farm tractor. In the late
1930’s my neighbor broke a connecting rod in his Farmall F-30.
As a teenager I helped with the repairs and went with him to a
dealer in used parts. We found the parts we needed and they were
from an International truck that used the same engine. I suspect
that the tractor pictured has a lot of parts from the truck engine.
Did the tractor have solid rubber tires originally? Industrial
tractors of that period did, as I remember. One thing I remember
about the F-30 engine was spinning the bare crank and flywheel on
its two ball bearings. It seemed to spin forever.

I had a thought about the request for a miniature magneto in the
same GEM issue. Around 1960 a ceramic or crystal device got a lot
of publicity. It was very small. Pressure on it produced enough
voltage to fire a spark plug. I think one maker of small engines
used it in production for a time. However, the voltage it produced
was lower than really desired; I think that was what killed it.
Perhaps some reader could supply this information. Max F. Homfeld,
RR 2, Box 697, St. Michaels, MD 21663.

Duchess County New York Show Your article in
the April GEM issue on the Duchess County, New York show brought
back pleasant memories of a friendly, well-organized weekend which
featured my favorite engine, the Domestic. Several folks have
written recently for information about their engines. As time
permits I will try to respond to their questions. (Requests
received with a stamped, self-addressed envelope will receive the
first priority).

The work on a written history of Domestic engines has been
delayed because of other demands, but I hope to start publishing
some Domestic-related material later this year and have a book on
the engines in 1991. Don L. Kirkpatrick, 343 W. Miner St., Suite A,
West Chester, PA 19382.

Thanks! Thanks to everyone for the great
response to the unidentified tractor question in the May issue. I
am told this tractor is a Sears Handiman made from the 1930’s
to the early 1950’s by the David Bradley Company. Lloyd A.
Merchant, 4310 Smith Road, Dimondale, MI 48821.

Turpentine and Other Fuels The recent comment
of turpentine for fuel reminded me of some other things used as
fuel. A 1945 book tells about the use of charcoal and water in a
portable generator installed on a truck. One such device for making
methane gas was offered by companies located in Brooklyn, New York
and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Lloyd Novak, 13321 E. Alondra Blvd., Santa
Fe Springs, CA 90670. (Ed. Note. Although the methane generators
mentioned above have not been used in the United States, they have
been used in several foreign countries).

25/4/16 Bernard Engine In regards to our
Bernard engine pictured in the April GEM, we got letters from two
Tennessee people and two from the Netherlands naming this engine as
a Bernard made by the Concord Company of France. I want to thank
everyone for their help and information. Jerry Lester, 629 Freedom
Rd., Freedom, NY.

Cracked Engines While reading the June GEM I
have run across two problems with cracked engines. I have a
blacksmith shop and I find welding cast iron to be quite easy,
although somewhat time consuming. What I do is thoroughly clean the
crack with a right angle grinder. Be sure to grind far enough! You
may want to drill a 1/8 inch hole at each end of the crack to make
sure it doesn’t try to. If a piece is missing, make a new
section out of similar thickness mild steel and tack it in place.
Get a good fit and bevel all edges.

The next step is heating the casting. If the cracked or broken
part is not too large I heat it evenly to a dull red in my forge. I
have everything set up so that when it is ready I can move quickly
to my arc welder and lay the entire bead down. I use a nickel rod
for this. That piece of cast is going to be hot, so you will need
some good welding gloves and a long sleeved shirt. You won’t
need the welder cranked up quite as high as normal because the iron
is already hot. After I have completed the weld I put the part back
in the forge, cover it real good, and leave it overnight. This
relieves any stress caused by welding.

On large pieces you can build a forge by digging a hole in the
ground large enough to accommodate your casting plus some firewood.
Dig a trench out on one side of the hole for a blowpipe which will
be attached to a vacuum cleaner exhaust or a fan. Cap the fire pit
end of your pipe and stagger drill 1/4 inch holes along the top
area of the pipe for several inches, depending on the size of the
pit. It would be nice to have some oak slabwood here.

Take your time and heat the cast iron evenly. The larger pieces
will be extremely hot, so you may need some special shielding and
definitely some good help. When you have finished welding put the
casting back in the pit and thoroughly cover with wood and dirt.
Leave the blower off, and leave the casting alone for a day or two.
You should end up with some charcoal as a fringe benefit. Cliff
Larson, 64 Wallace Drive, Rockaway Beach, MO 65740.

25/5/8 Co-op Tractor Colors Here is a list for
Co-op and Cockshutt tractor paints:

Cockshutt Paint color, Sherwin Williams:
Yellow – JK-6475
Red-JK-8522-G
Harvest Gold-JK-8523
Co-op Orange – 9OT22O14 Martin Senour from NAPA
Decals are available from Brison’s. Bruce Trusdle, 821 Ritter
Road, Belleville, OH 44813.

Modelmakers Corner

Reeves Model

See the two photos, MM-1 and MM-2, of a model Reeves gas engine.
It was made using slugs from a local foundry and several spare
parts I had made that were lying around.

I found the 24 inch yard pump so I made a cylinder from a ? x 6
inch brass bearing and mounted this on a small tank so I could pump
water from the tank into the small bucket, then overflow back into
the tank.

I made a pump jack using Boston Gears #G268 and G254 with a
pitch diameter 3 inches to .667. This makes a good ratio for a 2
inch stroke of the piston when using a 3? inch pulley on the pump
and a 1? inch pulley on the engine. Lotus W. Alexander, 1448
Franklin St., Columbus, IN 47201.

  • Published on Aug 1, 1990
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