REFLECTIONS

By Staff
Published on August 1, 2001
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36/8/3
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36/8/11A
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36/8/4B
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36/8/11C
36/8/11C

As is usual in the summer months, we all are busy
playing with our engines and tractors, so of course,
writing about them becomes relatively unimportant. On Friday, June
8, we ventured down to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, to look at the IHC Red
Power Roundup. We were totally amazed at the vast number of IHC
tractors and equipment, as well as by the quality of many
restorations.

International Harvester Company was of course, one of the
leading figures in the farm mechanization that began in the early
1900s. Unlike any other company, IH was committed to spending vast
amounts of money on research and development . . . this notion was
new to the industry at the time. These efforts paid off handsomely
for IH, and within a short time, IH was the company to emulate.

Henry Ford saw the IH successes and attempted to capitalize on
them by presenting the Fordson tractor. By 1915 Ford was highly
regarded (primarily because of his Model T) especially in the rural
areas. Ford was likely aware of his deification, and proposed
building a ‘cheap’ tractor for the masses. Although the
Fordson tractor was highly popular, it was not the moneymaker that
Ford had hoped for. In fact, like the Samson from GMC, it lost
money. Ford seems to have directed his competitive efforts
primarily toward International Harvester. However, the IH product
line was sold through an extensive dealer network that provided
excellent service after the sale. IH dealers were specialists in
farm equipment, including their tractor line. Fordson tractors were
sold through Ford car dealers. Many of them weren’t interested
in selling tractors (their profit margins on tractors were
extremely low) and most car dealers had automotive mechanics, not
tractor mechanics.

The price war between Ford and IH continued for some years, and
finally Ford capitulated, moving the entire tractor operation
overseas. Several books have been written on this subject. Notable
among these is the title, The Legend of Henry Ford.
Written by Keith Sward, it was published by Rinehart & Company,
New York in 1948. So far as we know, it is now out of print, but
might be found in an antiquarian book store, or by a book search on
the net.

Speaking of International Harvester, we stand impressed by the
number of IH engines and tractors to be found in Australia and New
Zealand. Early on, IH set up a plant at Geelong in Australia. To
avoid the excessive import duties, IH shipped boatloads of parts to
Geelong, where they were assembled into the finished products.
Thus, it is possible today to find a substantial number of IH
engines and tractors. The IH Mogul line of engines and tractors
seems to be especially evident; it is not at all difficult to find
them almost anywhere in Australia.

We don’t have a whole lot of letters this month, but there
goes:

36/8/1 Crabb Engines Q. Bill Brack, 2454 SW 2nd
Ave., Ontario, OR 97914 writes: Regarding the Crabb engine, I
recently met Ferd Fleming. He is a (retired) master machinist. He
told me his first shop was the Crabb Gas Engine Co. He showed me
pictures and drawings of the engine and explained to me that the
copper water jacket was meant to keep the block from freezing if
the water was left in. Ferd is in his 80s and is getting kind
of frail, but he still goes to his machine shop in the
backyard.

A. As many of you know, ye olde Reflector has
the foundry patterns for the Crabb 5 HP engine. We acquired these
about 30 years ago from Milo Schnoor (deceased) who bought out the
old company back in the 1950s. Milo was a saw mechanic who worked
for Mr. Crabb, and after the latter retired, Milo bought him out.
Subsequently the old company was vacated and the buildings
abandoned. One summer morning Milo and I took along a ladder to get
into the attic of the old building (long since destroyed) to
retrieve the patterns. They had been there for decades and were
completely covered in dirt and soot. By the time we recovered them
it was getting mighty warm in that old attic and the mud daubers
(wasps) were also getting pretty active.

Crabb first built the engine at West Union, Iowa, about 1910.
Production of the engines continued until about 1918, when the
company moved to Independence, Iowa. No engines were built at
Independence. In the eight year production period at West Union, at
best, only a few dozen Crabb engines were made. The patterns were
brought along to Independence and placed in that attic we
previously referred to.

After about a half century, we acquired the patterns, always
with the hope of actually building one or two of the engines.
However, the changes in the foundry industry have largely
eliminated the small foundries, and having a couple sets of
castings made today, would no doubt be very costly. So we dream . .
.

36/8/2 IHC Nonpareil Q. Does anyone have a 2 or
3 HP IHC Nonpareil vertical engine? I bought a 2 HP and it is
missing the mixer and a few other parts. I would like to hear from
anyone having one of these engines for dimensions and photos. Also,
at an auction I bought a Service Drill Pointer made by Service R
& D, Union, New Jersey. It has a number of DG71694. Does anyone
know anything about this instrument? Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Dale Nickerson, 8670 Glasgow Rd., Cassadaga, New
York.

A. The only Nonpareil I can think of is a
nicely restored example owned by Alan Bellinger at Westbury,
Tasmania (but of course there might be some Nonpareil owners here
in the U.S.). Alan and Peter Bellinger have some of the finest
engines we’ve seen, and their restorations are second to
none.

36/8/3 Worthington Q. See the photo of a valve
that is 24 inches long, with a stem diameter of 1 inches and a head
of 5 inches. It was out of a Worthington eight-cylinder inline
engine with 16-inch pistons. The engine block was 20 feet long, and
the flywheel was 6 feet in diameter with a 9-inch face. The engine
ran on natural gas and the crankshaft was 12 inches in diameter. It
lifted water from the Rio Grande River at 69,000 gpm. Is anyone
familiar with this engine who could provide additional information?
Ray C. Armstrong, PO Box 317, Roanoke, IL 61561.

A. When we completed our book, American Gas
Engines some twenty years ago, we intentionally left out the
‘big’ engines, mainly to leave space for the farm engines,
and because we also were at 584 pages the largest Crestline book
ever! Besides, at that time, there was very little interest in the
larger engines, so they were the easiest thing on which to apply
the editor’s scissors. In retrospect, we wish we had included
them. Should we ever get the chance to redo the ‘engine
book’ we will certainly include these big engines as well. If
you can help Ray with his specific question, please drop him a
line.

36/8/4 Adams Launch & Engine Mfg. Co. Q.
See the photos of a marine engine from Adams Launch & Engine
Mfg. Co., Penetang, Ontario. There are no numbers. The lower case
seems to be a Palmer. I am looking for any information such as
ignition details, lubrication, original color(s) and vintage. Any
information would be greatly appreciated. Christopher L. Mann, 9
Centre St., Bath, ME 04530.

36/8/5 Madison-Kipp Q. I recently bought a
Madison-Kipp two-line lubricator. Cast on the cover is
Mason Kipp Mfg. Co., Madison, Wis.Is this a
casting error, or was there a Mason Kipp company? Ray Turner, 2225
Bullock Rd., Bay City, MI 48708.

A. We suggest that this was a casting error. On
top of that, we would suppose that the fur was flying when someone
discovered the error, given that it would have gone through
approval by the pattern making department, the foundry, the machine
department, final assembly and painting, all without being
noticed!

36/8/6 Adams Road Patrol Q. I am restoring an
Adams Road Patrol #41 made by J. D. Adams Mfg. Company at
Indianapolis. I would like to know more about the year (s) built,
literature, etc. Tom Gregory, PO Box 33, Bethany, IL 61914

A. The only information we can find is that the
color is a dark brewster green, something like DuPont GS064.

36/8/7 Rivett Lathes Q. Do you have any
information on the Rivett lathes? I have one, but no paper work.
Henry E. Haley, 10 Baptist Common Rd., Templeton, MA
01468-1410.

A. We have no information on the Rivett, aside
from old magazine advertisements. However, we know that the Rivett
was a machine of high precision and much used by instrument makers,
jewelers, and the like.

36/8/8 3 HP Sattley Q. I have a Sattley 3 HP
throttle governed engine with a Wico magneto. I used page 8 of
King’s book to make adjustments to the magneto timing, etc. The
valve timing was also verified. However, the engine speed
oscillates badly. I do not have anything about the throttle
adjustment, and it appears my engine is missing a spring on the
bottom of the mixer which would provide a balancing force against
the governor action. Any information would be appreciated. C. J.
Leighton, 1359 Liggates Rd., Lynchburg, VA 24502.

A. We’re not familiar with the Sattley
governing system. However, there likely is some means of settling
the throttle system down. Fuller & Johnson once did this by
putting an oil-filled dashpot on the throttle rod. Fairbanks-Morse
Z engines did it by putting a flat buffer spring on one side of the
governor assembly. If any Sattley owners have run into this
problem, please contact Mr. Leighton.

36/8/9 Novo Engines Q. What is the year built
of a 1 HP Novo engine, s/n 21587? Paul Speer, email:
pspeerl@home.com.

A. There are no s/n listings prior to #40,000
of 1918.

36/8/10 Empire Garden Tractor Q. I have an
Empire Garden Tractor, No. b.s.AZZ with a 3 HP Villiers engine.
Does anyone have any pictures of this model or other information?
Murray Coulson, Box 4, St. Williams, ONT Canada N0E 1P0

36/8/11 Loading Engines See the photos of a
simple rig I use at home. It is made of inch steel shaft. A l piece
of steel inch thick is used to connect the V4 inch steel cross
piece to a come along. A chain goes through a piece of 1-inch pipe
welded to the upright l inch strap. The chain is automobile
ice/snow connecting side link about 31 inches long. To use, the
shaft goes through the flywheels. The chain goes under the water
jacket or cylinder part with an old bicycle inner tube to cover the
chain. The come along is hooked to a 5/8 inch
eye hook on the garage door header. Three safety lugs welded onto
the inch shaft prevent any slip off. All the engines I lift weigh
less than 500 pounds. Loading at home is easy. Raise the engine,
back the truck or trailer under, and lower. A simple tool, light
weight and ease to use, a real back saver. Most shows I got to I
get good help unloading and loading up at the end of the day. Dave
Irey, 6348 Mildred Avenue, Edina, MN 55439.

A Closing Word

As this copy comes to you sometime in July, we’ll be headed
into the thick of the 2001 show season. Every year we are amazed at
the fine newly restored engines that come into view. We’re
always thinking that the so-called rare engines are all picked up
by now, but such is not the case. Hats off to those enterprising
folks who keep digging up those nice old engines and bring them
back to life.

Sometimes though, finding an old engine and buying it are two
different things. A couple of years ago, we came across a very rare
tractor, under cover in an open shed. After finally (months later)
tracking down the owner, we discovered that the tractor isn’t
for sale at any price, although it has sat in the same spot for
years, and will continue to sit there for how many years to come.
In these situations one can only hope there will be a change of
heart! Folding green is sometimes helpful, but one must be
judicious in this method, since sometimes the prospective seller
thinks that the buyer is trying to take him for a ride by showing
him a wad of folding money.

Ye olde Reflector is also busy at assembling a planned trip to
Germany and Switzerland in July 2002 (next year). We’ve got a
lot of details put together, and when we have something to report
we’ll pass it along. We can tell you for one thing though, that
there will be plenty of nice iron all along the way, plus some nice
scenery, and a bit of culture too!

We’ll see you here next month!

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