Well, here we go again, into another new year, and into the
twenty-fourth year of publication for Gas Engine Magazine. When
Rev. Ritzman began GEM back in 1966, we wonder if in even his
wildest dreams he thought of a magazine which would eventually grow
to the size of GEM! The Reflector stands proud to be a part of the
GEM team, and we hope to bring you news and information during the
coming year.
This past fall ye olde Reflector became the owner of a Junkers
diesel engine. Rated at about 12? horsepower, this little engine is
of opposed piston design. The crankshaft has three throws. The
center throw is connected to the lower piston, while the upper one
is connected through guides and reach rods to the two outer throws
of the crankshaft. We understand that Hobart Welder Company brought
a few of these engines to the U.S. in the 1930’s, ostensibly to
power their portable welding generators. The experiment apparently
didn’t go very far, but a few of the engines still remain.
Since we have virtually no information or data on this engine, we
would appreciate hearing from anyone who might be able to provide
something along these lines. We also would like to hear from anyone
who can tell us how we might contact Junkers or its successors over
in Germany.
We’re told that the Junkers opposed piston diesel design was
quite popular in Germany, and in fact, some were developed for use
in aircraft. Information is sketchy in this regard, so we would be
happy to hear from anyone with data on these larger engines as
well. Perhaps we will be able to compile an article on the subject
if we can gather enough material.
Our first question for the 1989 issues begins with:
24/1/1 New Idea engine Q. I have recently
acquired a New Idea No. 2 engine, s/n 2257. It was built at the
Sandwich, Illinois plant of New Idea Spreader Company. What is the
date of manufacture, how rare is the engine, and what company
actually manufactured the engine? Darrell Maygra, RR 2, Box 73,
Crookston, MN 56716.
A. New Idea bought out Sandwich Mfg. Company
about 1930 or 1931. In so doing they inherited the Sandwich engine
line. New Idea, however, seems to have phased out the Sandwich
engines, including their fairly recent Sandwich Cub (see page 44547
of American Gas Engines). The New Idea Vari-Speed was a fully
enclosed model intended for strong competition with John Deere,
IHC, and other engines with a fully enclosed crankcase. As such, it
was eminently capable, and a substantial number appear to have been
built, even though they are now relatively scarce. The Vari-Speed
was unquestionably built by New Idea at the old Sandwich
factory.
24/1/2 Worthington engines Q. I have a
Worthington 8 HP Type W engine, s/n 15931. It uses a Webster low
tension magneto and a five-spoke flywheel. When was this engine
built? This, and any other information will be appreciated. Dan
Donaldson, 2710 Kingsway, Jeffner, FL 33584.
A. We believe the Type W engines were built in
the 1917-1921 period.
24/1/3 Field-Brundage Q. I would like to
correspond with anyone having a Field-Brundage ‘Field
Special’ engine, particularly the 4 HP model. I would also like
to publicly thank GEM and the GEM readers and advertisers that have
helped me to solve many problems regarding ‘rusty iron.’
Without the interface that we have through GEM, this relaxing hobby
of ours would be next to impossible to participate in. D. C.
Robie, 559 Pleasant St., So. Weymouth, MA 02190.
24/1/4 T & M Marine engine Q. See the photo
of a Termaat & Monahan marine engine I’m beginning to
restore. Need any available information, including the proper color
scheme. George Banas, 631 Alpine Drive, Southbridge, MA
01550.
24/1/5 Marine engine Q. See photo 24/1/5 of a
marine engine we cannot identify. It has no markings except for
‘Notre Dame’ cast into the brass water pump. It is of
2-cycle design, utilizing a Lunkenheimer mixer. Any information
will be appreciated. Thomas J. Buchanan, 361 Taylor Ave.,
Indiana, PA 15701.
A. We’re not sure whether the ‘Notre
Dame’ on the water pump has any significance-it’s possible,
but not a sure-fired fact! It seems curious indeed that a great
many different marine engines were built with no markings of any
kind. One would presume that small builders would want to promote
their engine far and wide, and what better way than by casting it
in iron!
24/1/6 Information needed Q. I’m new to the
hobby and need information on the following engines:
Fairbanks-Morse 2 HP ‘ZD’, s/n 893059 IHC LA engine, s/n
LAA35019 Cushman 8 HP, 2 cylinder vertical engine Does anyone make
gaskets, crankshaft seals, etc. for these engines? Carl Beck,
816 West Acacia St., Salinas, CA 93901.
A. The Fairbanks-Morse engine was built in
1945; the IHC engine in 1937. No serial number data is available on
Cushman. We know of no one currently manufacturing gaskets and
seals commercially for these engines. In most cases however, new
gaskets and seals can be procured either by cutting them from stock
materials or by adapting other seals to the specific
application.
24/1/7 Unidentified engine Q. See photos
24/1/7A and B of an unidentified engine we recently acquired. It
has no nameplate-only ‘L & W’ with the number following
on each casting. The engine is water cooled and has a 2? inch bore
and stroke. The side opposite the flywheel contains a Wico magneto.
The engine is of throttle governed design, and runs very nicely.
Any information will be appreciated. Earl E. Krahling, 803
Rimhurst, Covina, CA 91724.
A. Our study of this engine brought no results,
so perhaps some of our readers might be of help.
24/1/8 McCormick-Deering M2 James H. Walls,
Lebanon, NJ 08833 would like to hear from other 1-12 owners,
especially regarding the proper paint color scheme.
24/1/9 Silver King tractor Harry Linn, 114 N.
18th St., Estherville, IA 51334 needs information on his Silver
King tractor, s/n 2490 – D91855. He also is looking for a parts
source regarding this tractor.
24/1/10 Refined Motor Co. Q. I am having a
problem in identifying a marine engine built by the above company.
It is not listed in American Gas Engines. The above company was in
Detroit, and according to the nameplate, this 3 HP engine also
lists Thrall-Fishback. The carburetor was made by Krice and is
dated 1910. The engine uses a copper water jacket. Any information
will be appreciated. E. Allen Richard son, 4295 E. Texas Rd.,
Allentown, PA 18103.
A. As we’ve noted before, marine engine
builders were in great abundance, especially in the 1910-1920
period. Almost every little town that was on a river or other
substantial body of water had at least one marine engine builder.
Perhaps out of imminent need, these companies all thrived for a few
years until they had saturated their market. At that point most of
them disappeared as quickly as they came. Thus, to find specific
information on Thrall-Fishback or Refined Motor Company may be
difficult. If, however, any of our readers can help, we urge you to
do so.
24/1/11 United States engine Q. I’ve
recently acquired the United States engine shown in the photos
24/1/11 A, B, and C. According to the plate it was built by Vermont
Farm Machinery Co. of Bellows Falls, Vermont. American Gas Engines
Since 1872 provides little information on this company so I turn to
your readers for help. My questions are: 1. What is the date of
manufacture, and what is the history of the company? 2. What is the
original color and decoration on this engine? 3. What is the proper
ignition system? (As pictures show, the igniter and trip have been
replaced with a home-made copy.) The inverted v-shape case into the
hopper suggests clearance for something taller than the igniter
shown. Any information relative to this engine will be appreciated.
M. A. Barnes, 41 Dashwood Close, Belton, Great Yarmouth,
Norfolk, NR31 9NP, England.
A. This is the first time we have seen the
United States engine of this particular style illustrated anywhere,
so we stand with little to offer in the way of information. A close
look at the igniter does indeed suggest this one to be a home-made
copy, but on the other hand, securing an original might be
completely impossible.
24/1/12 Fairbanks-Morse Q. We are looking for
information to restore four Fairbanks-Morse engines of the vertical
diesel type. The smallest is a two-cylinder having a 12 x 17 inch
bore and stroke, the second one is a 3-cylinder with a 14×17 inch
bore and stroke, and the other two are six-cylinder engines with a
14 x 17 inch bore and stroke. This pair of identical engines were
installed and used in a mine on Vancouver Island until 1935. They
appear to be of 1912-1915 vintage and were housed in a building
until last summer. Any information will be appreciated. G. E.
Hoffman, 9312 – 173 A St., Surrey, BC V3S5X7 Canada.
A. We assume the smallest of these engines is
actually the vertical 12 x 15 model-the earliest of the 2-cycle
vertical oil engines. The 14×17 inch engines remained on the market
for years-although with various modifications that served to
increase the horsepower rating per cylinder substantially. It’s
rather easy to pick out the differences-the very earliest of these
used a large dome-type head with the injector directly in the
center. The injector in this case was little more than a plain
nozzle which squirted fuel at the piston head. The very early
models were technically classified as oil engines-their lower
compression ratio required a torch or other external heat to
facilitate starting.
We don’t have an exact date, but by the early 1920’s the
‘Y’ verticals gave way to the so-called Model 32. This
engine used a compression pressure of 480-510 psi for direct
starting without the aid of a glow plug. The five-hole
high-pressure injectors of the Model 32 were substantially larger
and heavier than was used in the earlier Model ‘Y’ engines.
The earliest Model 32 engines have a straight outer wall on the
cylinder jacket. This style offered 60 horsepower per cylinder, or
360 HP for a six-cylinder engine. By the late 1920’s the
cylinder design was altered to provide substantially larger intake
air passages-this is evidenced by a noticeable swell at the bottom
of the cylinder jacket. These naturally aspirated models were rated
at 75 horsepower per cylinder. Adding a Buchi exhaust-driven
turbocharger to the system squeezed in more air and delivered more
horsepower per cylinder, but also created new problems with
bearings, crankshafts, and the like.
We suggest you contact Fairbanks-Morse Engine Division, 6402
Rockton Road, Roscoe, IL 61073. They may be able to supply you with
photocopies of the original instruction manuals. You might also be
able to obtain precise erection dates from the serial number
information. This should be stamped on the top of the engine base
in a machined area near the governor end of the engine.
24/1/13 Nebraska Tests Q. In your book Nebraska
Tractor Tests Since 1920 the listing at the end of the book which
ranks fuel efficiency for each model had a slightly higher
horsepower rating than you show in the actual write up on each
test. Why is this?
When were the following tractor colors adopted: a) A-C orange;
b) Case orange (flambeau red); c) JHC red; d) Massey-Harris red
w/yellow wheels; e) Minneapolis-Moline yellow w/red wheels.
At tractor shows I have seen: a) Sears Roebuck red tractor from
late 1930’s. Who made it? b) Montgomery Ward. Who made it? c)
Cockshutt-Oliver from around 1938. Did Oliver build it? d) Did
anyone else make Co-op between Duplex and Cockshutt? There seem to
be some that are in early 1940’s that are tricycle, 6-cylinder,
and red similar to Massey-Harris. Any information will be
appreciated. Lowell D. Kreager, Vo-Ag Instructor, South Central
High School, Greenwich, OH 44837.
A. Regarding your first question, the data for
the Nebraska Test Indexes was computer generated. In order to
simplify these indexes we instructed the computer to round off the
figures. Thus, if a certain tractor consumed 12.56 pounds of fuel
per horsepower hour, this figure would have automatically been
rounded off to 12.6.
24/1/14 Hispano-Suiza aircraft Q. I’m
seeking information about a four-cylinder dirt-track racing engine
made from one bank of a World War One Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine.
According to one correspondent, ‘a number of small shops made
these engines.’ Two business enterprises were known to have
made substantial quantities of these engines or supplied the
necessary parts therefor. They are: Ambler Bros., Philadelphia, PA
and Merkler Machine Works, Fort Wayne, IN. Is it possible to
determine from your set of the Patent Office Gazette if either of
these firms held patents relative to the modification of the H-S
engines?
During World War One, the engine was built under license in the
U.S. by Wright. They made some changes to the original H-S design
but did not change the basic specs which included SOHC V-8, two
valves per cylinder, cross-flow porting, dual ignition, and fork
& blade connecting rods. Any Wright/Hisso patents are also of
interest. Gerald B. Lombard, 5120 Belcrest Ave., Bakersfield,
CA 93309.
A. Without specific patent numbers, the Patent
Office Gazette is something like walking into a hayfield looking
for a morsel of hay! There are various indexes, but these are often
of scant value, since the object of a specific patent might have a
title that one would never consider as a possibility. Your letter
does, however, raise some interesting points regarding the
adaptation of the H-S engine, or at least half of it, to racing
duties. This must have been an impressive machine! Even if we had
some specific patent numbers on this conversion, we doubt that they
would be of great historical help in this case. Hopefully, however,
some of our readers can provide some input here.
24/1/15 Blakeslee engine Q. I recently acquired
a 5 HP vertical engine which was sold by Fairbanks Company under
their ‘Junior’ trademark. This engine was apparently used
as a pump engine in an eastern Massachusetts cranberry bog. The
engine is identical to the Blakeslee pictured on page 59 of
American Gas Engines. Did anyone else use this style of valve
mechanism? Is this engine as unusual as I suspect? Does anyone have
any information on the Blakeslee or the Fairbanks ‘junior’?
Can anyone date this engine? Any information will be appreciated.
James P. Paquette, 60 A High St., Uxbridge, MA 01569.
24/1/16 McC-Deering ‘M’ Color Q. In the
July, 1988 GEM, 23/7/28 you give PPG #43846 White Motors Green as
the proper color for the McCormick-Deering ‘M’ engines.
However, I can’t get this color through my local automotive
stores. If it is not a DuPont number, please advise where I could
get this paint. Robert M. Pike, 19 East Derry Road, Chester, NH
03036.
A. The sample books from DuPont or anyone else
should illustrate White Motors Green and give an equivalent number.
It has been our understanding that these various numbers will
interchange as well.
24/1/17 Sandow and siblings Q. On page 299 of
American Gas Engines you illustrate the Sandow engine. Likewise,
the Jackson on page 252, Sheldon on page 465, Smythe on page 471,
Cray on page 112, and Unito on page 522 are alike or nearly alike.
I would immensely appreciate information on these, and any other
engines of this type. Mike Lutz, 1004 Glenwood, Ottumwa, IA
52501.
A. We attempted to delineate many of these
engines in the book noted above. However, we did not make any
special effort to tie them all together in our research. It seems a
virtual certainty that these engines were actually manufactured in
the plant of Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company at Waterloo, Iowa.
For all we know, many of the parts might have been interchangeable.
At this point in time the full story probably will never be told,
but there is no doubt whatever that the above companies, plus
several more, owed their engines to Waterloo Gasoline Engine
Co.
24/1/18 Northome engines Fred Marineau, RR 1,
Box 180, Wallace, MI 49893 writes that he has spent over a year
looking for further information on the Northome engines, but with
little success. If you have any information on these engines,
especially the 1? HP model, kindly contact Mr. Marineau at the
above address.
24/1/19 Wiscona Pep engine Q. See the photo of
a Wiscona Pep engine built by Termaat & Monahan Co., Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. The engine is missing the governor system, i.e.,
flywheel weights, throttle rod, and linkage. Would like to talk or
correspond with anyone having information on these engines before
proceeding with the restoration. Bob Herder, RR 5, Box 121,
Califon, NJ 07830.
A. Per page 509 of American Gas Engines this
engine must have been built between 1917 and 1919. However, we have
never seen a Wiscona Pep engine with the peculiar water hopper
shown here.
24/1/20 Unidentified engine Q. There is no I.D.
tag on the engine shown in 24/1/20, and the carburetor is also
missing. I’m thinking this engine was made by Nelson Bros.
Company. Any help will be appreciated. Steve P. Frasl, 524 No.
4th St., Brainerd, MN 56401.
A. The shape of the base and a few other
features leads us to believe this might be a ‘New Sattley’
as sold by Montgomery Ward. If it is, then a Model T Ford rod cap
should fit this engine.
24/1/21 Novo engines Q. I have three engines
for which I would like to know the manufacturing dates: 1) Economy
1? HP, s/n 205931; 2) Novo 1 HP, s/n 99825; 3) Novo 1 HP Junior,
s/n 31118. Any information or a serial number listing will be
appreciated. John M. Preston, 2455 Hickory Lawn, Rochester, MI
48063.
A. There is no serial number information on the
above engines-about the best that can be done is to date them on
the basis of known factors such as original advertising and other
information. Oftentimes this comes from original or reprinted
catalogs or other literature. Then too, scanning the pages of GEM
and using the GEM indexes (available from the GEM offices) is
helpful. Finally, the book entitled American Gas Engines Since 1872
has brought a great deal of this information into a single
reference volume. These and other sources are usually sufficient to
achieve an approximate, but fairly accurate manufacturing date.
24/1/22 Alamo information Q. I have an Alamo
engine, 1? HP, s/n 104024. Is there any information regarding the
age of this engine, or is a reprint instruction manual available?
John F. McCullough, 14091 Telegraph Road, Pecatonica, IL
61063.
A. There is no serial number data available on
Alamo. Possibly some of the GEM advertisers have reprinted an
instruction manual for Alamo.
24/1/23 F-30 tractor Q. I have a Farmall F-30,
s/n FB30066. I have double checked the serial number, but cannot
find it listed. This tractor has a very tall front pedestal with
standard 16-inch tires. The rear tires are 14-40 size. Some people
tell me it is a ‘cane tractor.’ Any information will be
helpful. W. D. Ferguson, 332 Old Pinson Rd., Jackson, TN
38301.
A. You’re correct, in that our listings
show F-30 production ending at FB30026. Quite possibly, IH reserved
some higher numbers for tractors such as yours, and quite possibly
it was a special cane tractor. Maybe some of our readers have the
answer.
24/1/24 Wade log saw Q. What is the make of the
drag saw in 24/1/24A? In photo 24B is shown a 1930 model IHC M
engine, A W91020. The engine in the background has a fork-type fuel
lever as shown in the photo on page 27 of Alan King’s Data Book
No. 1 on IHC, 1900-1940. Is this an earlier or later model? In
photo 24C note a Mast-Foos water pump. Any information on this
‘Buckeye Power Pump’ will be appreciated, including the
horsepower required for operation. Donald R. Green, P.O. Box
294, Grapeview, WA 98546.
A. This is a Wade log saw, widely used on the
West Coast. IHC ‘M’ engines with the AW prefix were built
between 1924 and 1932. Those with the AW prefix have the gasoline
mixer, while those with the AB or AX prefixes were equipped with
kerosene carburetors. The latter two styles were built between 1923
and 1933.
