26/1/12 Unidentified Engine Q. See the photo of
an unidentified engine, his throttle governed. The nameplate reads:
Engine No. 25-JK-12135, Rpm 775, HP 2?-3? JK, Made in USA. A date
plate on the head reads 7-7-30 and on the case it reads 8-28-30.
Any information will be appreciated. Bill Hash, PO Box 261,
Peterstown, WV 24963.
A. Your engine was built by Hercules, and was
likely sold by Sears-Roebuck as an Economy. The JK Series was
offered about this time; by about 1930 there was a mad scramble to
sell engines with an enclosed crankcase and everything running in
oil. Stover, Fairbanks-Morse, and others were already doing so, and
to continue with an open crank engine was an invitation to
disaster. We have no instruction manuals for this engine in our
files.
26/1/13 Serial Numbers Q. Can you supply years
built for the following engines: 1) Sattley 1? HP, 65641; 2) Reo
Model 121, 3H014134; 3) FBM, 614348; 4) FBM 625503; 5)
International A63561, 1? HP. Tom Corn, 2370 Warm Springs,
Boise, ID 83712.
A. We can tell you that #3 is 1925; #4 is also
1925; and #5 is 1928.
26/1/14 F-20 and Neward Q. In photo 14-A is a
lister guide on my Farmall F-20. It was made by Wilrodt Tractor
Guide Co. If anyone has one of these, or some literature on same, I
would like to hear from them. Mine has some missing parts.
Photo 14-B shows what we believe is a New-Ward engine belonging
to Brandy Unruh, Canton, Kansas. Any information on this engine
will be appreciated. Russ Hamm, RR I, Box 106, Canton, KS
67428.
26/1/15 Milbradt Mfg. Co. Q. I have an engine
made by Milbradt Mfg. Co., St. Louis, Missouri. The s/n is 466305,
engine no. 134643, Type B. Since this company is not listed in
American Gasoline Engines, I was wondering whether anyone can
supply information on this firm. Glenn Burroughs, RR I, Box
364-B, Madison Heights, VA 24572.
A. We’ve never heard of this company
before, so can anyone be of help?
26/1/16 Seebrite and Johnson Photo 16-A
illustrates a Sunbeam Seebrite electric plant that was sold by
Sears-Roebuck. It is 850 watts, 32 volts, and 27 amperes. Photo
16-B illustrates a Johnson Utilimotor made by Johnson Motor
Company. This is the engine on the left. It was built at Waukegan,
Illinois. The engine on the right of this same photo is a Johnson
Iron Horse, 4-cycle design. Clarence W. Stach, 1818 No.
Harrison, Hutchinson, KS 67502.
26/1/17 Wisconsin and Others Q. Does anyone
make ID plates for the Wisconsin AB, AENL, or AENLD engines? Also
what is the horsepower and age of the following Wisconsin engines:
AENL3204669; AENLD3065710; AB634961?
I have a HUSKI walking-type garden tractor made by Bolens. Any
information on this will be appreciated, since mine is in
pieces.
My John Deere model L tractor is s/n 629728. Most model L
tractors have the air cleaner on the right side, but mine is on the
left. Can anyone explain this? Vince Mikulanis, 4863 Serena Rd.,
Lakeside, CA 92040.
26/1/18 Stover Engine Q. See the photo of a
Stover Style Y, 2 HP engine, s/n 92221. When was it made, and are
there any parts that are interchangeable? Kevan Stafne, 602
Sawyer St., Lead, SD 57754.
A. Your engine was built in 1917. A few parts,
such as the igniter, might interchange, but overall there is really
very little interchangeability of parts between the various
models.
26/1/19 FBM Engine Q. Does anyone make
reproduction nameplates for a Fairbanks-Morse engine, s/n 361714?
Also what year was it built? Z. T. Whitley, 6513 Immokalee
Road, Keystone Hts., FL 32656.
A. Your engine was built in 1919, so we would
assume it to be a Style Z engine. We’re not sure if anyone is
reproducing the ‘Z’ nameplates.
26/1/20 Champion Engine Q. Can anyone tell me
the color of the Champion Engine? It was sold by Linir Implement
Company of Omaha, Nebraska. The s/n is 99345. Is that of help in
determining its age? Marvin M. Smith, Box 292, Hooper, NE
68031.
A. We have nothing on this engine, but perhaps
some readers might be able to help. You also ask for s/n’s on
Monitor and Galloway, but no records exist.
26/1/21 Unidentified Tractor See the photo of a
recent acquisition. It has a Sausbury rear end with mechanical
brakes. The rear tires are 32 x 8.8. It has a 3-speed Chevrolet
transmission. There is a tag in the tool box from a Briggs &
Stratton MC engine. The number on the transmission is AC 87195. Can
anyone identify this tractor? Wayne Bassett, 4414 Cynthia PL,
San Diego, CA 92105.
26/1/22 Unidentified Engine Q. See the photo of
an engine with the following nameplate data: s/n 13807, 600 rpm, 2?
XK HP. Any help will be appreciated. Robert E. Jurkovski, 5317
Elliot Ave So., Minneapolis, MM 55417.
A. Your engine is a Hercules built at
Evansville, Indiana.
26/1/23 Planet Jr. Q. I recently acquired a
basket case Planet Jr. garden tractor, s/n 308692, and powered by a
Briggs & Stratton 8R6 engine. Any information will be
appreciated so I can get it reassembled and restored. Robert E.
Learned, 1754 Curtner Ave., San Jose, CA 95124.
Readers Write
Bergstrom Engine You asked in a recent issue if
anyone had a Bergstrom engine. I have had mine for over 40 years.
It is complete and original in every way down to the brass fuel,
air, and oil lines. They are very quiet. The entire base is a
baffled muffler system. It is shown on page 21 of the December 1989
issue of GEM. I have never had a more dependable piece of
equipment, I used it for years. D. D. Colee, 7728 N. Central
Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85020.
25/11/5 E-B Tractors The E-B 12-20 was made
from 1918 (s/n30,000) through 1925 (s/n36,080). In 1926 it was
re-rated to 15-25 HP, model K with minor changes. Levers on the
steering column were discontinued early on, then side curtains were
discontinued about 1924. Dan Ehlerding, 1639 Gallimore Rd.,
Jamestown, OH 45335.
Repairing Cracked Water Jackets Harry J.
Carpenter, 2203 Old Parker Rd., Greenville, SC 29609 refers to
recent articles about repairing outside cracks in water jackets.
Along with an interesting letter he offers the following old time
formula:
Make a paste of iron filings as dust, lime, hydrated lime, and
the white of an egg. (He doesn’t give the proportions, so we
would guess about equal parts).
Harry has tried this out on one of his own engines and says that
it works!
Removing Stuck Pistons Don Green, E90 East Park
Dr., Shelton, WA 98584 writes that he has had success in removing
stuck pistons. After putting a strain on the rod, so as to pull the
piston out, he heated the cylinder in one spot only, then poured
ice water into the cylinder and it let go.
We keep hearing of ingenious methods for removing stuck pistons.
Many of them involve the use of heat and/or cooling of one part or
the other. However, as we keep telling you, folks…Be very careful
that you don’t get some unexpected results! Working around a
big shop press can present some real hazards as well. For instance,
when we press off a ball or roller bearing, we take some heavy
burlap or some old inner tubes to wrap around the bearing. That
way, if it shatters, you won’t have a lot of lethal shrapnel
coming at you or someone who might be out there with you.
25/9/3B Grinder This is a David Bradley Grinder
made at Bradley, Illinois. James B. Romans, 9111 Louis Ave., Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
25/4/35 Freeport Engine Woodin & Little of
San Francisco was an outstanding firm in that city, offering
plumbing supplies and pumps of all kinds. They sold early style
Stover engines under the ‘Freeport’ trademark. Ken
Robison, 20531 Black Road, Los Gatos, CA 95030.
25/9/3 Alpha engine The Alpha-DeLaval was built
by Lauson circa 1930. Most part numbers match. Thanks to all the
readers who helped me, especially Robert Hester Jr. Also, the feed
grinder is an Acme made by David Bradley and sold by
Sears-Roebuck.
15/5/page 10 Horsepower Formula The formula
given is in error.
P(3.14) x 2 x r.p.m. x # of cyls
18,000
This is the correct formula. Herbert Whipple, New Berlin, NY
13411.
A Closing Word To all our readers across the
globe, we take this opportunity to wish all of you the very best
Holiday Season and the coming New Year of 1991. Ye olde Reflector
often takes on too many projects, especially if they are somehow
connected with vintage engines and tractors. Sometimes that results
in our not getting everything accomplished that we had hoped for.
Thanks to all of you for being so patient. We would just love to
have a secretary who could handle the duties of writing some of
these articles, but then, it would never suit, so we’re better
off doing these things alone. Thanks too for another enjoyable year
with Stemgas Publishing Company and a quarter century of Gas Engine
Magazine!
We haven’t heard much from the modelmakers lately, but we
suppose there are some of you just itching to get started on a new
model project to overcome the winter doldrums. Send us some photos
of your work!
