With this issue, GEM begins its twenty-seventh year of
publication. This writer was collecting gas engines when it
wasn’t fashionable, and as we’ve said before, the neighbors
probably thought me daft when I started bringing old gas engines
home in the 1950s.
Our little book, entitled Wendel’s Notebook, will probably
be back in print by the time you receive this issue. We did not
anticipate the demand for this little book, and consequently we
were caught napping, and had to go back to the printer with it in
only a few weeks. For the present time, this title is available
only through GEM or through the Reflector. (See advertisement
elsewhere in this issue).
Beginning with this issue, we will begin making references to
the Notebook, and we welcome additional information for the 1993
edition, due out late in 1992. Already we have had some feedback
regarding certain paint color schemes, plus requests for the paint
schemes of various other engines and tractors. Also, beginning with
this issue, we’ll begin using a little subhead entitled
Notebook Items. For the convenience of those with the current
edition, copy the new items into your book to keep it up to
date.
A suggestion to our advertisers: When placing a blind ad, that
is, one with only the phone number, but without your address,
kindly include some general geographic information. This way,
interested buyers will have some idea of the distance involved
beforehand. We’re told that a lot of prospective buyers
won’t bother with a phone call if they think that your
equipment is several hundred miles away. For example, you might use
the following format: Call Joe Smith at (515) 555-1212 (Central
Ohio). We suggest this as a way of making your ads even more
effective.
You’ll also be interested to know that the gas engine hobby
has even caught the attention of the real estate world. One realtor
out in Washington state included the following listing:
‘You’ll keep your fishing pole busy living on Shady
Lake-53 feet of waterfront-no gas engines allowed.’ Now
ain’t that a fine kettle offish!
With the onset of winter, we presume the model makers will be
busy once again. We haven’t heard from many of you, so be sure
to shoot some pix of your projects and send them along!
Our questions this month begin with:
27/1/1 Unidentified Items Q. See the riding
lawn mower in 1A. Can anyone identify this model, and tell me what
sort of hood ornament was used? There are four holes in the front
of the hood. Also, Photo 1B illustrates a hand cornsheller, but I
do not know the make. Any information will be appreciated. Robert
A. Le Baron, 5801 E. 5th St., Tucson, AZ 85711.
A. We need some reader input on the above
query.
27/1/2 Lestz and Kohler Questions Q. I
need information on the following Kohler light plant: Model 1A22 U,
No. 108147, 115 VAC, 1.5 KVA.
I also need information on a Lestz feed grinder, Model 210, Type
A. Any help will be appreciated. Floyd A. Coyle Sr., 4857Rose Hill
Rd., Garland, TX75043.
A. We’re being told that information on
Kohler is getting difficult to obtain from the company, so if you
can be of help to Mr. Coyle on his questions, please get in touch
with him.
27/1/3 Fordson Marine Engines Francis A. Orr,
1617 – 32nd St., Anacortes, WA 98221 writes: ‘In the past, I
have found the basic Fordson engine used for crawlers, shovels,
scrapers, or just about anything else that seemed to move or
require power on the land. It was quite a surprise to find that the
Fordson also went to sea, virtually unchanged from the basic
unit.’
Mr. Orr also sent us some photocopies of the Metal weld –
Fordson marine engine as provided by Metal weld Service Corp.,
Philadelphia, Pa. One example shown is that of a Metal weld 40 boat
with a 12 beam being driven by a Fordson engine at a speed of 12
mph. We’ve never heard of the Fordson at sea before. Does
anyone have further information in this regard?
27/1/4 Some Questions Q. Photo 4 A is of an
unidentified engine. In referring to American Gas Engines, it could
be a Detroit, a Middle ditch, or a Columbia. Were these companies
all, at some time or other, essentially the same? Any information
will be appreciated.
Photo 4B illustrates some sort of rolling machine, but we
haven’t the faintest clue of its purpose. On the underside of
one of the boards are instructions in a Scandinavian language,
probably Swedish or Norwegian. Photo 4C is of an unidentified
engine with no nameplate. Any and all help will be greatly
appreciated. Paul G. Lee, 12605 Brookstone Ct., Poway, CA
92064-6433.
A. We think the engine in Photo A is a Detroit.
Regarding the roller outfit, we have no idea. Could it have been
something out of an old laundry? The engine in Photo C is an R
& V built late in production as a competition model, made to
sell at a price. So far as we know, this model had no nameplate and
no striping.
27/1/5 Busy Bee Tractor Q. Can anyone supply me
with information on a Busy Bee tractor as built by Gladden Products
Corporation, Glendale, California? It has (or had) decals on the
back of the fenders, plus a nameplate on the engine. See photo
27/1/5. Jack L. Alexander, 7795 Crews Road, Gilroy, CA 95020.
A. If you can help Mr. Alexander, please drop
him a line.
27/1/6 Kinkade Garden Tractor Q. Can anyone
supply information on a Kinkade, #50014651? It is like the one
shown on page 32 of Vintage Garden Tractors. Mine has a breaking
plow attachment. Any information will be appreciated. Tom Kruse,
6232 Cedar Lane, Miamisburg, OH 45342.
27/11/7 Earthmaster Tractor Duane Anderson, RR
1, Box 81, West Lebanon, IN 47991 needs information on an
Earthmaster Model C-4-448. This tractor was made in Hollydale,
California, and information is needed on the hood ornament, years
built, paint color scheme, etc.
27/1/8 New Idea Engine Q. D. L. Wagner, 15530
Elderwood Dr., Roseville, MI 48066 needs information on a 1? HP New
Idea engine, including the original color scheme.
A. We believe the basic color was the familiar
New Idea Green, but orange striping was used, and the flywheels
included an unusual orange ‘star’ in the center of the
flywheels. A look at the New Idea engine on page 340 of American
Gas Engines will give you an idea of the scheme that was used.
27/1/9 Richmond City Mill Works Q. See the
photo of an 18-inch stone buhr mill made by Richmond City Mill
Works, Richmond, Indiana. Any information on the mill or this
company should be forwarded to Chuck Heckroth, 3506 Acker man Rd.,
Unionville, Ml 48767.
A. We have no information on this particular
mill. However we did take the liberty of changing ‘burr
mill’ to ‘buhr mill.’ According to Knight’s
American Mechanical Dictionary of 1874, the term ‘buhr’
indicates ‘a coarse, flinty, cavernous stone whose cellular
texture makes it highly suitable for millstones …. France,
Germany, and Sardinia yield the buhr stone.’
On the other hand, burr mill refers to iron burrs, usually of
some casehardened and heat treated casting with projections
suitable to the grain being milled. Iron burrs are generally
considered unsuitable for the milling of meal to be used for human
food, since the iron tends to impart a metallic taste to the
finished meal.
27/1/10 Thanks! A. Thank You to Dr. Doug
Frels, 202 N. 6th, Guthrie Center, IA 50115 for sending us
photocopies of a 1917 Dempster Engine Catalog. Dr. Frels and his
father are restoring a 10 HP Dempster Grain Dealer’s Special
engine at the present time.
27/1/11 Unidentified Engine Q. See the photo of
an engine with no nameplate. It is equipped with a Webster magneto
having bracket No. 303K18. Any information will be appreciated.
Walt Nielsen, 18284 McRae Rd., Madera, CA 93638.
A. At first glance this looks like an early
Stover engine. However, a look at the governor weights leads us to
believe that this is an Alamo, and in fact, the Webster bracket
listing in the Notebook shows that this bracket number is indeed
for the Alamo. Thus, the Notebook shows PPG 13594 Blue as being the
comparable color.
27/1/12 Ford and M-H FWD Jerry L. Miller St.,
Lot 24, Con 11, Hunter, Ontario P0L 1P0 Canada sends along a photo
of his nicely restored Massey-Harris four-wheel-drive loaded onto
his restored 1944 Ford truck. Jerry writes: ‘They are both
restored from the ground up. Every nut, bolt, washer, gears, and
all other parts were gone over and restored to original condition.
It took about four years to do both these, working almost every
minute of spare time I had. The 1944 Ford truck was a military
truck. It has a two-speed rear end with a direct shift to change
from low speed to high speed, and a 100 HP flat-head V-8
engine.
‘The 1931 Massey-Harris was found about 70 miles west of
Hunta in a town called Kapuskasing, and was there since new. It has
all original parts on it again. The only thing yet needed is the
radiator shroud. This tractor has a four-cylinder Hercules flat
head motor and is rated at 25 horsepower. I also have a 1922
Fordson and a 1938 Farmall F-14 that are fully restored. Right now
we are working on a 1933 Case Model L. We are about 570 miles north
of the Thousand Island Bridge at the U.S. Canada border.’
27/1/13 Deane of Holyoke Q. Can anyone supply
information on the pump shown in this picture? The cylinders are
bored at 2? inches. Total weight is about 120 pounds. Dave Brown,
13813 Travois Trl., Parker, CO 80134.
A. Deane pumps gained an early reputation, and
the firm was probably best known for its steam pumps. We have no
information at our fingertips to tell you when this Holyoke,
Massachusetts company started in the pump business. While this one
seems a bit large for the typical orchard sprayer, it was probably
used for some high pressure pumping application, and may even have
seen such mundane duty as pumping water some distance for
livestock.
27/1/14 Hay Press Information James Luper, 5430
Voice Rd., Kingsley, MI 49649 needs some help with a Whitman Hay
Press. So far all that has appeared is a single advertisement from
1889. If you can help, please drop Jim a line.
27/1/15 Case 20-40 Color Combo Robert Schall,
PO Box 521, Farmington, MO 63640 needs the proper color
combinations for repainting a 1916 Case 20-40 tractor. If you can
be of help, please let him know. (We know that there were some
changes in the color scheme during production, but we have never
been totally sure of when these took place.)
27/1/16 Unidentified Engine Q. See the engine
in the photo. The design seems similar to United, Associated, or
Nelson Bros. The magneto bracket is 303K37. Can anyone be of help?
Mark Baier, 11 Pleasant St., Milford, MA 01757.
A. We think the best clue is in the governor
weights. In this style of Nelson engine the weights are a straight
cylindrical pattern, while the Associated weights are of a tapered
cylindrical design. We have no listing of 303K37 brackets, but if
our assumptions prove correct, then this number can be added to the
Notebook information for future reference. (If our theories as
presented above are incorrect, we fully expect to hear about
it!)
27/1/17 Suggestions and Questions Q. One
helpful tool to home mechanics is a bolt and nut gauge that I
acquired years ago from a local supply house. It has inch and
metric holes thru which a bolt can be passed to determine its size,
and also a series of round projections over which nuts or washers
can be slipped to determine their size. The bolt gauge could be
easily made, and the nut gauge could be made by turning appropriate
diameters on a piece of shaft.
The second useful tool is a thread pitch gauge. Many supply
houses have these at a reasonable price, and this saves a lot of
bother in determining a given thread.
Can anyone give me the correct paint color for a Seager Olds
engine, also the striping design for same? Leonard Spoelman, 3221
Brookshire SE, Grand Rapids, Ml 49508.
A. The Notebook lists Sherwin-Williams 1335
Dark Red as a comparable color for the engine. We have no details
of the striping. If you can supply this information, kindly contact
Mr. Spoelman.
27/1/18 Hercules Colors Q. I have been looking
for the proper color to be used on a Hercules 1? HP engine. Many of
those I have seen look too dark-Mine is an ignitor model, s/n
264954. On the tag there is an ‘F’ suffix. What does this
stand for? Vince Dailey ,612- 5th Ave SW, Ronan, MT 59864.
A. We have PPG 43822 Green and DuPont 7666
Green listed as comparable colors in the Notebook. Glenn
Karch’s book A History of Hercules shows this engine being
built in the 1921-23 era. This book also devotes a full chapter to
the ‘F’ series engines.
