REFLECTIONS

By C. H. Wendel
Published on July 1, 2001
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36/7/19
36/7/19
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36/7/20
36/7/20
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36/7/4A
36/7/4A
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36/7/15
36/7/15
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36/7/4C
36/7/4C
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36/7/4B
36/7/4B
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36/7/16 A
36/7/16 A
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36/7/17A
36/7/17A
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36/7/16C
36/7/16C
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36/7/16B
36/7/16B
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36/7/17B
36/7/17B

36/7/2 IHC LA Engine Colors Q. I am restoring a
Model LA engine, s/n LAA34226. It is a 1938. What color should it
be? I have found that in August 1934 the engine was painted with a
red pulley and flywheel. All other parts were a special gray, with
a 1/16 inch red stripe around the hopper lid.
In May 1939 the color was changed to being all red. What is the
paint number of the special gray? Robert Morris, 36231 S 16 Rd,
Barnesville, OH 43713. email: Nancy Morris [6183@lst.net]

A. You are correct about the color scheme, but
we do not have a specific match for the gray. However, we would
assume it to be somewhere near the DuPont 27625 of the
McCormick-Deering tractors, or perhaps the DuPont 98620 Charcoal
Gray; it corresponds to IH8015 Gray).

36/7/3 Gould, Shapley & Muir Q. I have a
Gould Shapley & Muir 1 HP gas engine with soft oil cups instead
of normal great cups. What material should I use for the wicks?
Also would like to hear from anyone with an instruction manual or
copy thereof. Doug Miller, 318E 650N, West Lafayette, IN
47906-9795.

A. Sometimes in a craft store you can find
those little candle wicks that have a glass tube on one end. Craft
people use them with lamp oil to make lamps out of fruit jars etc.
This stuff will work. Alternatively, find some soft cotton string,
and cut enough pieces for a bundle say, inch in diameter or a
little less. Twist or roll this together, with a bit of it loosely
in the bearing cap hole. If it is too tight, the oil will not wick
through it! Then coil it up in the oil cup. Once there is a little
oil on it, the wick will stay in place.

36/7/4 Spinaway Mower Myron Wininger, 204
Church St., Monroe, CT 06468 would like to hear from any owners of
a Spinaway Rotary Mower as shown in the photos, and described as
follows: Model 42E, s/n 1190, made by HAL-GAN Products Inc., Elm
Grove, Wisconsin. Equipped with a Wisconsin AENLD engine with
automotive bell housing and clutch. Uses a small transmission like
a Crosley. Has a transfer case with a drive shaft going back to an
auto or golf cart rear end. A pto at the transfer case uses a belt
to each blade. A tag on mower says it was sold by Power House Co.,
Stamford, Conn., Wilton, Conn., and Brewster, NY. Any information
would be appreciated.

36/7/5 Tractor Shows on TV Paul M. Christensen,
49938M26, Hancock, MI 49930 tells us that RFD-TV (Channel 9409 on
Dishnet) carries lots of video of tractor and engine shows.

36/7/6 Foundation Patterns Harley Collins, 2540
Fox Rd., Bath, PA 18014 writes: I am researching an old electric
generating plant. It was equipped with a 25 HP Fairbanks Morse Y
(1920), a 50 HP Type Y of 1922 and a 60 HP St. Marys of 1925. I
need foundation and bolt patterns to spot the engine in the plant
ruins. Any help would be appreciated.

36/7/7 Paint Colors and Pantone David Hadley,
662 Shamrock Rd., RR4, Omemee, ONT K0L 2W0 Canada writes of having
a Fairbanks-Morse ZD engine painted silver, but having traces of
green. It is indeed green, comparable to DuPont 72001. He also
comments regarding a Gilson 3 HP engine, and we have DuPont RS915
listed as a comparable match. David also comments regarding whether
any of these colors can be matched up to a Pantone Color Chart that
printers use for mixing inks. It is an interesting question,
particularly as we have several old Pantone charts on hand. At the
least, we suppose one could carry one of these along and make a
color match, then take that particular chip to a paint store and
again match it up to a similar one in acrylic enamel.

36/7/8 Thanks! From Charles W. Skinner, RR 1,
Berwick, NS BOP 1E0 Canada regarding his query in 36/2/15 (February
2001). His unidentified object is a piston vise, and was in the
1948 Manzel catalogue.

36/7/9 Bull Dog in South Australia Q. J.
Maslin, PO Box 188, Hahndorf, SA 5245 Australia is looking for any
information on a 1 HP Bull Dog made by Bates & Edmonds. He also
is looking for the correct color. If you can be of help, please
contact him, since Bull Dog engines are very, very rare in
Australia. We can say that the Bull Dog is comparable to DuPont
#143 Maroon.

36/7/10 Friction Clutches Q. Can anyone tell me
if a friction clutch pulley was made for the IHC Type M 3 HP
engine? Also, was one made for the Fuller & Johnson 2 HP, Type
NC engine? Where could I find this information? Frank Huehl, 724
Congress St., Neenah, WI 54956.

A. IHC made clutch pulleys for the 3, 6, and 10
HP engines. However, there were a few companies that made clutch
pulleys adaptable to almost any engine, so there is undoubtedly
some sort of clutch pulley that would also fit the two engines you
mention.

36/7/11 Sunbeam Model D Kevin Carlock, 1919
Kirby Rd., Lebanon, OH 45036 has a Sunbeam Model D 32 volt Farm
Electric Generator and needs instructions or any possible
information. If you can be of help, kindly contact Mr. Carlock at
the above address.

36/7/12 Stewart Little Major M. D. Wasemiller,
30 W Hilton Ave., Redlands, CA 92373 inquires whether instructions
might be available from anyone for the Stewart Little Major sheep
shearing machine from Chicago Flexible Shaft Company. A fair number
of these used a Stover engine for power, but many others,
particularly the Little Major we believe, used the company’s
own engine (or one manufactured to their designs). For the latter
style, finding any operator’s information would be chancy at
best, we believe.

36/7/13 Stover Information Needed Q. What is
the year built (and the correct color) for the following Stover
engines:

101402

101797

A. Your Stover HP (Duro) engines were made for
National Sewing Machine Company. Only 1,169 were built.
Occasionally one of these serial numbers will appear, but they are
different than the numbers used for the regular Stover engine line.
For instance, the numbers supplied above are for a couple of big
oil engines. These engines were first built in 1916. The first of
them used a governor on the spark, but effective with No. 897241
this was changed to a throttle governed design. Thus we cannot
supply specific information on these engines.

36/7/14 Geo. C. Christopher? Q. I have an
engine with the following information: ECLIPSE, Geo. C. Christopher
& Son, Wichita, Kansas, No. B36978. On the skids is a tag with:
Machine No. 987, Mfg. By Geo. C. Christopher & Son, Wichita,
Kansas. The engine is exactly like the 2 HP throttle governed
(head-type) Witte except for the fuel tank. Any information would
be appreciated. Roy). Hotz Jr., PO Box 670, Martindale,TX
78655.

A. Your engine is indeed a Witte and was sold
to Christopher in July 1926. All we can find of Christopher is that
they manufactured handrails for banks and offices. Perhaps they
built some other type of machinery for this purpose and sold it. We
note in the Witte records that another of these engines was sold to
Christopher for instance, and was later sold to Fronock Fixture
& Cabinet Company at Blackwell, Oklahoma.

36/7/15 Information Needed Q. I am restoring a
5 HP Essex motor, Model D, and s/n 4547. It was made in Lynn,
Massachusetts, and sold by P. T. Lagare Ltee, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada. Any information on this engine would be appreciated,
especially the color. Also, could someone put plans into the
magazine for building a magnet charger. Ken White, PO Box 71, North
Cobalt, ON POJ 1RO Canada.

A. We have no information on the Essex, but we
do have some ancient plans for a magnet charger from a couple of
old magazines, and we’ll have to dig this information out for
the magazine.

36/7/16 Fairbanks-Morse? Q. See the photos of a
two-cylinder Fairbanks-Morse engine, Model FMO, s/n 420209, with a
Splitdorf magneto. I would like further information on this engine,
including the original paint color. Larry Kastens, 9956 S. Deer
Trail, Hereford, AZ 856 15-9693. Email: larry
kastens@hotmail.com.

A. This engine was not built by
Fairbanks-Morse. Especially in the 1940s and into the early 1950s,
F-M offered various items under their own name, even including lawn
mowers. The truth was however, that these various items were not
built by F-M, but were contracted for and built by others. It was a
marketing ploy that was used for some years. Eventually though, F-M
retreated to building engines and gave up other sales activity. Ye
olde Reflector once had the carcass of a similar engine, but it was
simply too far gone to be worth the while for restoration. We
finally parted it out, but in our case, the engine was undoubtedly
an MV-2 built by Stover. However, it had the same Fairbanks-Morse
design cast into the radiator shroud.

36/7/17 Unidentified Engine Q. See the pictures
of a small engine with 10-inch flywheels. A chain from the crank
drives the camshaft. The mixer is missing but the rest of the
engine is intact. Originally it was tank cooled, but at some time,
someone tried to put a homemade water hopper on it. Any suggestions
as to the make of this engine! Your help would be appreciated. Paul
Larsen, 130 Wimbledon Crescent SW, Calgary, Alberta, T3C 3J3
Canada. Email: Fuzzymotor@hotmail.com.

A. We have no clue what this engine might be.
Can anyone suggest the builder?

36/7/18 Information Needed Q. Does anyone have
any information on the following:

(1) GEORGE garden tools, Community Industries Assn., Sullivan,
Ill. Model 22-B2, SN-F3, Motor BR, Tiller Model 89.

(2) UNITRACTOR, The Unitractor Co., Indianapolis, USA, Engine
Model N l HP, s/n A478

(3) Waterloo Boy s/n l38803, 2 HP.

I would like to find any information on (1) and (2) above. Also,
where are the timing marks on (3) above? All help will be
appreciated, and I will gladly pay for any photocopies. Thomas H.
Kruse, 6232 Cedar Lane, Miamisburg, OH 45342-5179

A. We have a couple of Waterloo Boy instruction
books, and they don’t say anything about timing. In fact, there
may not be any timing marks as such. We would time it as follows:
Turn the engine over so that the crank is about 10 or 15° before
the outer back center (or before the exhaust stroke begins). At
that point the exhaust should just start to open. With this
setting, chances are that the exhaust will just close a few degrees
before the end of the exhaust stroke. Starting from this point, you
can adjust the cam gear a notch or two either way to get the valve
timing correct. Once the valve timing is correct, then work on the
ignition timing. If it was a high speed engine the exhaust valve
would open somewhat sooner in the exhaust stroke, but with a slow
speed engine, something in the 10 to 15° range should be a decent
starting point.

36/7/19 Kerosene Farmalls At the National Rally
in Tasmania and in many other collections, we noticed that the
majority of tractors built into the 1950s were fueled with
kerosene. Even smaller units such as the Farmall A shown here were
run on kerosene power. We assume that IH offered kerosene burners
in America as well, but we don’t recall seeing any of them
after World War Two, or at least, very few kerosene tractors. Is
anyone aware of Farmall A kerosene models here in the U.S.? If so
drop us a line here at the Reflections column and bring us up to
speed.

A Closing Word

Ye olde Reflector feels especially blessed for having had such a
nice group on the recent Australia/New Zealand Tour. Being the tour
manager carries a lot of responsibilities, and sometimes one has to
be able to ‘think on your feet’ to keep everything going
smoothly. However, our entire group was very helpful and forgiving
if every detail didn’t go as planned. When we had special
things to do, there were always people who would lend a hand.
During our month together we all made new friends, and really
blended into a very special family. It was always a great pleasure
for ye olde Reflector to come up with surprise stops that
weren’t on the itinerary. We all had a wonderful time, and we
hope our Australian subscribers to GEM will pass along our sincere
thanks for all the hospitality extended to us during the entire
tour.

Photo 36/7/20 was taken at Pearn’s Steam World in Westbury,
Tasmania. Among literally hundreds of tractors, steam engines, gas
engines and other machinery, they had this big Burrell traction
engine from England under steam. Two of our group posed for ye olde
Reflector after driving this engine. On the left is Zane Bristol
from Georgia, and on the right is Gilbert Fox from Nebraska.

We’ll close by passing on a little story about Gilbert Fox.
We made a surprise visit to Lake Goldsmith and the huge collections
there. Many of these engine sheds also have living quarters where
the owners come for a few days or a weekend, stay in their shed and
work on or demonstrate their engines. (Many of the fellows thought
this was a grand idea, but the ladies weren’t real excited
about it). Anyway, the sun was rapidly going down to the horizon.
Everyone was back on the coach, but no one could find Gilbert.
Someone reported having seen him at a collection (about 80 rods
away), so several of us hopped off the coach searching for him.
When we caught up with Gilbert, he was still engaged in a lively
visit with one of our Australian friends, talking about engines, of
course. Time had slipped away for poor Gilbert to the point he
forgot he was wearing his watch! When we escorted him back to the
coach, he of course, took a lot of good-natured kidding. For
several days after, we would suggest equipping him with a cowbell
or some other attention-getting device. Seriously though, Gilbert
is very knowledgeable on engines and tractors, and we’re happy
he joined us on the tour.

Next month we’ll tell you more about our tour to Australia
and New Zealand.


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