28/3/15 Leader Iron Works Q. See the photos of
a 1? HP Domestic sideshaft, No. 5901. The name plate calls it a
header-Domestic, made for Leader Iron Works, Decatur, Illinois by
Domestic Engine & Pump Co., Shippensburg, Pa. Can anyone tell
me when this engine was built. I need instructions and any
information to help get this engine running. Chris-toper G. Beebe,
1720 Meadows Rd., Madison, OH 44057.
A. Domestic made the engine for Leader, but the
two companies were never merged. . . Domestic in fact, was making
engines long after Leader had forgotten all about them. Perhaps
someone can provide further information on the engine.
28/3/16 RPM Mfg. Company Q. See the photo of a
six-wheel mower by RPM Mfg. Company, Kansas City, Missouri. It is
equipped with a McCulloch engine. (Does RPM stand for Robert P.
McCulloch?) I would like to correspond with anyone having one of
these mowers or having further information. Brad E. Smith, 7574 So.
74 Street, Franklin, WI 53132.
28/3/17 Atomic Babe Q. I have an Atomic Babe
Tractor made by the Doylestown Machine Company. It has no engine.
Any information regarding this tractor will be greatly appreciated.
Harley Collins, 2540 Fox Road, Bath, PA 18014.
A. We’ve never heard of this one, nor can
we find it listed anywhere. Can anyone be of help?
28/3/18 Waterous Fire Engine Q. See the photos
of a 1900 Waterous single cylinder inverted fire engine. It is
missing a lot of parts, including the pump and the wheels. Are
there any of these left? The engine has an 8-inch bore, and uses
33-inch flywheel. Any help whatever will be greatly appreciated.
Buzz Stetler, 2436 Cherokee, Stockton, CA 95205.
A. What an interesting piece of the past. Keep
us informed of your progress.
28/3/19 Copper-Cooled Chevrolet Q. Most of us
have heard of the disastrous Copper-Cooled Chevrolet of 1923 and
how the company recalled them. One still exists in the Henry Ford
Museum in Dearborn. They were called Copper-Cooled because the
cooling fins were of copper, brazed to the cylinder. I talked with
a friend recently and he told me that he has acquired a Delco plant
powered by a scaled-down four-cylinder copper-cooled engine. Does
any reader have one or have literature of any kind showing that
model? 1 can remember seeing the single-cylinder Delco with a
copper-cooled cylinder. My father used a 39-inch Allis-Chalmers
combine which we pulled with a Bradley tractor. Of course, 39
inches is one meter. Was that combine designed in Europe, which
would explain the metric width? It was a good machine for a small
farm. Max F. Homfeld, 7964 Oakwood Park Ct., St. Michaels, MD
21663.
A. We can’t be of help on the copper-cooled
design. However, it is our belief that the A-C combine was
developed at Milwaukee, and the 39-inch width is coincidental.
28/3/20 Faultless Engine Q. What is the correct
color for a Faultless engine? Also the color for a 4? HP P&O
engine [sold by P & O Plow Co.] What is the year made for the
following Witte engines: 3 HP, s/n 32241 and 2 HP B23511 ? Darrel
Steele Jr., HC 65, Box 129, Ainsworth, NE 69210.
A. The 3 HP was made in 1917, and the 2 HP
model in 1925. We have no paint color info on Faultless.
28/3/21 Thanks! To Robert A. Johnson, a
frequent contributor. He recently forwarded photocopy material on
the early Superior engines. Thanks again!
28/3/22 Maytag Racer Q. See the photo of a
Maytag Toy Racer. This photo was taken in the mid 1930s. The racer
was given to my cousin as a Christmas gift from his father.
I’ve been told that about a dozen of these were made for
Maytag, and were to have been used as a promotional device, and
that they were never made on a commercial basis.
I can remember as a young boy pushing the racer but we never did
get the engine to run for us. . .my cousin who owned it was never
there to help us. Sometime in the 1940s the racer disappeared. It
was painted white, with bright red trim. V. A. Van Buren, Rt 1, Box
58A, Walla Walla, WA 99362.
A. This is the first photo we’ve ever found
of the Maytag racer. Does anyone have further information on
them?
28/3/23 Information Needed Q. Can anyone advise
the year made and the proper color for the following:
Witte 2 HP, B35822 Jaeger 2 HP 327172 Gray 1? HP 425842 Schmidt
Chilled Cylinder 3 HP, 3767 Herb Savage, 70 ?lain Hill Road,
Baltic, CT 06330.
A. The Witte was built in 1926. No serial
number information available on the others. However, the Schmidt is
a rather old engine, and was painted red, with the cylinder
aluminum. Our Notebook contains painting information on many
different engines.
28/3/24 Independent Harvester Co. See the
photos of my 1? HP Independent Type C, s/n 2001. It is a medium
blue with gold striping and lettering. These photos were taken at
the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Show in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Photo
24-B shows the Independent, along with my dad in the background,
and his two Schmidt Chilled Cylinder engines. Dave Shoudy, PO Box
103, Shirland, IL 61079
28/3/25 Engine Colors Q. We understand that you
have published a book with paint color information. Please advise.
Leonard Bishop, 1314 East Fifth Street, Muscatine, 1A 52761.
A. It’s called Wendell’s Notebook and
is available through GEM.
28/3/26 Information Needed Q. I’ve never
worked on these old engines before and need some help in learning
how to run them. [The letter includes a list of engines already in
the stable. Ed.] I have never seen them work and would appreciate
any help I can get. ]. R. Renick, 2817 Sue Drive, Jefferson City,
MO 65109.
A. Would some of the collectors in the
Jefferson City area care to contact Mr. Renick? Beyond that, we
suggest that there’s allot to be learned at the many shows,
especially when there’s an engine there like something you
have. Good luck!
28/3/27 Hertzler & Zook Engine Q. See the
photo. Would you agree that this is a Hertzler & Zook engine?
It has a 4? x 6 inch bore and stroke. About what size would this
be? Rod Petree, 629 Santa Paula Ave., Sunnybale, CA 94086-3417.
A. we re not sure on the make, but would guess
the engine to be in the range of 1? to 2 HP.
28/3/28 DuBrie Engine Q. How does one check the
oil level in a DuBrie marine engine? It is a single cylinder,
four-cycle, 5 HP model with s/n 1091. These were made in Detroit,
Michigan. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Tim
Edwards, 315 N. Roosevelt, Warsaw, IN 46580.
28/3/29 Starting an EngineFirst you have to
have a half-ton, two-wheel-drive Ford pickup and a thirty foot
rope. You wrap the rope around the pulley and onto the trailer
hitch, and you look back while you take off slowly, and when the
flywheel starts turning you take off, but don’t stop till all
the rope is off the pulley. By following these instructions you
won’t have any trouble and won’t leave any ruts in the yard
either. Louis Miller, 807 Pine, Georgetown, TX 78626.
A. Better take this in the spirit in which [we
assume] it’s intended, lest thee find thyself knee-deep in
alligators, as the saying goes!
28/3/30 Parlin & Orendorff Thanks to
Gilbert Irps who sent photocopies of pertinent pages from a P &
O catalog of 1902. However, the catalog is Parlin, Orendorff &
Martin. Thanks again for the information!
28/3/31 American Farm Machinery Co. Q. See
photos 31A and 31B of a garden tractor made by American Farm
Machinery Co. at Minneapolis. There are some parts missing, and I
would like to correspond with someone having a tractor like this to
see if I can make the parts. Any correspondence will be
appreciated.
Also see 31C of three Farmers Union Co-op tractors that I
restored. The firs tone is a No. 3, s/n 3-196 (J think 1946); the
second one is a No. 2 Row-Crop, s/n 2-679 (1939?); and the third
one is a No. 2 Standard, and 1 think it is 1936. Evert H. Busse, RR
1, Box 136 Norcross, MN 56274.
28/3/32 Edwards Engine Q. What is the right
color for a two-cylinder Edwards engine; also what is the proper
size of the gas tank? If anyone has any literature or other
information on the Edwards I would like to hear from them I also
need information on a small Stover burr mill. Marcus Raasch, 519
So. Valley, New Ulm, MN 56073.
A. We think that the Edwards was either black
or a very, very dark blue, approaching black. If there are people
who disagree, there’s no doubt we’ll know about it!
28/3/33 Stover Engine Q. Can you advise the
year built of a Stover engine, s/n K-1 18330? Wilbur Arrington, PO
Box 309, McComb, OH 45858.
A. 1919.
