Recently we came across some articles from the late 1950s
wherein the subject of 540 vs. 1000 rpm pto shafts was being
discussed, or rather, being argued about. Engineers were talking
about the changeover already in the 1940s, but little was done.
Then in 1949, IH and Deere were both having problems with pto shaft
failures … of all things on hay balers. (IH and Deere weren’t
alone; almost everyone was having problems of some sort, but
particularly with the hay baler). By the 1940s the little 1? pto
shaft was being replaced with the 1? style. However, this too was
experiencing problems by the 1950s, and engineers were recommending
a 1 inch output shaft.
As we all know, the problem finally resolved itself. Contrary to
the wishes of agricultural engineers, 1000 rpm shafts were not
adopted universally . . . there were just too many 540 rpm machines
in the field. Thus came some novel devices. Some, such as the Deutz
in particular, simply used a lever on the floorboard to select 540
or 1000 rpm at the pto shaft. Other methods included shifting the
output shaft from one hole in the rear end to the other. Adopting
universal standards is truly a difficult thing to do … it took
thirty years just to standardize the drawbar height and other
critical dimensions.
Does anyone remember the Pope Automatic Tying Attachment for the
Case NCM hay balers? By 1954 Pope had converted some 25,000 Case
NCM balers to automatic tying machines. In addition the company
also offered the Case NCM as a factory re-engineered and
re-designed baler. This device was made by Pope Automatic
Attachment Corporation, Greenfield, Indiana.
In 1948 Reo Motors Inc., of Lansing, Michigan announced their
new Reo l HP slant cylinder engine, designed especially for lawn
mower use. Reo claimed their new design would run at least 100
degrees cooler than comparable engines, and indeed, Reo sold these
little engines by the thousands. Surprisingly though, the Reo
engines aren’t seen very often at the shows. We’re
feverishly working on our Standard Catalog of Tractors, and have
discovered a host of small garden tractors built in the decade
following World War Two. The greatest flurry of activity seems to
have been in the 1948-1952 period, when literally dozens of
companies entered the garden tractor business. By 1955 the majority
of these would-be entrepreneurs had already left the scene. It is
our observation that many of these companies failed, not because
they had an inferior product, but because they were
undercapitalized, had no marketing plan and no distribution system.
In a sentence, they were long on ideas and short on implementation
thereof.
If we can put together a group of at least 30-40 people,
we’ll consider going to Australia again for their National
Rally in 1999. More about this later. Also, we’re considering a
plan whereby we might begin a tour at Chicago, stopping off at
their Museum of Science & Industry, then going off toward Ohio,
and on to the Coolspring Show in June. Then we would do various
things along the eastern seaboard, finally taking a ferry up to
Nova Scotia, back toward Ontario, and work our way toward
Greenfield Village at Dearborn, Michigan. Then back to Chicago, and
all this in about two weeks. If anyone has any ideas or
suggestions, kindly communicate them to ye olde Reflector in the
next few weeks.
One of our best research tools is the Farm Implement News
Buyer’s Guide that was published almost every year between 1888
and 1958. We have a few of these, and have found them invaluable,
but we surely would like to find more of these as our research
continues. If anyone knows of any, please contact ye olde Reflector
here at GEM. We’ve got quite a few inquiries this month,
beginning with:
33/5/1 John Deere Bearings Q. I have restored
several John Deere Type E stationary engines. I have many sources
of information, but nowhere can I find the recommended clearances
for the main bearings or the rod bearings. Too little tolerance
results in lack of lubrication and overheating of the bearings. Too
much tolerance results in knocking in the rod bearings and hopping
flywheels or oil leaks for the mains. Any information on the
correct tolerances would be greatly appreciated, Len Lanahan, 5777
E 300 North, Franklin, IN 46131.
33/5/2 Root & Vandervoort Q. I have a 1 HP
Root & Vandervoort engine, s/n AR47629, that has been badly
abused with a hammer. Would like to correspond with someone that
has a complete engine so that with some photos and dimensions of
parts I can restore this engine. Especially need photos of the
head, valves, and rocker arm. Carroll L. Pederson, 22122-61st
St E., Sumner, WA 98390.
33/5/3 Unidentified Object Q. See the photo of
an unidentified ???. Can anyone tell what it is? Raymond
Tjarks, 1505 E 1st St., Redfield, SD 57469-1921.
33/5/4 Fairbanks-Morse Q. I recently purchased
a Fairbanks-Morse 3 HP Model ZC engine, s/n 925988. Can anyone
advise the proper color and the age of the engine? Karl R.
Rymer, 1431 Crest Drive, Eugene, OR 97405.
A. Your engine was made in 1948. For the vast
majority of the Type Z engines, the color is close to DuPont 72001
green. It appears that the late ones, especially past about 1940,
were a different shade of green, comparable to GS379 DuPont.
We’ve seen em both ways. There was no striping.
33/5/5 Unidentified Muffler Q. See the photos
of an unidentified muffler. It is 6 inches in diameter with a 1
inch pipe thread. Casting number A1400 is on the back and A1401 on
the inside front. It exhausts through the holes in the back. Can
anyone tell me what engine used this muffler? Kent Zobel, Rt 1,
Box 35A, Monroe, NE 68647.
33/5/6 Unidentified Engine Q. See the photo of
an unidentified engine. Any information would be appreciated.
Larry Temes,1317 North 22nd St., Bismarch, ND 58501.
A. Yours is an R & V (Root & Vander
overt) engine. This was a ‘competition’ engine of about 1
horsepower. It was made as cheaply as possible to hold down the
cost against the mail order engines … that’s why it never had
so much as a brass nameplate. That probably added another couple of
dimes to the manufacturing cost. It was painted green, comparable
to DuPont 5316. So far as we know, it had no striping. It used low
tension ignition with a battery and coil.
33/5/7 Toro Information Needed Q. I have a Toro
Park Special & Park Junior Lawn Mower. The mower has s/n 1943
and the Toro air-cooled engine is s/n ME4547. I would like to hear
from anyone having information on this machine. Lawrence J.
Salber, PO Box 5, Petersburg, NE 68652.
33/5/8 Kinkade Garden Tractor Q. I have a
Kinkade garden tractor, s/n 408L4231 made by American Farm
Machinery Co of Minneapolis. It has a single steel wheel with lugs,
and the engine is inside the wheel. Ignition is with a
Fairbanks-Morse magneto. It also has another wheel that bolts to
the one on the tractor, and a plow is mounted between. Can anyone
furnish more information, including the correct colors? Alfred
G. Brejcha Jr., RR 2, Box 12, Western, NE 68464-9505.
A. We’re short of information on American
Farm Machinery, but as far as we know, the company started in 1918,
and took over the Andrews-Kinkade operation. Kinkade garden
tractors are listed in the Farm Implement News Buyer’s Guide as
late as 1953.(Editor’s note: See Mark Book out’s article on
page 24 for more about this and other garden tractor
companies.)
33/5/9 Lauson Engine Q. I recently acquired a
John Lauson engine, 4 HP, Size AC, Type D, s/n 12707. It has a 5
inch bore. The magneto is missing, so I need to know what kind was
used on these engines, and I also need to know what the original
igniter looks like. Any help on this engine would be greatly
appreciated. Merlin Crohn, 1646 West-wood, Idaho Falls, ID
83402.
33/5/10 Unidentified Water Hopper Q. Can anyone
identify the water hopper shown in the photo? Does anyone know what
happened to the DeLaval vacuum pump as shown on page 122 of
American Gas Engines? Also, what brand and type of EP grease are
you using to replace the #3 and #4 cup grease formerly used on
grease cups? John J. Wohlfeil, 190 HCR 1, Marquette, MI
49855-9704.
A. So far as we know, DeLaval simply quit
making vacuum pumps, and that was the end of it. Regarding
lubricants, there are numerous EP (Extreme Pressure) greases on the
market, and depending on your brand preference, we think all of
them do quite well. So far as we can determine, the newer greases
on the market do a superior job; that’s why they replaced the
old fashioned hard oil of days gone by.
33/5/11 IHC Engine Q. See the photo of the
nameplate on a 3-5 HP LA McCormick-Deering engine. The tag reads:
Gas Power Engineering) Dept., Tractor Works, s/n 2680. All the
casting numbers are the same, #2853. The carburetor is brass. Could
this have been a test engine? Further information would be
appreciated. Jerry, Duane VanHeukelom, 1312 Orange St., River
Falls, WI 54022.
A. We believe your engine could very well have
been at the very least, a pre-production engine. The nameplate
appears to be one internal to the company, rather than including
the company name and address, model number, and other information.
At some point it was likely sold to an employee or perhaps someone
outside the company.
33/5/12 Things of Interest Q. See photo
12 A of a Country Boy garden tractor made by Roths Industries,
Alma, Michigan. In photo 12B see a DuBrie marine engine that has
only been started twice and which was still in the original carton.
Does anyone have any information on DuBrie engines? James
Sondreal, 3201 W. Reid Road, Swartz Creek, MI 48473-8813.
A. The Roths line included several different
models, and we have thus far traced the company from about 1946
into the mid-1950s. Other than that, we have no literature on the
company. We have no information at all on the DuBrie engines.
33/5/13 Regarding the Walsh Q. In 33/2/26 of
the February 1998 GEM there were photos of a Walsh made by
Standard. I have a Walsh, s/n D6528 made by Walsh Garden Tractor
Company of Minneapolis. Mine has wooden handles. Can anyone tell me
when this tractor was made? Could the person who sent the pictures
in for the above tell me the colors for the Walsh? Any
information would be appreciated. Thomas H. Kruse, 6232 Cedar Lane,
Miamisburg, OH 45342-5179.
A. We haven’t yet been able to untangle the
history of Walsh, Standard and some of the other garden tractor
companies at Minneapolis-St. Paul. Some were merged into others,
some had several name changes, and others simply quit after awhile.
(Again, see page 24!)
33/5/14 Cornelius Wagon Q. I have a Cornelius
triple-box wagon that I pull with my 1937 John Deere tractor in
parades. Does anyone have any information about the Cornelius
wagons? Edward L. Swanson, 11976 Montague Road, Winnebago, IL
61088.
A. We’ve checked through our stock of Farm
Implement News Buyer’s Guide and can’t find any reference
to it.
33/5/15 Kewaunee Iron Works We received some
interesting information from John Schuller, E4805 Hy 42, Kewaunee,
WI 54216 relative to the Marvel air-cooled engines from this
company. Their engine was made in 5 and 8 HP sizes in the 1900-1916
period. Mr. Schuller has a 5 HP Marvel which he has running. Has
anyone heard of the Marvel engines?
33/5/16 Vivian Diesels and Nordberg Too Thanks
to E. W. Crews, 4668 Montalba Dr NW, Calgary, AB T3B 1E4 Canada for
sending along a photo of a Nordberg radial diesel engine at
Hibbing, Minnesota (16A).
The Vivian Diesel engines were built by Vivian Engine Works
Ltd., Vancouver, Canada. The engine style shown here was built in
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 cylinder sizes, with the three largest
models being available either as naturally aspirated, or as
turbocharged models. Adding a turbocharger raised the power level
on the ten cylinder model from 575 to 720 horsepower. The latter
size weighed over 43,000 pounds. Their 9×12 inch series is shown in
a nice little catalog which Mr. Crews sent along, and for which we
tender our thanks. See 16B for an illustration of the Vivian
engine.
33/5/17 Thanks! To Norman Hansen, 2982 Hwy 71,
Cambridge, ID 83610 for sending along some information from the
Burgan’s mail order catalog of 1925-26. They illustrate a
number of engines, most of them built by Nelson Bros., but sold
under the Rainbow trademark of this Spokane, Washington mail order
house.
33/5/18 Thanks! To Carlton Ekdahl, 55
Portsmouth Ave., Manchester, NH 03109-4434 for sending along some
information relative to flat belting and its proper usage.
Hopefully we’ll get an article assembled one of these times on
this interesting subject.
33/5/19 Briggs & Stratton Q. I have a
Briggs & Stratton engine (see photo) Model AP, Type 209602, s/n
183000. I have been trying to remove the flywheel with no success.
Does anyone have any ideas or methods for removing this flywheel?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Dieter Heckels, 1391
Heather Hill Dr., Hubertus, WI 53033.
33/5/20 Massey-Harris Engine Q. I have a
Massey-Harris engine with the following tag: Massey-Harris
Harvester Company, Batavia, New York; Gas Engine Works, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin; 1 HP, 600 rpm, s/n MHA 45895. It has a Webster bracket
#303M63A which is for a Worthington 1 HP Type W engine. Can anyone
provide any information on this Massey-Harris engine? Roger
Eldred, 10750 S. Vroman Rd., Shepherd, MI 48883.
A. We were unaware of the connection between
the M-H and the ‘Gas Engine Works, Milwaukee, Wisconsin’
but that might explain the same bracket number, namely that this
engine was quite possibly built by Worthington for Massey-Harris.
Has anyone run into this before?
33/5/21 Briggs & Stratton Q. Help! Why does
this all-factory Briggs & Stratton have this very interesting,
different tank and carburetor with two tubes between them? The big
tube goes to the bottom of the tank, the other goes to the top of
the tank; both have screens. The tank has a hook-shaped vent pipe
that goes down through the tank to the bottom. The tag says: Sears
Roebuck Company, Model 500204058 and s/n 15006.
Does it burn some special brew? It can be seen at an engine show
June 5-7 at West Burlington, Iowa, Des Moines County Fairgrounds.
Paul Gorrell, 11306 Mill Dam Road, Burlington, Iowa
52601-8503.
33/5/22 Novo and F-M Questions Q. I have a Novo
1 HP engine, s/n 73347. It does not have the crankcase hand hole
covers on the front and back as usual, but has access to the rod
through an access hole on the back wheel side in the same place
that the crankcase breather is usually mounted. The connecting rod
is hinged design. When was it made and is it the same color as the
other Novo engines? I need help with the mixer and the muffler
also.
On the Fairbanks-Morse Type N and Type T engines with hot tube
ignition, what was the fuel used for the torch, and where was the
supply tank located? What material was used for the hot tube?
James L. Johnson, 4115 – S. 298th Ct., Auburn, WA
98001.
A. Your engine was sold to National Supply
Company, Toledo, Ohio on 6/12/1923. It is likely the same color as
other Novo engines.
A gasoline torch was originally used for the hot tube, but
nowadays virtually everyone uses a propane torch. It is hotter,
easier to handle, and safer than having an overhead supply of
gasoline to supply the torch. Its chief disadvantage is that all
hot tube engines are sensitive to wind, so on a windy day, it is
sometimes hard to keep them running. The tube is usually made of
ordinary Schedule 40 black iron pipe.
33/5/23 Novo Q. What is the year built of a
Novo Model TV engine, s/n 34355? Pat Diters, 403 Pope Road,
Windham, ME 04062.
A. Your engine was sold to F. E. Myers Company,
Ashland, Ohio, on 3/19/1937.
33/5/24 Novo Q. What is the year built of a
Novo engine, Model SU 3 x 4, s/n 15862? What is the proper color?
How many were built? Mike Cannon, 402 Drayton Rd., Oreland, PA
19075.
A. Your engine was shipped to Frick Company,
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania on August 8, 1929. We assume it was the
usual Novo Green; we don’t know how many were made. All the
Novo records are on individual file cards, of which there are
probably 100,000 or more. Even by narrowing it down to this range
of serial numbers, it would take days on end to go through several
thousand file cards to determine production. That’s why we
haven’t plowed into this task, and probably won’t.
33/5/25 Albert Lea Tribune Thanks to these
folks at Albert Lea, Minnesota, for sending along a whole packet of
clippings and old advertisements for the Strite and the Sexton
tractors made at Albert Lea. Some of their local historians have
done a study of these companies. So far no one has heard of a
Strite tractor or a Sexton still in existence. We haven’t
either.
33/5/26 The Potter Photos Q. Some years ago we
saw the little file drawers of negatives that came from the late E.
R. Potter at Saskatoon. They were owned at the time by the late
Earl Marhanka. Subsequently, we assume they were sold at the
Marhanka auction. Does anyone know of their whereabouts? They might
contain some useful photographs for our Standard Catalog of
Tractors. Over the years we’ve asked various people about the
Potter negatives, but we have yet to find anyone who has a clue
where they might be today, assuming of course, that they still
exist. If anyone can be of help, kindly contact ye olde Reflector
at Gas Engine Magazine, Box 328, Lancaster, PA 17603.
A Closing Word
Hardly a day goes by that we don’t get some correspondence
from someone wanting further information on a tractor, an engine,
or an implement. In many instances, we answer these letters here in
the column, in addition to all the letters sent directly to GEM; of
course EVERY letter we get through the Reflections column is
answered here in the column.
Once in awhile we hear the complaint that it takes quite awhile
for an answer to appear in print, so for those who might not know
the mechanics of all this, here’s what happens:
One fine day you compose a letter to ye olde Reflector and send
it off to GEM. The postal system being what it can be sometimes, it
takes a few days for it to reach the magazine. Then it is logged in
and photocopied. After a few letters accumulate, they are sent off
to ye olde Reflector out here in Iowa. We then put them in a
special file to be used in the next column. Once they are typed up
for the column, it is at least another month before they get into
print. Then, if your letter comes a day or two after the column has
gone out, it will be here nearly a month until the next monthly
issue. Thus, it is easy to have your query come into print a couple
of months after it was originally sent in. We’ll allow that
this probably isn’t the grandest system in the world, but
logistics being what they are, we’re completely clueless on how
to make things go any faster. However, each and every query we
receive is important to us and we really try to move everything
along as quickly as possible. Please bear with us.
Sometimes too, we are severely admonished for an error within
the column. Our apologies for those times. It’s not that we
intentionally omit something or type in the wrong information, but
stuff happens!
In order to make things a bit easier on our end, we’ve been
shopping for a new computer. Ours is only a few years old, but is a
virtual antique by computer standards. One of the problems is that
the prices keep dropping, and we surely do hate to part with our
money in a falling market! Eventually though, we’ll break down
and go on a computer buying spree. By the way, when we compose the
monthly column, we send it over to GEM on a computer disk. They do
their necessary formatting and editing, and within a few minutes
after they have our disk, it is all set and ready for the printer.
Amazing isn’t it!
For those who are going with us to Germany, Austria, and Holland
this summer, welcome aboard! We truly believe this will be one of
the finest tours we have had, and we look forward to seeing all of
you! For those who are still thinking about it, there may be some
time yet to go along, but you’d better hurry!
We’ll see you again next month.