COFFEE BREAK WITH KITTY

By Staff
Published on July 1, 1967
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Hello. School’s out, vacations are beginning and the heat’s on. We thought Pennsylvania would never see summer, but it’s here in full force. Hope this finds you well and happy. I’ll pass on to you now some of the things our readers have written to me.

Ron Magnuson, Good Hope, Illinois is looking for someone to correspond with that owns a Gade engine. He’s looking for someone who has one like his. It’s about 3? to 3 H.P. Has a 5′ bore. Igniter with a low tension mag. & weighs around 1100 lbs.

Herman Pickens, R.R. 2, Box 287, Logansport, Indiana found a bronze name plate in the field. It is in good condition and the size is 1?’ x 3?’ x 1/16′. The reading on it is ‘Challenge–Iceberg, Challenge Corn Planter Co., Grand Haven, Michigan.’ He would like to know more about this company and what they made.

Leonard Newton, 1427 Elm St., Grinnell, Iowa sends a word of congratulations to Roy Glessner for his Cartoon book and Lorin Bixler for his biography of Cornelius Aultman. Mr. Newton says that he wishes he could get someone started on histories of Port Huron, Advance, Case, Gaar Scott, Avery, Huber, etc. These would be a great service to old timers as well as the younger generation. Forrest Klose, Box 4. Moose Lake, Minnesota would like to hear from anyone who has or has seen an engine called the McVickor or McVictor automatic engine. He saw one of these engines years ago that was running a saw rig but has never seen or heard of one since.

Tom Hobbis, 315 Ward St., New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada writes regrading the picture of the old outboard motor in the last GEM. ‘It is what is called ‘Caille’. The flywheel is 11? dia., with a proj. or 9′ dia. His local hardware man has one that is a 2 H.P. but who knows of a little larger one. Tom would like to hear from you the make of this motor. This is the flywheel.

Ruben Michelson, Anamoose, North Dakota writes: GEM READERS — Do you thumb thru your first six issue’s of Gem looking for a certain gas engine, tractor, a story or picture by an individual and have trouble finding it? Then you need a quick find index book made up by Roger L. Eshelman as advertised in another part of this Gem. Roger has put a lot of work into this reference book, alphabetically listing all names and items into issue numbers and the page it can be found on. If we support him well enough on this one, he will make up one for 1967 magazines. In later years this index will become more valuable when our magazines become to be quite a stack. By helping our friend now, we will be helping ourselves later on.

George T. Martin, R. R. 2, Wyaconda, Missouri tells us a little bit about the ‘What is it’ in the May-June Issue. He has 2 of those 1? H.P. Monitors. His both have a second set of reduction gears built on and a lever to throw them in and out of gear. This was a pump jack and these engines were mostly used for that purpose. He also has a 2 H.P. Monitor, which is also an upright engine, but has 2 fly-wheels and a pulley with no reduction gear or pump jack attachment. He can’t give us any information about the company or the age of the engines.

From Fred Gertje, Orofino, Idaho. ‘Thank you for publishing my letters, particularly about the red engine I was trying to identify. My thanks go to Stan Read of Gunnison, Colorado and T.H. Krueger of San Antonio, Texas, as well as some others. It definitely seems to be an Economy by Sears out of Hercules. Mr. Krueger wants to know how I know that it is a 5 hp if there is no label on it. I have a 5 hp FM and both engines are about the same in bore and stroke and RPM. I am confused by the last line of the left column on page 25 of the May-June GEM magazine. My 5 hp FM was sold in 1918 and has 27 inch flywheels. The Colfax Iron Works, Colfax, Washington sold quite a number of 4′ grain roller mills about that time and the 5 hp gas engine was often the preferred power. I have seen several of those mills powered by the 5 hp FM engine. Some farmers bought a 6′ mill and used the 6 hp FM. I noticed the letter by Richard Carmell where he asks about how to fix a crack in the water jacket of his gas engine. I don’t’ know if the product is available, but my engine got froze about 45 years ago and they fixed the crack with Litharge and glycerin. It was a powder and a paste was made by adding the glycerin. Plenty of car blocks were mended in those days with it.

Well, here the Snell’s go into a wonderful summer. We wish the same for you.

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