A reader talks about identifying a Fairbanks-Morse gas engine he purchased.
Would any of our GEM readers know if Fairbanks-Morse ever used
red paint an any of their engines, or if they ever built any
engines under contract for mail order houses. I brought home a five
horse engine a few weeks ago that was painted red, and which the
owner insisted was FM, and am working on identifying a Fairbanks-Morse gas engine. He backed his argument with the statement
that he had to buy a governor weight for it once, and he got it
from a hardware dealer who sold FM engines. There doesn’t seem
to be any name plate or serial number on it, and the only number I
can locate so far is a part number on the con rod. There is no
magneto, but on the side of the frame next to the belt side
flywheel there are two holes about 3/8 that are tapped. The ends of
the crankshaft extend only two inches past the flywheels, and the
flywheels do not seem to have been balanced, as they seem to stop
always in the same place, and there are no balancing holes. The
crank is unique, in that it is apparently made of 1/2 foot spring
steel, factory built. It has MB ignition and HM governor, drip
oiling and valve in head with a post between the valves with a
spring on it and a plate that connects the post with the two
valves. The water jacket and cylinder are cast together, the comers
of the jacket being quite square. I will appreciate anyone’s
opinion.