421 Central Manor Road, Mountville, Pennsylvania 17554
This is an International Harvester 1905 12 HP engine, serial No.
0258. I bought the engine from my neighbor Larry Frey of Washington
Boro, Pennsylvania, about 20 years ago.
Picture No. 1 shows the engine before it was restored, being
pulled through the Mountville, Pennsylvania, parade in 1989. The
engine is running. My wife is pulling the engine with her Super 4
cross-mount Huber tractor. I was riding as brakeman.
In 1997 I decided to restore the engine for our 1998 50th Rough
and Tumble Anniversary at Kinzers, Pennsylvania.
The No. 2 picture shows the engine ready for sandblasting. The
early International engines didn’t come with crank covers.
Every time the engine was used it got a new coat of oil, which
saved the engine from rusting. The engine had a heavy coat of oil
and dirt that had to be scraped off before sandblasting.
The early engine came without water pumps or radiators. The
water tank was missing, which I had to make.
The engine was equipped with hot tube ignition that I am sure
was never used. I was surprised to find, when I cleaned the hot
tube fuel tank, that it was copper. Glenn Ament of Conestoga,
Pennsylvania, polished the tank for me.
The engine was also equipped with an auto spark. In the toolbox
there were four wheel locks that were used with planks to block the
engine for belt work.
All wood is original except one brake wheel block which Ike
Groff of Willow Street, Pennsylvania, made for me.
No. 3 picture is the engine at work threshing wheat at Rough and
Tumble.
No. 4 photo shows Elvin Lapp of Kinzers driving his Belgians in
the Rough and Tumble parade, pulling my 12 HP International
engine.
