Bob Naske’s 1913 2 HP, s/n P3430, New Holland. Practice
makes perfect, as Bob found out applying his own striping to the
engine and truck.
In the few years that I have been I interested in old engines I
do not remember seeing any New Holland engines at shows north of
the Pennsylvania border – especially so here in eastern New York!
So in looking for a different engine to display in this area, I
began to search for a small New Holland. I looked for a HP, but
thought they might be a bit overpriced, and the 1 HP with its
single flywheel was very difficult to find. So, through an internet
acquaintance I purchased this 1913 2 HP, s/n P3430, in
Maryland.
It was painted an incorrect bright red and was on a set of
homemade steel trucks. After getting it home it sat in a corner for
several months while other engines were brought back to life. Every
time I looked at the new Holland, with its incorrect color and ugly
(but well built) trucks, I said I should do something with that
engine sometime! After finishing another engine the decision was
made to fix up the New Holland real nice – as nice as my artist
wife and me the mechanic were able to do.
So it all started with a call to a Gas Engine Magazine
advertiser – Mr. Cliff Moyer in New Holland country. He is a very
knowledgeable and helpful New Holland collector who sent me a lot
of information, pictures and some parts. Mechanically the engine
needed a new muffler and a gas tank cleaning.
At that point I knew that an engine of this quality should have
a nice set of skids, or better yet some wheels under it. Mr. Moyer
was able to locate a reproduction set of New Holland number 11
trucks in new, unfinished condition. A summer weekend trip to get
the trucks, see his New Holland collection and enjoy the beautiful
country of eastern Pennsylvania was most enjoyable.
Play time over, time to get to work. The engine and new trucks
were painted a dark burgundy. Before the burgundy paint was applied
I could see sections of the original striping under the incorrect
red, so we had a partial pattern for our striping. I have noticed
variations in striping in the literature we have, so could it be
that the original stripers were given the freedom to vary the
patterns a little to suit their particular style? In getting
estimates for striping I found prices in the $200 range, and even
then I couldn’t be sure of an accurate job, even with the
pictures I would provide. So I purchased a Beugler paint striping
wheel for less than the price of an unknown stripe job. And then it
was practice, practice, and more practice!
From the pictures of Mr. Moyer’s trucks I enlarged the
lettering and swirl design on my computer to make a stencil for
accurate looking results on my trucks. My artist wife has a
steadier hand, so she did all the curved designs while I did
straight line and layout work. So the trucks and engine are all
hand painted with the uniformity of a stencil and a striping wheel.
Approximately six hours were spent on lettering and striping.
An original size New Holland battery box was a very tight fit on
number 11 trucks with this size engine, so I opted for a smaller
and beautifully made oak box from Mr. Edgar Shofestall, also in
Pennsylvania.
We all have engines that we have put a lot of time into and this
one is no exception. But obviously the new Holland Machine Co. put
a lot of effort into their products, and 1 wanted to have accurate
results on one of the ‘Cadillacs’ of engines.
Contact engine enthusiast Bob Naske at: 2059 State Hwy 29,
Johnstown, NY 12095.
