Buried Treasure

By Staff
Published on November 1, 1988
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The picture shows what I call my 'Buried Treasure'.

621 D Street, Rt 2, Milford, Nebraska 68405

 A friend told me that a friend of his had found an old
engine buried under corn cobs in a shed on an abandoned farmstead
that was being cleared.

Since my friend wasn’t interested in the engine, he told me
about it. When I went to look I could hardly believe what I
saw.

It’s a 1 cylinder Pierce! It was covered with a 1912
newspaper and with cobs which kept it dry, and all parts were
free.

Naturally I had to have one more engine!

When cleaning it up I began to wonder if it ever had run since
it’s so crude. There is no carburetor or mixer. The gas tank is
sealed and has a large wick which hangs down into the gasoline. A
half inch pipe extends from the wick through a valve and then to
the intake valve. Also there’s a valve to regulate the amount
of air going into the intake valve. When dismantling the Pierce
some of the bearings showed wear, so I knew it had run, and I hoped
it would run again.

The ignition system is an original low tension coil and an
ignitor in the cylinder with a point which contacts a point in the
piston head.

After a good cleaning and a few repairs the Pierce runs very
well. The air and vapor valves must be adjusted just right. The
engine is a hit and miss with a battery saver. This ‘Buried
Treasure’ is now my favorite engine in my collection.

Another unusual thing about this ‘find’ is that it was
complete with the original gas tank, water tank, coil and battery
box.

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