Manufacturer: Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., Madison, Wis.
Year: 1926
Horsepower: 7
Bore: 5-1/2-inch
Stroke: 10-inch
When it comes to gas engine restoration, the last thing you want to worry about is whether the replacement parts you need are working properly.
Bernie Witte, Prairie du Sac, Wis., found that out the hard way while trying to start his 1926 7 HP Fuller & Johnson.
Bernie bought the engine at a Black Creek, Wis., auction in 2006 and figured it would be an easy project to put together. “I really didn’t have to do anything to it,” says Bernie. Thing was, it just wouldn’t start. “I worked and worked on it,” he says, “and couldn’t figure it out.”
Bernie eventually pinpointed the problem to the igniter and ordered a new one. That one didn’t work so he ordered another. And then another. “I tried three different ones and found out they were all sticky from laying around,” says Bernie. “I finally got one that worked and used some lubricant on the other ones, which got those working, too.”
Now the engine runs like a charm on its original cart.
Bernie says the engine came with a magneto but he’s having it rebuilt. Nonetheless, the engine is running beautifully now on a battery and he’s not sure he even wants to put the magneto back on it.