870 Burch Road Williston, Tennessee 38076
I was a hot day in September 1987, while attending an
agricultural new products demonstration with my brother and my dad,
that I noticed a group of people gathered under a shaded grove of
oak trees. When I reached this oasis I noticed this was not new
equipment, but old antique machinery with its heavy flywheels
turning ever so slowly with that old rhythmic pop. That’s when
the feeling hit! We all know that feeling. Needless to say, this is
where I spent the rest of the day.
I have worked on small engines for many years but never knew
that there was such a thing as a hit & miss engine. When trying
to figure out how these engines operated, the one that caught my
attention was a small Gilson. It really intrigued me with its short
piston travel; it was not as smooth as the others but hit very hard
and seemed powerful for such a small engine.
Through the next few years of collecting Waterloo Boys,
Economys, Ideals, Maytags, and other various engines, the Gilson
always seemed to evade me. Then, late in 1990, a phone call to Dale
Wolfe in Oklahoma, concerning the purchase of a tractor, turned to
engines. He mentioned he had a basket case of a Gilson. I almost
dropped the phone! We quickly settled on a price. After the engine
arrived a general inspection was in order. The Gilson was a 1 HP,
60 speed, water-cooled complete with a cracked block, pitted
cylinder, stuck piston, stuck valves, missing carburetor, gas tank,
crank -shaft bearing caps, and a dozen of other parts.
But it was a Gilson, and I was in heaven! For the next seven
years I searched swap meets, want ads, and had several parts made.
Finally, on a cool March evening in 1997, with a few turns on the
flywheel, the Gilson coughed, smoked and ran for the first time in
over 50 years. This has to be the most exciting part of
engine restoration!! What a thrill!!
After years of looking for parts and advice, I finally came
across a 1 HP hopper cooled ‘Johnny on the Spot, Goes Like
Sixty model’. It was not until I found the hopper cooled Johnny
on the Spot that I realized where the serial number tag was
located. It seems they were placed on the crank guard. Well
naturally, when someone had to make adjustments or repairs, the
crank guard was removed, misplaced, or thrown away! Fortunately,
this engine’s cover and tag was in place, so proper
identification could be made. I also learned that some of the
Johnny on the Spot engines were manufactured in Port Washington,
Wisconsin, and were painted red. The engines manufactured in
Guelph, Canada, were painted green. This engine had a few missing
parts and needed a good cleanup to get in good running order.
My next restoration will be a 1 HP air cooled Model E; I hope to
soon have it in restored condition. If there is one thing I learned
from Gilson fever, antique engine folks are some of the most
helpful and trusting people. It is very encouraging for my family
and I to be part of their fellowship.
I would like to thank those who encouraged me and helped with
these restorations, for without you the Gilson would have only been
a dream. If anyone has a serial number list, literature, or likes
to talk about Gilsons, please contact me at the above address or
call 901-465-6268.
