This 1930s Pacific Marine pump is powered by two
Johnson outboard engines paired together to create a four-cylinder
power plant for running a pump.
Contributor Herb Higginbottom sends in some interesting pictures
this month of an engine and pump rig built sometime in the 1930s by
the Fire Equipment Division of Pacific Marine Supply Co., Seattle,
Wash.
This four-cylinder engine is apparently built up from two
Johnson outboard, water-cooled, opposed two-cylinder engines.
‘The water jacket on one-cylinder was broken,’ Herb
says, ‘so I welded on a new piece. Two pistons were stuck. I
broke them loose by filling the cylinders with oil and fitting an
adapter in the spark plug hole. Then I used a grease gun to break
them loose. We were lucky this time, as the pistons were above the
exhaust ports.’
Contact engine enthusiast Herb Higginbottom at: # 91, Deep
Creek Rd., Enderby, BC, Canada V0E 1V3.
Starting and Oiling Instructions for Pacific
Marine
1. Fill tank with a mixture of gasoline and oil. Zerolene No. 5,
manufactured by the Standard Oil Co. of California, or Gargoyle
Mobile Oil A. One-half pint oil to a gallon of gasoline. Shake well
before pouring – for the first 20 hours of running a new engine use
three-quarters pint of oil to a gallon of gasoline.
2. Fill pump pilot gears with oil through plug openings to a
right level. Fill grease cups.
3. Squirt oil on pump rotors, then connect hose.
4. Open water valve on pump to engine, open valve on gas
tank.
5. Place timing lever in center, open carburetor needle valve
one turn. Push carburetor lever down to choke, wind on starting
cord. Hold down float pin in carburetor until gas floods. Step on
lugs on engine base and pull smartly on cord. Flood and pull again
until motor starts. Notice: Do not flood a warm engine.
6. When motor starts, place carburetor lever in center.
Adjusting timing lever against engine rotation. Adjust needle
valve. Experiment to find best adjustment as engine warms up.
7. Notice: See that water flows from four discharge pipes all
the time engine is running.
8. To slow down, retard timer and raise carburetor lever.
9. To stop, push in button on advance lever.
Looking For Clues From 1945
Bill Simmons sends this picture of a saw in operation in Germany
in 1945. The tractor appears to be homemade, and power comes from a
gas engine of unknown make. Has anyone ever seen a unit like this
before?
Bill Simmons is wondering if anyone might be able to shed some
light on an engine and tractor he remembers watching run back in
1945. ‘The enclosed photo was taken in Kessel, Germany, in
1945, when I served in the U.S. Air Force there,’ Bill writes.
‘A while back I was looking through my old Air Force pictures
and ran across it.
‘I personally watched as the wood was sawed, but it did not
at the time occur to me to look for the tractor name. Perhaps
someone in your reading audience can identify the tractor. I would
be interested if they could. Thanks for any assistance you may be
able to give.’
Contact engine enthusiast Bill Simmons at: 6302 Rockbridge
Rd., Stone Mountain, GA 30087-5018.
