4221 Jay Avenue Orange City, Iowa 51041
Loren D. Wynia of 4221 Jay Avenue, Orange City, Iowa 51041,
tells us in this issue about this Fairbanks Morse 6 HP Z purchased
at the Waukee Swap Meet.
Collecting engines and refurbishing them has been a hobby that I
find challenging and fun. One of the latest projects I have
completed is a Fairbanks-Morse 6 HP Z engine I purchased at the
Waukee Swap Meet near Des Moines, Iowa. This 1916 engine was
designed to run sawmills, balers, etc.
The engine, at the time of purchase, was mounted on a homemade
steel engine cart. The only part of the cart that was salvageable
was the cast iron wheels. The cart is my own design and is made of
oak wood with a hand lever brake system. My dad also had a hand in
the refurbishing process. I give him credit for the hours he spent
working on the steering mechanism and brake system for the cart. I
wouldn’t dare say how many hours we have invested in the cart
alone.
The engine itself was pretty much complete at the time of
purchase. The only item missing was the muffler, and of course the
nice shiny paint job.
When I got the engine home, we hooked up the coil and battery
for ignition, poured some gas in the carburetor and turned it over.
A few puffs of black smoke poured out of the muffler. We adjusted
the carb and away she went. Next the engine received a new paint
job. I cleaned the engine up and sprayed on two coats of gray
primer and three topcoats of deep green paint to make up the
finished product.
It was a fun and eventful project! I like the manual labor
involved in reworking these old engines. I would much rather be
working on an antique engine than writing an article about one!
