20601 Old State Road Haubstadt, Indiana 47639
The gas engine hobby is full of challenges and surprises. To
find an engine out in the rough is the challenge and what you might
find is the surprise. The story today is about three of those
surprises. The first engine is a 7 HP Model E Hercules #53,736 that
has an F. Ronstadt Company, Tucson, Arizona, tag on it. Although he
was unable to buy it at the time, it was reported by Alexander
Black of Douglas, Arizona. The engine has an ignition modification
typical of that done by mining or oil field interests. It has a rod
apparently attached to a pivot pin added to the cam gear and going
up to a rocker to trip a Wico PR magneto, held by what appears to
be a homemade or after-market bracket bolted to the side of the
water hopper. Originally this was an igniter engine with an Elkhart
magneto. The magneto drive gear can just be seen inside of the far
side flywheel.
The next engine is a 7 HP Model E hit and miss kerosene Hercules
#69,817. Tom Grube of Gallipolis, Ohio, sends this picture. Someone
has gone to even more trouble to rig up a different ignition
system. The remains of the Webster trip holder are still on the
side rod and a Wico trip finger holder has been added and is held
in place by two long bolts replacing the normal set screws. A Wico
magneto bracket is on the engine with the magneto support sawn off.
An arm has been welded to the Wico trip rocker to operate a lever
to what appears to be a rotary gear driven high tension magneto
somehow attached to the engine head. A lever and spring loaded
mechanism is attached to the gear and now the magneto acts as an
oscillating high tension magneto to fire the spark plug.
Wouldn’t you like to see that one work?
The last picture was sent to me several years ago by R. D.
Aillett of Australia. It is the remains of a 3 HP Model U Thermoil.
How would you like to tackle that challenge? The flywheels are
broken off, the governor gear is gone, the compression release
lever is broken off, one valve rocker arm is broken off, the fuel
tank and oil reservoir that goes on top of the hopper is missing
and the speed control knob is gone. It is hard telling what else is
wrong. Surprisingly, I later received a picture of the engine after
it had been restored to running condition, and the owner wanted a
picture of the ID tag so he could have one made for it. Ain’t
this a wonderful hobby?
