Everyone should have a hobby. Mine are varied-I like to garden,
crochet, knit, needlepoint and do all kinds of handcrafts. So how
did I get started working with gas engines? It goes back quite a
few years. My husband, Harvey, had a friend in Carlisle who was an
engine buff. John and Harvey would talk engines while I
listened.
Harvey had learned his machinist trade in Carlisle as a young
man, so he had mechanical ability to tackle the tearing down and
building up of the gas engines. Harvey found his first engine in a
junk yard in Potts-town and a friend brought it home in his station
wagon.
That was the start of the saga. The numbers increased and there
were many humps in the back yard under the covers of which were
engines- restored, being restored and waiting to be restored. Some
of these engines were restored in our basement and some in the
yard.
We acquired so many we had an engine house constructed. This
meant I had painting to do inside to get the garage ready for the
engines. Our 32 V Delco power plant furnishes the light for the
engine house.
The first engine restored was an Economy. After Harvey had it
finished and running I painted the lettering and background. This
was fairly simple. I had never done any thing like this, but since
I had liked art in school (which had included working with paints)
I was willing to try.
My first attempt turned out fairly well and gave me courage to
go on and tackle the more difficult striping tasks that followed.
In each instance Harvey was delighted with the results even though
there was room for improvement. This gave me the encouragement to
tackle the more difficult and tedious striping of the New Holland
engines.
The 1? HP single flywheel New Holland came by trade. Harvey had
problems with this one because of sand holes in the hopper, but he
conquered the problems. He was particularly anxious to have this
engine because it was like one that was used on the farm when he
was a boy. We borrowed a decal so I could copy the name and along
with a New Holland book I started to stripe the New Holland
engines. His 2 HP New Holland was sunk in a springhouse for a good
many years before it was rescued.
These engines were taken to the Rough & Tumble Reunion at
Kinzers. At that time Harvey was offered a 5 HP New Holland that
was for sale. This engine was fully restored and striped by a
professional. We were delighted to get it. This gave me the
opportunity to actually see how it should be done.
Wouldn’t you know the red we had painted the 2 New Hollands
wasn’t the right red! In the meantime, I had found a better
gold paint with which to do the striping. So we started over. Then
came the 5 HP New Holland with the double tree and all. This one
took one summer of scraping grease and paint. Harvey did the
mechanical work needed and I did the painting and striping.
Best of all was the time when Harvey came home and started to
tell me about a friend to whom he had shown pictures of his
engines. The friend said his brother had a small one something like
that. I knew right away it must be a ? HP New Holland. Harvey lost
no time in visiting the brother and sure enough he talked him into
selling it. It was all apart and partly buried in auto parts. It
didn’t take Harvey long to get to work on it and have it
running! Guess where it was striped? Right on the dining room
table, no less!
Harvey thinks auction sales are my passion. I have to admit I
like to go even if I buy nothing. One Saturday morning there was an
auction listed that had advertised two gas engines. I had quite a
time convincing my husband that we should go. He had all kinds of
excuses-the engines would be too high, there would be too many
people bidding on them, etc., but he finally gave in. The engines
were offered early in the morning and we came home with a 1? HP
Sandwich Cub that was very reasonable.
During the course of conversations on engines with a high school
classmate of mine, he said he had a power plant at a hunting lodge
that had been there for 20 years and his grandfather had had it for
40 years before that. He said it hadn’t been used since the
power lines went through and we were welcome to have it. This meant
a round trip of about 250 miles. When the power plant was pulled
out of the shed, lo and behold, it was a Fuller & Johnson of
which there were only a few known to still be in existence. On the
way home we stopped at the home of a friend in Stillwater and
rescued an engine headed for the junk man. This was a Fairbanks
Morse that hadn’t worked and had been converted to an air
compressor to pump tires. When this engine was restored, it worked
perfectly.
One day while I was working in my flower bed outside the engine
house under an open window, the engine was running and it just
sounded as if it were saying ‘peanut butter, peanut
butter,’ so it ended with a nickname of peanut butter. Could it
be I was hungry for peanut butter?
So many of the engines came decrepit and broken down-the
Economies, the Hercules, the Stover, the Domestic, the Fuller &
Johnsons, the Internationals, the Titan, the Cushman, the Fairbanks
Morse, the Sandwich Cub, the 7 New Hollands and the Maytags. I got
to know them all! Harvey wanted a Maytag and a friend had a box of
parts he said Harvey could have and challenged him to put one
together. If he could build a Maytag, he could have it-that’s
all Harvey needed. A Maytag gradually evolved.
Some of the engines left-traded or sold. All were restored and
running through the labor of my husband and an occasional hand from
a friend, even the mailman got in on it. Of course, the painting
and striping were my department.
The engines sold were the means of restoring a 1925 model T Ford
coupe. On the car I sanded the spokes of the wheels and helped to
sand the body. I did the upholstery all but the seat and seat back
and the door panels, which were done professionally.
The restoration took us to flea markets and antique automobile
shows to get parts until we had a fully restored car of which we
are very proud.
I still yearn to look for gas engines, but my husband says
‘no more’- our 15 are enough!
This article is by Catherine Cook, of Norristown, PA, a member
of Rough & Tumble Engineers Historical Association. Patricia
Kreider, president of R&T, is looking for articles from all the
women in our readership, who have interesting engine stories to
tell. Send them care of GEM, Box 328, Lancaster, PA 17603.
