R.R. 13, Box 302, Muncie, Indiana 47302
Everyone who has restored gasoline engines no doubt has tales to
tell. This is my attempt at recording a couple of episodes in the
history of two engines. These two engines were discovered and
collected by me and restored by myself and my father, Louis Siefker
(an engine restorer par-excellent) of Seymour, Indiana. The first
engine is an International Harvester Model LA, 1 1/2-2 1/2 h.p. The
second engine is a Fairbanks Morse Model Z, Style D, 2 h.p. I
discovered the International Harvester engine by following up on a
public auction add in a local paper. Included in this farm sale
listing was an ‘old gas engine’. The sale was on a Saturday
and it happened to be one that I was working, so on the Friday
evening before the auction my father-in-law, Merritt Marshall of
Muncie, Indiana, and I drove out to the sale site. We found the
International Harvester, Model LA. After we talked with the widow
who was having the sale and after we expressed some interest in the
gas engine she revealed that the engine did not belong to her, but
was actually owned by her neighbor lady, also a widow. The lady
reported that several years ago her late husband had gasoline
engines the engine from their neighbor, and used it for power to
pump water out in their back forty. She said it had not run for
years. She reported that she had forgotten about the engine until
preparing for the sale. She had then asked her neighbor lady if she
wanted the gas engine returned to her or auctioned off with the
proceeds going to the owner. The owner-neighbor lady said to sell
it. Well, the old engine was stuck and the magneto was missing from
it, but the lady thought the magneto was in the loft of an old out
building on her farm. Upon checking, sure enough, the magneto was
there and the lady agreed that the magneto would be sold right
along with the engine. My father-in-law, who was to be my bidder at
the sale, and I agreed on the top price we would go. Fortunately,
we were the highest and successful bidder on the gas engine. So,
late on the Saturday evening in July, 1971, we hauled an ‘old
gas engine’ to a new home.
Threshing on the George D. Bauer farm sometime back in the teens
with a 30-60 HP two cylinder Titan tractor manufactured by
International Harvester Company. This tractor was purchased new
back in 1913 by George Wendel and sons, Henry and Arthur of Clarion
Township, La Moille, Illinois.
Before that, in 1909 they purchased a 1908 single cylinder
International tractor which was just a big 20 HP gas engine on
wheels that propelled itself. It was used here and out in Iowa for
farm work. Then in a couple years they traded for a Titan
’45’ two cylinder with a hit and miss governor about 1910.
Then when the above 30-60 two cylinder kerosene burning throttling
governor Tital tractor came out in 1913 – it was just what the boys
wanted and they traded the ’45’ Titan for the
’30-60′ Tital, which was one of the tractors they used
until the combine took over.
For the first ten years this tractor was used in Clarion
Township by Arthur Wendel for threshing and plowing with a nine
bottom 16 inch plow. Then the rest of its life, it was used by his
brother, Henry Wendel in Sublette Township for threshing, plowing
and sawmill work until about the early forties when the combines
arrived. It sat in Henry’s yard for about 20 years. The junk
dealers tried to get it in World War II but Henry wouldn’t let
them have it, but they did succeed in getting the big plow which
was a lot of iron in itself.
In the early 1960s this old Tital 30-60 was purchased from Henry
Wendel by Glenn Thomas of Route 4, Ottawa, Illinois who has
restored this old tractor and saved it from the scrap heap.
This old picture was taken on my Grandfather’s farm and I
happened to find it in my Aunt’s picture Album.
Now, when man no longer has use for things like gas engines and
they fall into disuse, sometimes something else, like animals,
insects, or birds take over and make use of these pieces of tired
iron. This we discovered to be the case both with the International
Harvester and with the Fairbanks Morse.
As my dad and I began the restoration of this IHC Model LA we
very quickly discovered that, yes indeed, the engine had become a
mouse house. The fact that the magneto had been removed from the
engine for a long time made a nice hole opening for mice to get
inside the closed crank engine. That dark, dry, quiet, and fairly
warm place must have made a good mouse residence. No, we had not
bought a pig-in-the-poke, as we did not even get one mouse with the
engine, only a mouse nest. My dad and I removed the nest, got the
engine unstuck, remounted the magneto and completely restored the
former mouse house. It now runs smoothly.
The Fairbanks Morse Model Z, Style D, 2 h.p. engine I discovered
within one-half mile of my home. Like many things that are just
under your nose or just in front of your eyes, I never knew that
the little square shaped FM was there. One day in May, 1972, my
next door neighbor told me he had been riding his motorbike out in
some of the fields near our place. He knew I collected old gas
engines and he said he had seen something that to him kind of
looked like some of those engines I had. The old farm place was
about a quarter mile down the cross – road from my house. The old
house had burned to the ground a few years ago and a bad wind storm
had blown down the ancient barn a couple of years later.
Top left – a 1939 F-14 Farmall and Turnery Haybaler — at right
is a 1919 Fordson and a No. 2 Champion. Bottom left shows a 1922
8-16 I.H.C. and a No. 4 Geiser while the scene at the right shows
an overshot Champion doing a good job. This machine is owned by Mr.
J. W. McCollum. My Dad is doing the feeding. These pictures are
from the Colfax Threshing Show August 1973.
So, late one Saturday afternoon I walked over to what I thought
was an abandoned place. The old homestead was many rods back off
the county road and I walked up what used to be a lane. Well,
nothing but debris from the former house and barn was in sight
except an old crumbling shell of a shed. Outside of this shed I
then spotted the rusted little one solid flywheel Fairbanks Morse
gas engine mounted on an old homemade rig of a concrete mixer.
There was an electric motor also mounted on and belted up to this
mixer. I thought that was a good sign. Perhaps I could buy that
engine. No sooner had I put my hand on the flywheel and discovered
that the engine was not stuck and had good compression than I heard
the cracking sounds of a small rifle being discharged. I never saw
anyone and didn’t really feel in danger but 1 sure didn’t
want to get hurt so 1 started back out the abandoned lane. By the
time I got back to the county road there was a car and two young
men waiting in it. They asked me if I was trying to steal something
back there. I told them no, but I sure would like to find out who
owned the gas engine as I would like to purchase it. These two
young gentlemen then told me they had spotted me back there and
they had fired a couple of rifle shots up in the air. The one young
fellow then said his father owned the place and also owned the
cement mixer. He said he thought his father would not want to sell
the mixer. But he had misunderstood me and then I carefully
explained that the only thing I was interested in was the old gas
engine which was still on the mixer. The young man went on to say
that his dad had bought the mixer two or three years earlier and it
already had the electric motor on it and they had never even
bothered to try to use the gas engine. He seemed very surprised
that I wanted to buy the old engine. He just could not understand
why anyone would want it. I made him an offer then and there, gave
him my telephone number, and he promised to call and let me
know.
Pictured is a Cald well inverted cylinder vapor-cooled gasoline
engine owned by Elmer Haecker of Blue Rapids, Kansas. Elmer asked
me to snap the picture and write a brief caption for it. The
picture was taken at Eshelmans’ S.W. Iowa show in 1973. Here is
the extent of the information we have and would like to hear from
anyone concerning this engine.
It was installed in a German butcher shop at Gothamburg,
Nebraska to grind meat. The horsepower is not known, but the age is
thought to be between 1905-10. Elmer bought the engine in 1968 and
now has it beautifully restored and running. It has a solid brass
connecting rod and 5 spoke flywheels. It is vapor-cooled by a
blower and a small water spray which upon contacting the hot
cylinder, vaporizes, cools, and then condenses and runs back into a
small sump to by cycled again.
Elmer feels it could be an experimental model or one of only a
few built. If you have any knowledge of this engine please contact
Elmer.
Shown in picture is John Knights of Tynong, Victoria, Australia.
It is an 18-36 Hart Parr and note the ‘Australian Special’
cast on the radiator. He has another 18-36 and their serial numbers
are 32117 and 32376. The engine on the wagon is an 8 HP Blackstone
built in England about 1896. It is hot tube ignition and runs quite
well driving a 5′ pump.
The following Monday when I got home from work my wife told me
that the man had called about that engine and that he would be
calling again. Before I was able to finish eating my supper the
young man called back. Yes, they would sell the old gas engine. He
kept asking if I would still pay the amount I said I would on the
previous Saturday. I assured him that I was a man of my word and my
offer was good. So, I suggested that we arrange to meet sometime
and we would get the engine off the old mixer and I would pay him
for it. He then told me that he already had removed the engine from
the mixer, had it in his two-wheeled trailer and hitched up behind
his car. He indicated that for the price I was paying (which was
really very reasonable) he included delivery. He brought the engine
right over, we unloaded it and I paid him. He didn’t say, but
I’m sure his dad let him have the money which I paid for the
little FM which now, on a rainy day in May, 1972, had a new home.
Eight months later a bulldozer leveled entirely the old homesite
and who knows what would have been the fate of the engine had 1 not
gotten it when I did.
My father and I began restoring the Style D, FM. It was not long
until we had it running after repairing a fuel line problem. But
the governor did not work. The engine ran only at a very fast
speed. Tearing into it, we discovered that mud daubers had made
this engine their home. Now mud daubers, being among the most
intelligent insects on earth, had built their nest of little
tube-shaped cells on the governor rod of this engine. Thus the
governor could not work freely. No, we did not get stung on this
engine as we did not get one mud wasp with it, only the nest in the
shape of little organ pipes. We removed the nest and restored the
former mud dauber residence. The throttle governor now works freely
and the little green Fairbanks Morse engine runs smoothly.
I, in common with all others with a hobby, am something of a
pack-rat and when an item arouses my curiosity I try to learn more
about it. This summer I obtained this outboard motor and would like
to learn something about its history of manufacture, motor data and
colors.
Have not tried to start it, but it has compression and turns
freely so presume that hooking up a battery and coil and giving it
some gas it would still chug away. There is no throttle, speed was
controlled by advancing the spark.
On the flywheel is stamped: Wisconsin Row Boat Motor Mfg.
Wisconsin Machine Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The former owner had
written, before he passed away, that this motor was made in 1916
and developed 7 h.p. at 8500 rpm.
Also I would like to learn year of manufacture and colors of a
Wallis Tractor 15 h.p. serial #26605 made by the J.I. Case Plow
Works, Racine, Wisc.
Besides these I have several one cylinder engines, a 1926 T.
Tudor, a 1928 A. Ford or, a 1928 A Paaton and a 1928 Victory 6
Dodge. Still have a lot of restoring to do, but I enjoy getting
grease under my fingernails.
The operator of this 1908 30X60 H.P. Aultman Taylor, gas engine,
is my Dad, Howard Jurney, [nowresiding at Jacques Lodge, Unit 171,
2500 Bow Trail, Calgary, Alberta]. He was moving two separators, a
Gaar Scott and an Aultman Taylor to the home place at Vulcan,
Alberta.
I have nothing against a field mouse even though mouse means
‘thief’. A mouse did not steal the International Harvester
engine. I have very little against mud daubers as I read they are
nervous rather than mean –they sting only when they are bothered
or frightened. I believe the mice and the mud daubers found a new
and better home just as did these two fine engines;GN-73
Pictured is a motor that I have and as you might well guess, I
need all the help I can get as to who manufactured it and what it
looked like in the original form. It looks as though it had gone
through a fire and the parts made of aluminum are mostly all melted
away.
It is a two cycle design, flywheel diameter is 20′ x
1-1/8′ wide, bore 4-3/4′, stroke 5′ approximately.
Serial Number 52. There is some paint left on lower part of
flywheel and is of A-C orange color. Crankshaft support bearings
are tapered roller. Flywheel’s held on with 1-1/4′ hex
nuts. Carburetor is missing.
Two pictures taken at Brooks, Oregon 1973. At left, looks like a
unique chariot. At right is Jacob’s grandson, Stanley standing
by a homemade tractor model.
These engines are at the Western Development Museum in
Saskatoon, Sask., and are all in running condition. They can be
seen each year at the Saskachimo Exhibition, which is held at
Saskatoon. The first engine is a 3-wheel Best Cat; the second one
is a 30 x 60 Rumely; and the third one is a 16-30 Rumely.
The snapshot above was taken at the Spring Gas-Up at Branch #6
EDGE & TA. That is my son, John and myself on Cletrac. The
gas-up was held at Mike Giani’s place in Montica, California on
June 17, 1973. It is a 1923 Cletrac 12-20 HP, Model ‘W’. I
now have it complete with all original details. I have restored it
from a pile of rusty junk. [Marvin says he may send us the
description of the restoration in a written article sometime]
A rare Mietz & Weiss engine, hot tube, owned by Carl E.
Rhodes, Jr., Route 1, Bridgewater. Taken at Bridgewater Vol. Fire
Co. Steam & Gas Meet. Photo by Charles Clemmer, Dayton,
Virginia.
1973 Pioneer Acres Show [Calgary, Alberta]. This is a new engine
in the Club, a 20 x 40 Case, on the Baker Fan; operator is Wilfred
Robinson of Strathmore, Alta., and a very good one. You will note
trailers parked in background.
