Is This Really a Colbert American Boy Engine?

Reader Contribution by Staff
Published on September 7, 2016
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I purchased this engine to be a 1914 Colbert 3 hp American Boy. The identification tag is missing, so I relied on the seller’s information. The engine is free and complete. The only information I can find is in C.H. Wendel’s American Gasoline Engines Since 1872 (Volume 1), which says that it was made by the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. I would like to talk to someone to verify that it is an American Boy engine.

It is painted a shade of red. Is this the correct color? There is a number on the end of the crankshaft, 86228, but it is hard to make out. It has a 4-inch bore and a 6-inch stroke, with a long connecting rod. The igniter is an under trip. It runs with a battery and coil ignition. The governor weights are in the flywheel and the flywheels are 22 inches outside diameter. The cooling tank is a two-piece tank bolted to the top of the cylinder. The bottom measures 7 inches wide and 10-1/2 inches long, the top is 9-1/4 inches wide and 13 inches long. It is 7-3/4 inches high. The top cover is bolted onto the tank with four screws and the fill hole in the top is 3-3/4 inches wide by 7 inches long.

I cannot find any casting marks on any of the parts. As you can see, I have not disassembled the engine, so they may be hidden where I cannot see them.

Any other information about this engine would be appreciated.

Lynn Tice, Bellefonte, Pa. ld369@centurylink.net


Lynn Tice’s 3 hp American Boy, built by Waterloo Gas Engine Co. If the serial number is indeed 86228, it would have been built in 1913.


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