Hear how a forgotten Heer 10hp engine was rescued and restored from remote farmland in Ohio by a pair of gas engine enthusiasts.
1913 10HP Heer Engine
- Manufacturer: Heer Engine Co. Portsmouth, Ohio
- Year: Circa 1913
- Model: 2-cylinder, horizontal-opposed, hopper-cooled
- Serial Number: 975
- Horsepower: 10
- Bore & Stroke: 5-by-5-inches
- Flywheel Diameter: 24.5-inches
- Clutch: 12-inch clutch pulley
- Weight: Approx. 1,500 pounds
- Ignition: Single-spark Atwater Kent wooden high-tension coil with timer
- Governing: Throttle
- Carburetor: Kingston 5-ball
About 20 years ago, my good friend and president of the Marshall County Antique Power Assn., Gary Shreve, heard a rumor about an old engine sitting somewhere forgotten on a farm in Ohio. On a whim, Gary contacted the owner of the farm, and although the land owner said he was unaware of any engine sitting on the farm property, he gave us permission to go ahead and take a look.
We set off on our search and drove as far as it was possible to drive deep into the property. We spent most of the day walking along the old logging trails throughout the farm, and then I saw it – a twin-cylinder, horizontal-opposed hopper-cooled engine!
I became interested in old engines and antique motorcycles when I was young, and I started my apprenticeship at age 18. I have been a machinist for nearly 50 years, so a rare find like this one was something special. We believe that it quite possibly ran a sawmill, especially considering its resting place was in proximity to the logging trails where we located it.
After clearing some brush away, we could see “Heer Engine Company, Portsmouth, Ohio” on the crankcase cover. Neither Gary nor myself had ever seen anything like this engine before, and admittedly, we knew nothing about it outside of the fact that it could have been sitting in this location for 80 years. We also knew it couldn’t continue to sit on a forgotten piece of farmland.
The original steel trucks were mostly rusted away. The wooden-spoked wheels had long rotted away, leaving only the steel tires sticking out of the muddy ground. There were bullet holes in the fuel tank from a time when it must have been used for target practice. The drip oilers and mag were shot off. The crankcase had become a mouse nest.
While we physically found the engine that day, it took almost five more years for us to be granted permission to remove the engine from the property. Fellow members of our Marshall County Antique Power Assn., Rick Krammerick, Ray Wetsal, Gary and I took Ray’s 4-wheeler back to the farm.
Again, we traveled deep along the logging trails to find “Heer.” Getting this engine out of the spot it had been forgotten in for so long was not going to be an easy task!
We had to remove all the parts we could right there in the field, load our haul onto a trailer and pull it back to the truck. At one point, we even had to cross a creek. This was already a labor of love. Gary disassembled most of the engine, and we found significant damage throughout. The original steel parts were rusted beyond use, and the cast iron survived the elements and was in pretty good shape, aside from freeze cracks. Getting this back to the shop meant a project was going to be in the works.
Heer Engine Co. History
In 1911, Cris Heer became the president and general manager of Heer Engine Co., formally Ideal Manufacturing. In 1915, the company was reorganized as Reliable Tractor and Engine Co. Heer also made 4-wheel-drive tractors with these engines.
I was able to remove one cylinder from the hopper. I created a wood pattern for a new casting and sent that pattern to Cattail Foundry. They did a wonderful job casting a new cylinder. Calling upon my background as a machinist, I machined the new casting and welded it in the hopper. I sleeved the other cylinder, machined new valves and wound new valve springs. The bores were 5.050 inches, oversized by .050, so I went back to 5.000 diameter and turned the pistons to fit. I installed new rings from Starbolt, made new push rods, and machined rod and crank bearings. The original carburetor was a brass Kingston 5-ball. I used a float from an early Ford Model T and made an inlet needle along with all the linkage. Apart from the magnet, I made most of the magneto parts and used the timed breaker points to provide power to a 2-cylinder, single-spark Atwater Kent wooden high-tension coil. All told, this rebuild took roughly two years and more than 200 hours of manpower in my home shop.
This rare Heer engine was probably built around 1913. It is a 5-by-5-inch bore and stroke, which makes it 10hp. It shows a serial number of 975 stamped on the end of the crankshaft and on both cylinder castings, along with bore diameters. It is now on a finished wooden platform on antique metal wheels and has been featured at several local gas engine shows. It is run off and on during the day to show the general public how this 110-year-old engine works. A long-forgotten machine can be rebuilt with elbow grease and passion for a project.
Contact Richard Noll via email at maytagrick@comcast.net
