1157 Fabry Rd. Salem, Oregon 97306
In November 1973, I went up to Everett, Washington to look at a
510 Avery that was part of the Ed Currens estate. Ed Currens was
the first president of Antique Powerl and in Brooks, Oregon. When I
became dissatisfied with the Avery as it was extremely incomplete,
I started looking at Ed Currens’ 1918 15-30 International.
After some deliberation at home I decided to take the second
trip up to Everett, Washington, and bring home the International.
We hauled the tractor home in November 1973 on a double axle
trailer behind a one-ton truck. I knew that I had my work cut out
for me as the entire tractor was a basket case.
Before I started work on the restoration of the tractor I needed
some information. Some of what I found out was that there were only
500 of these made with the cab. The tractor has a 5 inch bore and
an 8 inch stroke. It has a 4-cylinder engine cast in pairs, cross
mounted with the cylinder coming back into the cab. The engine runs
at 575 rpm with a top speed of 2.4 miles per hour. It is 15-30
horsepower with the final drive chain enclosed. The tractor weighs
8700 pounds, is 8′ 10′ tall and 6′ 6′ wide. It has
4 car buretorsone for each cylinder.
The following spring I started working on the restoration of the
tractor. The first thing I did was to completely disassemble the
entire tractor down to the frame. I gunk-tanked all the pieces and
then sandblasted the wheels and all the parts. I then painted them
with primer. I reconstructed the cab, as all the sheet metal was
completely rusted out. I then reassembled the tractor again and
began by rebuilding each individual part as I went. There had been
no radiator or water tank with the tractor. So with measurements
and a picture of one from Canada, a friend of mine built one from
scratch. I painted the tractor and parts myself as I went. On June
18, 1983, we finally got the finished touches done with the help of
a few friends.
We proceeded to start the engine. We hauled in a 12-24 Hart Parr
and belted it to the I.H.C. and turned the engine for about thirty
minutes, then shut it down to see if everything was okay. After
some minor adjustments, we started turning the I.H.C. engine again
with the 12-24 Hart Parr. I decided the time had come to start the
I.H.C. engine. So I opened the carburetor on number one cylinder
until it fired and continued to fire, and then moved to the next
cylinder until all four were firing, then let it run for a few
minutes. Then I removed the belt and let the I.H.C. run on its own
for about two hours, then shut it down. In about one hour we
decided to try to start with the hand crank. On the second pull of
the crank, the engine started.
Much to my surprise this engine starts easy and runs very well.
At the Antique Power Land annual show we ran the threshing machine
two days. The only problem was that one spark plug fouled out the
last day.
The tractor will be on display at Antique Powerland year
’round. To the best of my knowledge it is the only one of its
kind in running condition in the Central and Western states. I
would like to hear from other 1918-1922 15-30 International
owners.
