SOMEWHAT TO SAY

By Staff
Published on November 1, 1968
1 / 3
Courtesy of Joe Fahnestock, Union City, Indiana 47390
Courtesy of Joe Fahnestock, Union City, Indiana 47390
2 / 3
3 / 3
Courtesy of Joe Fahnestock, Union City, Indiana 47390
Courtesy of Joe Fahnestock, Union City, Indiana 47390

Box 105, Belleville Pennsylvania 17004

The last several days I have been reading the Sept-Oct. number
that just arrived and I feel I have somewhat to say. On Page 3, Mr.
Stauffer writes about The Happy Farmer Tractor and I had some
experience with this tractor in the Fall of ’19 as I worked for
a man that was selling these tractors and it was my job to
demonstrate them.

They had a 2 cylinder embolic engine with head valves similar in
construction to the Waterloo Boy and Hart-Parr tractors that were
made at that time. The Giles engine was also used in the first few
models of the Bull tractor.

I spent part of one day in the factory of the Minneapolis Steel
and Machinery Co. at the time they were making the Bull tractors.
Saw them making a larger model of the Bull-said it was going to
Canada for tests. It was made to pull three plows.

ON SUNDAY MORNING, DURING WORSHIP SERVICES, NOT ONE ENGINE WAS
POPPING IN RESPECT OF THE LORD’S DAY.—A mighty fine time,
without crowds milling, to take a picture of one of the typical
engine displays at Tri-State Gas Engine & Tractor Reunion,
1968.

JUST ONE OF THE NUMEROUS GAS ENGINE EXHIBITS AT TRI-STATE
REUNION, PORTLAND, IND. Kenneth Ary of Richmond, Ind. exhibits
Yellow Jacket Pump Jack runby 1906 1? horsepower Olds engine and
Delco Light Plant powering four 50-watt light bulbs, furnishing
both water and electricity just like out on Uncle John’s farm
years ago.

VETERAN SHOWMAN, RALPH HORSTMAN, EXPLAINS AN OLD AXIOM ABOUT THE
BELT –‘The Rumely people say the seams on a belt shouldn’t
be more than three inches apart,’ he said. To prove his Rumely
Oil-Pull was set just right (as it always is). Spark Plug Horstman
took measurements while belt was pulling Baker Fan at Tri-State
’68-where Spark Pluggers become ‘professors’ that
educate.

Also interested in Mr. T. H. Krueger’s remarks about
auxiliary exhaust location. He said, ‘I have never imagined an
auxiliary outlet on top of the cylinder’. The old Reliable
Hart-Parr 30-60 came out about 1908 with such an opening on top of
the cylinder. As I remember the hole was about ?’ diameter and
of course was uncovered by the piston near the end of the power
stroke. At the other end of the stroke, the port would be open into
the crankcase and we would chip the carbon loose with long
screwdrivers or chisels and let the carbon fall into the
crankcase.

If you get a chance to see one of these old Hart-Parrs you will
readily see how they were constructed. The drawing ‘Smoke
Rings’ by Anna Mae’s column shows the top of one of those
Hart-Parrs.

These exhaust pipes would get red hot for 12 to 15′ from
cylinders when pulling a good load, such as 8 bottoms and 4
sections of spike tooth harrow as I did with one in the spring of
1913 near Bloomfield, Montana for a Mr. Lew Cole, Those were the
days. Ran night turn four weeks and then day turn four weeks. Made
alot of Montana look black.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388