1916 Fairbank-Morse 'Headless' " Z "
Serial #207476
11/2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured by the
Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Beloit, Wisconsin
3 1/2" Bore X 5" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 500 R.P.M.
In July of 1914, Fairbanks-Morse and Co. embarked on the sale of a new line of engines called the Type Z, which was to become immensely popular, covering most of 4 decades. Drawing on former successful designs, the second size of "Z" engine to hit the market, was the little 1 1/2 horsepower "Headless Z". The little engine carried features first introduce in other Fairbanks model from the 1890's and was extremely simple in design. This and the later 'battery ignition' 1 1/2 horsepower "Z" were the only true 'Hit and Miss' designs included in the "Z" line, all others being throttled engines. The cylinder head was cast intergal with the cylinder within the water hopper, thus eliminating the need for a seperate head, gaskets, bolts, etc.
1925 Stover Type KC
Serial #171499
6 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured by the
Stover Manufacturing & Engine Co., Freeport, IL
5 3/4" Bore X 8" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 450 R.P.M.
Thanks to the very industrious mind of D.C. Stover, the Stover Manufacturing & Engine Company became a very large and diverse entity, having it's roots going back to 1862. Many items such as bicycles, windmills and barbed wire were improved upon and added to the large number of items being built by the company. Stover engine designs started to appear in the mid 1890's. The Stover Type KC was introduced in 1922 and had numbered to just over 3,300 when Stover closed it's doors in 1942. From 1922 to 1931, these engines were simply rated at 6 HP, but from 1932 on, the rating was changed to a 6-8 HP. This particular engine includes an unusual casting to cover the water hopper. This and a larger than normal drain from the hopper were used to allow remote cooling water to be piped to/from the engine. Also, a larger than normal cylinder oiler and an optional connecting rod oiler are incorporated, all of which allowed the engine to be maintained without stopping it's operation. This engine has a displacement of 208 cu. in. (3410 cc) and weighs over 1000 lbs. (454 kg)! The flywheels measure 30" (76.2 cm) in diameter. In 1935, this engine sold for $195 US.
1911 Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. "Waterloo Boy"
Serial #26856
11/2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured by the
Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., Waterloo, Iowa
3 1/2" Bore X 5" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 500 R.P.M.
Organized in 1893 as the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Co., the company started life by designing and building tractors. However, due to low sales, gas engines were added to their catalog around 1893-4. Around 1896, the company reorganized as the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., but continued in research and development of farm tractors. The result was the Waterloo Boy tractor, first introduced in 1912. Eventually, in 1918, Deere & Co. bought the company and continued the tractor development which has become today's John Deere. This Waterloo Boy engine was only produced in 1911, after which it was changed slightly and rerated to 2 HP. The basic engine on wood skids was $32 US in 1911, with the cart adding slightly to the price. The full detailed restoration of this engine can be seen here.
Pick up the crank and give it a spin!
(182k wav file)
1919 Empire Gas Engine
Serial #87868
21/2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured for the
Empire Cream Separator Co., Bloomfield, New Jersey by the
Alamo Manufacturing Co., Hillsdale, Michigan.
4 1/8" Bore X 4 5/8" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 500 R.P.M.
This engine line was typical of many in that it wore the name of one company as 'their' engine and yet was actually built by some other firm. This engine features a "Webster" oscillating magneto for ignition, open crankcase design and weighs about 325 lbs (147 kg).
1926 Jaeger Gas Engine
Serial #L35786 (Hercules Serial #337169)
click on the picture for a pre-restored view (48K gif)
21/2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured for the
Jaeger Machine Company, Columbus, Ohio by the
Hercules Gas Engine Co., Evansville, Indiana.
3 5/8" Bore X 5 " Stroke - Rated H.P. at 550 R.P.M.
Jaeger Machine Co. was another of many companies to sell a product that included an engine built by another firm or several firms in this case. Jaeger built cement mixers much like todays small gas or electric driven "1 or 2 baggers". Associated and Hercules were 2 of the companies who supplied Jaegers' engines and many of these can still be found wearing both the suppliers' and Jaegers' name plate and decals. This Jaeger/Hercules engine, shown here, has now been completely restored to it's original condition. Due to the sand and cement dust it was around in its working years, the original piston rings were wafer thin, the cylinder was badly worn, and it was a bit surprising that there was any compression at all, even more surprising that it even ran! The bore had to be remachined and the piston was metal sprayed to build it up to the new diameter of the cylinder. It is now a very strong runner.
1922 Novo S Series Vertical Gas Engine
Serial #74256
2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured by the
Novo Engine Co., Lansing, Michigan.
4 " Bore X 4 1/2" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 625 R.P.M.
Novo built many different sizes of engines since their inception back in 1912, ranging from the little 1 HP Novo Junior to the 2400 lb. (1087 kg) 15 HP twin. All these engines, until the early 1920s , were based on the same design as seen here with this 2 HP. They were advertised as "Frost Proof" by design of their water hopper, but that was not necessarily always the case as seen by the cracks in more than a few of the cast iron hoppers. Novo later graduated into more modern air and water cooled models and is today operated as a subsidiary of American Marsh Pumps Inc. of Lansing Michigan.
1912 Root & Vandervoort 'Triumph' Gas Engine
Serial #BL31903
click on the picture for a pre-restored view (28K gif)
2 Horse Power Gasoline Engine manufactured by the
Root & Vandervoort Engineering Co., East Moline, Illinois sold mainly by Deere & Company, Moline, Illinois.
4 " Bore X 4 1/2" Stroke - Rated H.P. at 500 R.P.M.
The Root & Vandervoort Engineering Company, incorporated in 1900, built many sizes and configurations of engines from around 1899 until about 1928. During their existence, the company took on many projects including marine propulsion and automobiles while operating under various company names and licenses. Their engine line-up included both vertical and horizontal models and ranged from 1 to 28 HP, the latter having two 63" (160 cm) flywheels weighing 1,200 lbs. (544 kg) each! This particular engine had, at some time, lost all of it's original valve mechanism and had been fitted with a replacement valve train consisting of torch cut plate steel. A real hatchet job, but it did work! Having recently been completely overhauled, new castings of the missing parts were obtained and machined, and the engine brought back to it's original showroom condition.
