August 21, 2010 is shaping up to be a pretty interesting day as far as antique tractor and antique gas engine auctions go. While there are likely many antique farm equipment auctions taking place across the country that day, here are two we'd like to put a spotlight on:

Jake Shafer's Private Collection of Classic Cars and Tractors
10 a.m. @ 1211 West J and J Circle, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa 52641
Menke-Hoyer Auction Realty Co., Inc.

This auction is likely to draw a big crowd and not necessarily because of the more than 30 vintage and collector cars up for bid. Rather, the highlight of this sale is a rare 1917 Heider tractor, which auctioneer Corey D. Fraise claims is similar to two other Heider's sold at two separate Aumann Auctions within the last three years that sold for $15,000 and $30,000. Even if you don't have the bank account to take a stab at the Heider, it'll still be worth it to check out this auction and watch the bidding sparks fly. Also up for bid will be a Ferguson tractor.

The Estate of Otis Hardy
Noon, Stevinson, CA
Garlic City Auction, Gilroy, CA
(408) 612-5638

Otis Hardy was president of Branch 18 of the National Early Day Gas Engine & Tractor Assc. and amassed quite a collection of large gas engines on his 15 acre ranch in Stevinson, CA. According to the auction listing, some of the manufacturers represented in Otis' collection include Western, National Transit System, Witte, Ottawa, Reid, Fairbanks-Morse and many others. The listing also includes several photos of the many big engines up for bid.

Starting last October, Aumann Auctions has been making video previews of their upcoming auctions. I wasn't aware of this until just recently when I stumbled on a video for the gas engines up for bid in the Gary Parker Collection auction taking place Oct. 23-24 at the Parker Antique Tractor Museum in Churubusco, IN.

I think this is a great idea that all auction services should offer. It's always nice to see a detailed list of what's going to be at an upcoming auction but nothing beats seeing those engines with your own eyes. The Gary Parker Collection videos are especially nice because they take a good long at most, if not all, of the significant items up for bid. If you're a big IHC fan, I don't think you'll want to miss this auction. Without further ado, here's the video:

Visit AumannAuctions.com for further information on the Gary Parker Collection auction.

By now, most everyone has heard about the ferocious wild fires in California, specifically the Station Fire creeping up toward the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory. What you might not realize, though, is that in addition to the telescopes and other astronomical equipment at risk of burning is a piece of gas engine history.

This was the last photo taken from the towercam at Mt. Wilson Observatory before a backfire broke the Internet connection.

In the June/July 2008 issue of GEM, Larry Evans talked about the restoration of a 1911 50 Fairbanks-Morse Type RE engine and generator that was once dubbed "Big Ben" by the resident astronomers. After several months of work from September 1999 to February 2000, Larry and his brother were able to get Big Ben running again, adding yet another attraction to the history-rich observatory.

In the story, Larry states that Big Ben is located in a fireproof building built in 1910. But whether or not that building is enough to protect the engine remains to be seen. As of Thursday morning (Sept. 3), firefighters had been successful at keeping the flames at bay aided by favorable weather conditions and a heavy dousing of fireproof gel and foam on the buildings. But fire officials warn that the fire could burn until at least Sept. 15 and until then, the safety of the observatory and all of the buildings surrounding it is still in question.

We've contacted Larry and he reported the following via e-mail:

"As of now all is well. Since the mountain top is shared with a huge antenna complex that covers the entire Los Angeles basin with commercial TV, radio, emergency agency communications, etc., a very large effort has been and is being made to ensure its safety. So far the efforts have been successful and hopefully will remain so but this has been an extremely unpredictable fire."

We'll keep you posted with any new information and in the meantime, you can follow the latest developments through observatory director Hal McAlister's blog.

UPDATE: Everything is quiet on Mt. Wilson once again. Thanks to the tireless effort of the firefighters, the observatory, the antennas and Big Ben all appear to be safe and sound.

It’s safe to say that the process of ranking the best farm shows in the country would be a futile endeavor. Everyone has their favorites and it’s not likely you’ll find two people with the same list.

That said, it would be interesting to see which shows make it onto multiple lists. And I have a feeling that if more folks were aware of it, the annual Camp Creek Threshers show in Waverly, Neb., would be one of those.

The 2010 Camp Creek Antique Machinery and Threshing Show will take place July 17-18 in Waverly, Neb. Photo by Christian Williams

Wrapping up its 33rd year, the Camp Creek Antique Machinery and Threshing Show is simply one of the best all-around farm shows I’ve been to. Even my wife - who’s hardly ever excited about walking down dusty paths and watching me ogle gas engines – had a great time. And the reason is because there truly is something for everyone.

I know that phrase gets tossed around so much that it has likely lost its meaning for most of you. But in addition to a stellar display of rare gas engines and prairie tractors (more on those later), I was pleasantly surprised by how well the show was geared toward everyone ages 8-88.

There was a blacksmith shop, a working print shop where, for $1, you could have your name printed on a linotype slug, an elaborate model railroad set-up in the old Waverly train depot relocated to the show grounds, a replica service station surrounded by antique vehicles, a saddle and harness shop with horse demonstrations, a butter churning demonstration, a flour mill, flea market and antique drug store, as well as much, much more. And don’t forget the delicious homemade apple pie and ice cream!

I was also excited to see so many kids having fun, whether by turning the crank on the corn shellers, playing with the animals in the petting zoo, watching a gas engine power a water pump, or just simply marveling at the size and beauty of the steam engines and prairie tractors. I had a chance to speak with Camp Creek Threshers President Heidi Cheney, and she shares my opinion that getting kids interested in the hobby is vital to the future of the hobby. And it’s obvious that the Camp Creek Threshers recognize the unique opportunity they have to educate children about the history and preservation of antique farm equipment. You could tell that the kids weren’t just having fun, they were also learning how their ancestors got work done. I think the hobby is in great hands with folks like the Camp Creek Threshers around.

And for those who are just interested in the nuts and bolts of a farm show, there was plenty of rare old iron on display. The featured tractors were of the prairie variety – my personal favorite – and I counted at least 10 on display. Over in the gas engine area, I spotted several engines which I had yet to see in person including a 5 HP Stickney, 1-1/2 HP Flying Dutchmen, 12 HP Root & Vandervoort, 8 HP heavy-pattern Baker Monitor with enclosed crankcase and 10 HP Ohio sideshaft, just to name a few. Having talked to several club members, I’m going to venture a guess that next year’s lineups for tractors and gas engines will be just as impressive.

Located just 10 minutes from Lincoln, the show is also one of the most convenient I’ve attended, and would be an easy drive for most anyone in the upper Midwest. I’m already checking to see if my 2010 schedule allows for a return trip. And speaking of the 2010 show, it takes place July 17-18, preceded by a swap meet on May 22. Visit www.ccthreshers.com for more information.

Since the January 2006 issue of Gas Engine Magazine, engine enthusiast Peter Rooke has been sharing his restoration expertise through detailed articles that often span several issues.

Peter Rooke’s book, Gas Engine Restoration, is now available through Gas Engine Magazine.

As an editor, it’s a risky decision to commit that much space to one story, and you always have to ask the question, “What if the reader gets bored with this series halfway through?”

But with Peter, that’s never been a concern, and reader surveys have confirmed that for us. The vast majority of readers appreciate Peter’s attention to detail and straightforward approach to explaining the technical aspects of gas engine restoration, which is why we’re thrilled to announce the release of Peter’s first book on the subject, aptly titled Gas Engine Restoration.

The first book of its kind, Gas Engine Restoration is a step-by-step guide that we think will be extremely valuable to beginning and experienced hobbyists alike. An easy-to-follow narrative is supplemented with plenty of color photos, comprehensive data tables and a soft cover spiral binding that allows you to lay the book flat and use it as you work on your own restoration. You can bet that Editor-in-Chief Richard Backus and I will be using it extensively when we begin restoring our 1921 1-1/2 HP IHC M later this summer.

Where I’ll be this summer
I found out last year that some people like to know ahead of time what shows I plan to attend, whether it be to make sure I see a unique engine, meet someone interesting or just say hello. So, barring any unforeseen events, here’s a partial list of shows I’ll be at:
• Camp Creek Threshers, July 18-19, Waverly, Neb.
• Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show, Aug. 26-30, Portland, Ind.
• Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, Sept. 3-7, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. (I’ll be bringing my banjo and guitar and playing some songs in the Farm Collector tent from Songs of the Iron Men, my new album of folk music featuring poems from Iron-Men Album).
• Ozarks Steam-O-Rama, Sept. 17-20, Springfield, Mo.

Aside from being a beautiful engine, the interesting thing about the cover photo of the June 2009 issue of Gas Engine Magazine is that you, the reader, chose it.

The cover of the June 2009 issue of Gas Engine Magazine.

Tom Winkler’s 1904 6 HP C.P. & J. Lauson was one of four cover images we had to choose from, and to help us decide which one to go with, we surveyed more than 2,900 GEM subscribers by e-mail in late April. We also asked them to rank their interest in several articles based on headlines and brief descriptions, and you’ll find many of those articles in this issue.

Many subscribers took advantage of the opportunity to share their thoughts on GEM through the open comment portion of the survey. Most of the comments were very helpful, and some of you asked a question that I’d like to answer here. That question was, why are we surveying our readers? Shouldn’t we know what to put in the magazine without asking?

Considering the content in GEM depends on reader submissions, we think it just makes sense to ask the readers for their opinion on other aspects of the magazine. Surveying also helps you contribute to the magazine if you don’t have time to submit an article.

Lately, each issue has had more content planned for it than we have pages to fill, which has provided a perfect opportunity for us to get the reader involved in the process of making the magazine. And while it doesn’t happen too often, we found ourselves with four very strong cover images for this issue, again providing the reader with the unique opportunity to "build-your-own" magazine.

At this point, I should note that if you chose some of the articles that you don’t see in this issue, don’t worry – we’re planning on running them in future issues of GEM. We just thought that since we had such a strong set of options for this issue that we’d give you a chance to weigh in.

As I’ve already stated, we sent out the survey by e-mail to more than 2,900 subscribers but we’d love to send it out to thousands more. If you have an e-mail address and you’d like to participate in our next reader survey, just send a message to my e-mail and I’ll add you to the list. That will also give you the opportunity to sign up for our weekly newsletter, which will show up in your e-mail every Tuesday.

Thanks to everyone who participated this time around!

	Detroit Electric Car Co. car.

Hybrids and electric cars are all the rage today, but electrics are nothing new.

They were quite popular at the turn of the 20th century, especially among ladies, who were then thought to be too delicate to crank an internal combustion engine (no self-starters in those days). Even Mrs. Henry Ford was said to drive a Detroit Electric car that was powered by batteries made by her husband’s friend Thomas Edison (who also drove a Detroit Electric, of course).

Mrs. Hamilton Fish, a wealthy New Yorker, bought an electric car of unknown make. The salesman who delivered the thing showed her how to work the single power lever; push forward to go, pull back to back up, and lift up to stop. Mrs. Fish sallied forth on her maiden voyage and did all right … for a while.

Circa-1920 Detroit Electric Car Co. brochure. (Click the image to enlarge it.)

Electric cars are quiet, not a good thing for pedestrians accustomed to listening for the clatter of horses’ hooves. A man stepped off the curb in front of Mrs. Fish, who panicked and shoved the lever forward, knocking the poor guy to the ground. As he lay there dazed, the good lady jerked the lever to the rear, and hit him again. Still trying to find “stop,” Mrs. Fish pushed forward and struck the poor soul a third time.

The hapless victim managed to scramble to his feet and limp down the street (apparently no lawsuits in those days either). Mrs. Fish finally got the contraption stopped, got out and stalked haughtily away, abandoning her new car forever.

Mrs. Fish was one of only a few, however, who abandoned the motor car. Around 1916, leading American bankers and economists were predicting the imminent burst of the automobile bubble due to market saturation. Someone asked Billy Durant, then the flamboyant head of General Motors, when Americans would stop buying new cars. Durant replied confidently, “When they stop making babies!”

Durant was right. Even though we read every day about how GM and Chrysler are struggling and are on the verge of bankruptcy, Americans still love their cars, although today they probably buy more motor vehicles than they make babies.

In the February 2009 issue of GEM, we ran an article titled “Using their Heads” submitted by Ben Romich. It was a short piece about how Ben and his neighbor, Elmer Sherwin, restored an old headless Fairbanks-Morse and made some creative modifications along the way.

Elmer Sherwin, who helped Ben Romich restore the Fairbanks-Morse engine featured in the February 2009 issue of GEM.

In the process of editing that story, we inadvertently changed the meaning of a few of Ben’s sentences, and cut a few more for length. At the time, we were trying to fit the story and photos on one page and save what we thought were the important details. Instead, we ended up omitting details that Ben found important, such as the few lines giving public credit to Don Irvin for giving him the gas engine “bug.” Needless to say, Ben was disappointed and embarrassed when he read his article in the magazine. And most of the time, the story ends there without us knowing we made a mistake.

But thankfully, Ben sent us a letter expressing his disappointment and asked us to take his letter as constructive criticism. He pointed out our editing mistakes and suggested that we include a guide to contributors for readers to consult before submitting articles. This is a great idea that we’re going to work on and implement in the next couple issues.

Ben’s letter also motivated all of us here at GEM to reevaluate our approach to editing your articles. As editors and writers ourselves, there’s a delicate balance required when you read someone else’s work. Any edits we make to an story are solely intended to help make the article understood by all of our readers. The truth, though, is everyone has a unique voice when they write and sometimes, we don’t realize that we’re making changes to articles simply because we prefer different words or phrasing. It’s never intentional or malicious, but it does happen.

I also mentioned in the February issue that we’re encouraging all submissions large and small and your response to that request has been outstanding – keep ’em coming! You’ll notice in this issue that five of the stories are reader submitted and we’ve got a growing list of stories ready to run in future issues. And with Ben in mind, please know that if you submit an article and we need to make significant changes, we’ll be consulting you first, so please make sure to include your e-mail  address or phone number with your submission. 

Finally, we apologize for our mistake, Ben. Happy 89th birthday, and thanks for helping us make GEM the best it can be.

1921 1-1/2 HP IHC M that GEM purchased last October.

Upon attending my first engine show back in August 2007, I knew that the best way for me to truly understand what was behind the chug and puff of old engines was to get my hands dirty with one that I could work on. Fortunately, Editor-In-Chief Richard Backus was in total agreement as he, too, was interested in working on an engine.

We decided that we wanted to find a small horsepower engine that was complete but needed a little bit of work to get going. Our budget was small ($400), so we figured our best best would be to buy an engine at auction. Our plan of attack was to go the route of the common-man gas engine collector: We’d ask for tips from other collectors, buy parts from the advertisers you find in GEM, and then document the whole experience in the magazine and on this website. 

And last October, everything seemed to fall into place as Conser Auction Services announced a public auction in Meriden, Kan. – just 20 minutes north of our Topeka homebase. The auction announcement listed several engines that seemed to fit into our parameters, most notably, a 1909 4 HP Ottawa on original trucks that was listed as “restorable.”

Upon arriving at the auction, we realized that our $400 wasn’t going to go too far. Most of the engines belonged to the heirs of the late Everett Bowen, and many of them were rare and in good, running condition. The rest, including the 4 HP Ottawa, were restorable, but needed much more work than Richard and I felt capable of doing. About to leave dejected, we spotted a 1921 1-1/2 HP IHC Model M that appeared to be barn fresh. We gave the flywheels a turn and found that it wasn’t stuck and had pretty good compression. Above all, it looked complete, and we decided that of all of the engines at the auction, this was the one for us. We also figured it would go for much more than $400, but we decided to place an absentee bid, just in case.

Three hours later, Richard got a phone call from Conser: We won the engine! And, even better, it only cost us $300! We’re still shocked that we got what appears to be an outstanding find for so cheap. I guess in the coming months, we’ll find out just how good a deal we got. Stay tuned!

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