Vintage Iron: Old Gas Engines and Vintage Farm Equipment

Paul Thomsen. Lewistown, Mont., has added this engine to his Stickney collection. He plans to restore the engine, which is missing a carburetor and a few other parts. He'll get help in this restoration from Ted Shultz, Waverly, Neb., who owns another early 6 HP Stickney that Barry tracked down up north.

Ted's engine is missing a lot of the same parts as Paul's, and he and Paul plan to work together to restore both engines. This is such a fun hobby -where everyone works together to bring this old stuff back to life.

Barry's luck continued: on his way to Portland this spring, he found a Stickney engine that had been made into a log splitter, and it became a source of parts for the engine Paul bought. A Stickney is a very sought-after addition to anyone's engine collection.

Barry is a longtime engine and tractor collector. He has the knack of finding (and getting) some very rare engines and tractors in the north country. Recently, our paths have crossed at spring swap meets at Le Sueur, Minn.; Portland, Ind.; and Waukee. Barry had a trailer load of goodies at each of those meets. He plans to attend the Portland, Ind., summer show in August, so be on the lookout for him and more rare treasures. FC 

Wayne Walker brings more than a quarter century of experience as a collector to Farm Collector, where he is the marketing director and a columnist.