This was found in the woods in 1953 on farm in rural Tennessee by a wonderful old friend of mine. From 1953 until 2011 it sat in his basement and each year he would say, "we're gonna get that old engine going. " At 86 years old, he fell and broke a hip and never revived - his wife had passed a year earlier and I think he just gave up. Since he was the main encourager of me getting in to metal work and our spending so much time together his daughter was going to sell it as scrap. I told her I would give her scrap prize and she said, "move it and it's yours." So I moved it to my metal shop and a sorry sight it was but I was determined to give it life again. Piston was frozen and it took over two years for me to get it unstuck by pouring kerosene into open cylinder walls on top of head and letting it soak. Each week I would check it by trying to turn the flywheel to get it to move. Finally, after two years of gentle persuasion it moved maybe ½ inch. You would have thought I had won the lottery - super excited.
My friend (we will call him Bob) asked me if I was ready to start the restoration process. We all have Bobs in our lives and just let me say, Bob has the best mechanical mind for engines I have ever been associated with. First, we had to bore the cylinder walls, clean the cylinders, decide what size rings would be the best, rebuild the magnita, wires and battery for a "spark", JB weld the rocker arm, find a gas tank, grind and try to straighten the crank shaft so the flywheels would not wobble so badly (got one running true and other one has a little wobble). Now. I need a "wagon* to mount this 1915 Root and Vandervoort hit and miss engine on. Another friend who is a fine wood worker says, 'I will build you one from some old logs from my Grandfather's old smokehouse."
He did and to support a heavy engine that is running with a "whole lotta shakin' going on" you need strength. He made it strong and we found some old, time correct, wheels. About 9 months after we got piston unstuck, she ran for the first time, not smoothly but ran. After Bob adjusted and set the timing on it it was, County Fair, ready. Set up since 2019 and with fresh gas, new gas line, and good cleaning of check valve ball, she is running again as of November 20, 2023.
Hope I can get video down loaded.
[GAD edit] Video:
My friend (we will call him Bob) asked me if I was ready to start the restoration process. We all have Bobs in our lives and just let me say, Bob has the best mechanical mind for engines I have ever been associated with. First, we had to bore the cylinder walls, clean the cylinders, decide what size rings would be the best, rebuild the magnita, wires and battery for a "spark", JB weld the rocker arm, find a gas tank, grind and try to straighten the crank shaft so the flywheels would not wobble so badly (got one running true and other one has a little wobble). Now. I need a "wagon* to mount this 1915 Root and Vandervoort hit and miss engine on. Another friend who is a fine wood worker says, 'I will build you one from some old logs from my Grandfather's old smokehouse."
He did and to support a heavy engine that is running with a "whole lotta shakin' going on" you need strength. He made it strong and we found some old, time correct, wheels. About 9 months after we got piston unstuck, she ran for the first time, not smoothly but ran. After Bob adjusted and set the timing on it it was, County Fair, ready. Set up since 2019 and with fresh gas, new gas line, and good cleaning of check valve ball, she is running again as of November 20, 2023.
Hope I can get video down loaded.
[GAD edit] Video:
