Hit Miss Newbie ?

Any help will be appreciated !

Thanks!

• Harry's Old Engine Page

There's a lot of variables in the old engines. Hit & Miss versus Throttle Governed. High or low tension magnetos, Ignitor or Sparkplug. I would recommend for a first engine, a complete running engine to learn with. While it appears to be a good buy "just missing the magneto", some of these old mags go for $150-300 by themselves. Any of the above makes are good and some parts are still available. JD's are priced pretty high around here. Find an old gentleman with some background to mentor with. Have him view some engines with you. Chances are one will pick you out before you pick it out. Get one you like. Some folks like the uprights, some the spoke flywheels, some the dishpans. Look at all you can and learn as much as you can.

Keep an eye out for a Nelson Bros' Sattley sold by Mongomery Wards. While not the fanciest engine out there, they are good runners, easy to work on, and a bunch of the internals interchange with Ford Model T parts. Makes a great first engine...

There was a 12 HP Economy there that I really liked, but.....a little big to start with I think and it wasn't for sale anyway....In fact, I don't think any of the engines were for sale for that matter.(plus...I couldn't afford it, I would have to buy a bigger truck, a trailer to haul it etc - smile)
I tried to talk to some of the owners, but it must have been lunch time or something. I couldn't seem to find anyone that actually owned an engine.
One fellow that knew a little told me that a Fairbanks- Morse would probably be a good choice to look for. According to him, they are plentiful compared to some others.
I saw a couple of McCormick-Deerings that were interesting too.
Yes, I think I would be best to find one that is complete and running.

Thanks for your response.