First time in 70 years

T

T Scott

Senior Member
Not Ford related but I'm sure all you motorheads will like this. Word has it that one of the old Fairbanks-Morse diesels at the old lime works (now resort) at Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington will be fired up on July 4th. This is the bigger three cylinder one. Should be a hoot for those who can attend. GB Sisson, you're next door. Maybe you could take some pictures for us.
 
Now there is really the laugh of the day. It isn't like you can just hop in your canoe & paddle over.
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Sounds like a good time. I have seen those engines many times. They were really rough and totally outdoors right next to the salt water. I don't know how to post a link to a youtube video, but someone filmed my big engine a couple years ago at annual show at Lynden Wa. This one is 1912 Stover. Weighs 2250 lbs. Has a 6" bore and a 12" stroke. In the video it is running at about 80 rpms. It was given to me in 1988 and was stuck solid and the head was off and missing. On youtube see ... 1912 8hp Stover Gas Engine. Maybe someone who looks at it could post it or a link here. It's not too long and whoever took it did a good job. Back in the '90s I would haul it off the island behind my '38 tonner. Still mechanical brakes, but I had 12 volt trailer brakes on the trailer hooked up negative ground. They worked, but I later wondered what happened when the 6 volt positive of the truck met the 12 volt negative at the trailer ball...
 

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Photo's taken yesterday at Roche Harbor

I think a guy out of Seattle has been doing the work on these engines. It appears that he knows his stuff. All looks to be very professional.

You have to admit that when you need a ladder to get to the cylinder heads you're working on a different level. A little play on words there.
 
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40cpe said:
How do you keep the engine from tipping the canoe?
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I wondered that same thing myself. I have run it many times on a sawhorse type stand I made. I chopped off my old sears canoe so I could bring it to a gas-up on a boat. Many of the old ads show them on a canoe, but it's pretty obvious it wasn't meant to be purchased by the timid set. It's a 2 stroke and has no muffler and the prop is loud too. It starts very easily with of flip of the blade. The original coils in the hub are shot so I run it with a pair of model T coils and a 12 volt battery. They were also advertised as a bicycle motor with a different mounting bracket. I just found this pic online that someone took of my display at Lynden Wa over 15 years ago. I had an old ad glued to a small board and a photo of it running. These days I usually run it at the show in August. It draws a big crowd standing in front of it to cool off, at least until their ears hurt too badly.
 

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Sure wouldn't want to get near that prop. I have a nasty scar on my elbow just reaching over a mercury O B with the cover off . Had on a long sleeve shirt & the start pulley grabbed it. I was young & indestructible,almost.
 
T Scott said:
Not Ford related but I'm sure all you motorheads will like this. Word has it that one of the old Fairbanks-Morse diesels at the old lime works (now resort) at Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington will be fired up on July 4th. This is the bigger three cylinder one. Should be a hoot for those who can attend. GB Sisson, you're next door. Maybe you could take some pictures for us.
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I know of Fairbanks Morse Diesel Locomotives didn't know they made smaller engines. I think the Larger locomotives had 12 or more cylinders?
 
They made many thousands of engines in the 1-6 hp range from about 1905 or so up until the late 40s. Fairbanks Morse probably made more of these small engines than anyone else on earth. And here I had no idea they made locomotive engines and I grew up a hundred yards from the tracks. (wrong side). Looks like a very beautiful restoration job on the 3 cylinder job at Roche Harbor. I would love to see it start up. Maybe I can put an outrigger on the canoe and blast over there. The ferries will be a zoo on the fourth!
 
T Scott said:
Photo's taken yesterday at Roche Harbor

I think a guy out of Seattle has been doing the work on these engines. It appears that he knows his stuff. All looks to be very professional.

You have to admit that when you need a ladder to get to the cylinder heads you're working on a different level. A little play on words there.
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there is a guy name Steve Phillips, in penngrove ca. he has a ranch with a lot of old engines, on display, there is a 6 cylinder Fairbanks Morris, it shakes the ground when he runs it!
 
The Destroyer I was on (DDE147) had 4 -10 cyl 20 piston FM engines and we used air to reverse them to go backwards,
 
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