NINETY YEAR OLD ENGINE- Will it start!?

 

Small engine history! These old engine's literally changed the WORLD. They brought about the industrial revolution and modernized just about every aspect of life when they became readily available to farms, builders, homes, and the like! This particular engine has been in the family since new- 89 YEARS ago! Originally manufacture in 1933, it was used on a ranch in Montana for dozens of years. My Dad rescued it from a dilapidated building, and then it sat for another dozen years before he finally let me at it. Several years ago I brought it into my middle school shop as a teaching aide for my Small Engine Repair class. I had to literally chisel the old gas out of the tank- it had dried into some weird hardened mass. I also discovered the divider plate between the crank case and the gas tank had rusted through, so I made a new one! It took some doing but I got the engine to run, and it ran pretty well! I haven't started it in several years, but it's time for some spring cleaning and I might as well start with the oldest item in the shop!