[SEL] Good engine weekend.

[Stojanov]

Hi all,
    It has been a while since I posted and my love for iron has not fadded.
Friday involved my first adventure.  A friend of mine has whats left of an
FJ pump engine and Deming force pump on the side of his creek bed, it has
been there since his father installed it, used, in the 1940's.  At some time
the engine's rod broke and the pump assembly was run by a 11/2hp FM Z.
Eventually, it was modernized even further, by means of a 1/2hp electric
motor.  While there on Friday, I mentioned to my friend, "we ought to get
that FJ going again one of these days."  His response, "It's 2006, you
really think im going to pump water with one of those damn hit and miss
engines?... if you want the thing, go chop it out of the concrete..."  So
far I have whats left of the cylinder and head, I haven't gotten to beating
the concrete from around the steel frame (when this engine was installed,
concrete was poured right over the steel frame that the engine sat on.)
That concluded friday's iron find.
    Saturday was my next good iron day. For those of you who don't know, my
family operates a small family restaurant.  One of the individuals who works
at the restaurant was speaking with my youngest brother, and he mentioned to
her that I collect old gas engines.  That lead to the comment, "Oh, my
husband has three of those old engines, one of them has a water pump."
Ironically I stopped by the restaurant 15 minutes after they ended their
conversation about old engines (its about a 45 minute drive from home), and
she said to follow her home after she was through with work.  When I arrived
at her home she directed me to the back of the barn were her husband was,
and we began talking.  A CT2 Stover on a Marlo mud pump and cart was in
plain view, however it looked pretty rough.  Next to the mud pump there were
two tarps, both of which covered old engines. Under these tarps were two
Friend sprayer engines, made in Gasport, NY (only 20 miles from where these
engines were located.)  One had been restored some time ago and included the
original sprayer pump on a cart, while the other was in decent shape and on
a steel skid.  We made an agreement on all 3 engines; hopefully all will go
well.
    Sunday was also another interesting day.  A good friend of mine goes to
school in south western NY state and was taking a hike in the woods there
with several friends.  Fortunately, I've properly exposed my friends to
enough iron so they can determine what an old engine looks like.  Out of the
blue, another friend called and mentioned that my friend had posted several
pictures of the "biggest hit and miss engine he has ever seen in person"
online.  I took a look at his pictures, and the engine appeared to be a 15hp
AC Thomas half breed and eccentric, still in the original power house.  From
his pictures it appears that the connecting rod had been robbed, as well as
the oilers.  I've posted some pictures here:
http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/HerculesEngine/Oilfield%20Find/ .
I've also contacted him and hope to stop down and see the engine within the
next couple weeks, and find the owner of the engine.  Overall this weekend
was very interesting, and a nice break from school.  I'll have some pics of
the FJ here soon.  See ya.

Sincerely,
Tommy Stojanov