I
have been interested in engines in general since I was a young teenager. I used
to help my father with maintenance on the family car and also the Briggs and
Stratton powered lawnmower that was almost universal in those days. Soon I had
learned more about engines than my Dad and it became my job to maintain these
engines. My first complete engine and transmission teardown and rebuild was my
own second car, a 1961
Ford Anglia.
I
had the knack of taking these things apart and putting them back together with
no pieces left over so it was not long until the first Briggs and Stratton
‘basket case’ came my way. An engine was actually given to me in a bushel
basket in as many pieces as was possible. I was also given the minibike
frame that the engine came from. I got at it and before I knew it the whole unit
was mobile once again.
Over
the years I have worked on other small engines but I always enjoyed working on
the Briggs and Stratton brands the most. Therefore, when I was looking for a
retirement hobby I decided to specialize in collecting and restoring as many old
models of this make that I could find. At this point in time I should mention
that I have been defeated by only one engine. I never did get that darn T______h
engine to run again so maybe that helped me along in my decision to specialize
in the Briggs and Stratton models.
At
last count I had 62 old Briggs and Stratton engines
with only 6 fully restored and 1 unrestored that I display and run at the local
agricultural fairs and steam shows. I have not restored many because I spent two
years restoring an old snowmobile trailer
to use as a display trailer at the shows. I am a member of the Niagara Antique
Power Association (NAPA), the Ontario Steam and Antique Preservers Association (OSAPA)
and the Western New York Gas & Steam Engine Association (WNYG&SEA). I
also belong to the Antique Small Engine Collectors Club (ASECC). My son began
collecting these engines with me but soon he was more interested in the flywheel
engines and now his collection stands at 12 Stovers and Fairbanks Morse engines.
I have written three articles
for the Gas Engine Magazine about some of my restorations and have included them
in this website.
My
wife has grown to accept this hobby of mine. It is just one of many that she has
had to put up with over the years. At first, she could not believe that I would
spend good money on an old rusty piece of junk. But, after attending a few shows
with me, she asked me if I might restore an engine that she could start. Would
I!!!! You bet. I brought some small washing machine engines down from a
shelf and she picked a foot pedal start model WMB
that she thought was cute. She now starts that little engine at the shows after
I quickly restored it and mounted it on the display trailer.
I
live in a house with a one car garage in a subdivision so I do not have much
space to store things. For this reason, I only collect Briggs & Stratton
engines that are not attached to any equipment such as lawnmowers or tillers. My
minibike and scooter have taxed my spare storage area to the limit. I mount each
engine on boards so that they can be removed from the trailer in the winter and
placed on a shelving unit at the back of the garage. My bench, glass bead
cabinet and dust collector are also in the garage so; with all the other usual
objects one stores in a garage, there is not much room. My wife told me that she
did not care what I put in the garage as long as a car can go in there during
the winter months. It can and does but the rafters and walls are fully
occupied. I am also in the Naval Reserve so I guess I have used my seaman’s
natural ability to store as much as possible in as small a space as possible.
I
am now retired after spending 30 years as a Civil Servant for the Provincial
Government and just work part time.
