Superior 35

(Page 4 of 4)

By Bill Vossler
April 2006
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Additionally, Bill says you meet a lot of neat, talented people, especially model builders and restorers, when you're collecting old engines. He adds that everyone is willing to share their expertise, too. "They'll tell you where to find a part, or how to fix this. It's fun, not like fishermen who won't tell you where the hot spot is."

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Bill Vossler is a freelance writer and author of several books on antique farm tractors and toys. Contact Bill at: Box 372, 400 Caroline Lane, Rockville, MN 56369; bvossler@juno.com

Pioneer Craftsmen

Bill Thelemann says he's impressed with the craftsmanship that was used to make the old engines. "In those days, before the 1920s or so, there was nothing to copy. Now we make stuff based on something we've copied, but with a lot of these engines, big or little, there wasn't anything to copy. They just had an idea and put it together."

Every manufacturer had a different concept, Bill says, with a different magneto or whatever. "I like to fool with that kind of stuff and bring it back to life again. It's a thrill to have an engine run for the first time."

Machines to make the engines weren't as complicated as they are today, but it was still very difficult to manufacture something like the Superior engine. "They were really craftsmen to put together an engine like that. Just think how difficult it was to manufacture something like that. They were pioneers, the ones who put these engines together. Here it is, 80 years later, and it's still running. It's quite a piece of machinery."

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