25 H.P. Superior Oilfield Engine
We have had this engine for over 20 years.  When we got it is had recently came off of an oil lease near Sullivan, Indiana where it had pumped oil from several oil wells.  The previous owner had taken the engine apart to make it easier to transport.  After getting the engine home we realized that it was larger than we were capable of handling.  So it sat awaiting a way to make it mobile so we could work on it.  Unfortunately it sat outside and deteriorated somewhat.  Finally not being able to bear seeing it sit out side any longer we wrestled it onto a trailer and took it to be sand blasted.  The sand blaster cleaned the block and flywheels up and primed it with white primer.  Upon getting it home we put it in the barn and it sat for 3 or 4 more years.  Isaac my 14 year old son wanted to restore it for his 4-H Americana project.  So, we started figuring out the best way to proceed.  Once again we needed to make it portable.  We had purchased some heavy wheels and axles several years ago at an auction thinking they might do the job.  We shortened the axles and built a frame out of 10 inch "I" beams.  Finally after more than 20 years we go it mounted on it's cart on July 8, 2002.  With any luck we should have it running in a couple of weeks ready for the Vanderburgh County 4-H fair.

Click on picture for larger view.

Here are some of the parts laid out for pressure washing.

And some more parts.

The crank shaft shield.

These wheels and axles came off of an old Threshing machine. We shortened the axlees and used them to put the engine onto.

Here are the axles after shortening.

We made the frame of the engine cart from 10 inch "I" beams. They are 11 feet long and 31 inches wide.

The completed frame awaiting paint.

Another view of the frame.

Isaac giving it a coat of paint.

We used rollers and levers to move the engine off of it's original timbers onto the frame.

After we had it on the frame we used jacks to raise it up to put the axles and wheels under the cart.

The flywheels are 66 inches tall.

The engine finally on the frame of the cart.

The engine has a 12 inch bore and a 21 inch stroke.

The piston in this engine is the size of a 5 gallon bucket!

Isaac liked rolling the flywheels around the barn while standing on the crank shaft.

We don't know what the original color was but it did have some blue paint very close to this color on it.

Using an old rail road jack to raise the engine and frame getting ready to put the front axle and wheels under it.

Our work crew. Curtis, Isaac, and Keith Kinney

We finally have the engine on it's new frame with the wheels and axles under it.

Check out this piston. It's larger than a standard 5 gallon bucket.

We built a cylinder hone out of a 5 gallon bucket to remove the surface rust from the cylinder.

The hone in action.

Isaac and his Grandpa putting one of the main bearing caps on.

We ran a belt over the flywheel to our John Deere B to exercise the engine.

The engine at this point is mostly put together. We still have some plumbing and painting to do but it is starting to look like an engine.

Is this a "hot tube"?

If it is a hot tube what is missing? Where would I get the missing parts?

This is out of the carbarator. It appears to be rubber. What can we use to replace it with?

On Saturday, July 13, 2002 we sprayed some starter fluid into the cylinder and turned her over. She fired for the first time in many years.:-)

The back of Isaac's shirt says it all. Wow! It's running on it's own for the first time in over 25 years. July 16, 2002.

The engine about done.

Isaac standing next to the engine before we take her outside.

About to see daylight for the first time in several year.

At this point we felt good about the cart holding up under the weight.

On it's way to be loaded onto a trailer.

Isaac putting some oil in the main oiler.

Loaded on the trailer ready to head to it's first show.

Well, we made our dead line. Isaac, my son, entered it into the 4H Americana project at the Vanderburgh County fair.

Check out that Grand Champion Ribbon!

We found this old tool box at a flea market a few years ago. I think it's a nice touch.

We still have some plumbing to do but its sure come a long way.

When we bought the above engine we also bought a second 25 H. P. Superior. 
We have traded this engine for a 15 H.P. Reid.

This one has a clutch pulley.

It needs an exhaust box.

I have most of the governor parts and mag bracket.

The piston is stuck but I was pleasently supprised to see some oil seeping from around the piston.
 

The engines pictured above were used to pump oil wells in the 1st quarter of the last century.  They were belted to a machine called a "Power."  We found this Power, pictured below, about a mile from our home in Evansville, Indiana.  It was abandon in a woods. The engine that drove it was long gone but the foundation was still there.  After contacting the owners of the woods and getting permission we hauled it home.  It is one heavy piece of iron.  These would sit in the middle of the oil field and drive multiple wells by attaching rods to the eccentric of the power.  As the eccentric rotated back and fourth it pull the rods that ran through the fields to the wells. The rods were supported every so often by stakes driven into the ground.  The rods then attached to a pump jack over the well that pumped the oil out of the ground.

It has the name "National Supply" cast on one of the spokes.

 

For more information on how we built our home-made cylinder hone go here Cylinder Hone.htm

For a detailed explanation on how Superior circulated the cooling water go here http://www.herculesengines.com/Vacuum%20Water%20System/

To see a Superior engine still in operation go here http://www.herculesengines.com/Flatrock/

 


Proud member of the O.F.E.S.
 http://www.oilfieldengine.com

Hit Counter visits since July 9, 2002.

Return to the Old Iron web page.