SPECIAL THANKS TO NATHAN HIRSCHY AND THE TRI-STATE GAS ENGINE AND TRACTOR ASSOCIATION
This 36A is a two-cylinder built in 1936 and makes 20 horsepower at 1200 rpm from 170.2 cubic-inches. The Doherty family named this one “Clyde,” and a second 20 horse in the collection is “Bonny.” This engine was originally hooked up to a water pump. It is hand cranked for starting and has a compression release, the same as many other engines of the era. According to the available period literature, direct electric starting was an available option for the multi-cylinder engines. This engine has a history with the Doherty family. It was a birthday gift to Ken’s wife Marcella in the early days of the new family hobby so she would have a stake in it, and it’s still hers. The engine was just a few days from being bulldozed into a landfill when it was rescued in May of 1972. It’s been to every Tri-State event since then.
Fairbanks-Morse was a well-established engine manufacturer when they started the development of their first four-stroke, high-speed diesel in 1932. The term “high-speed” is relative, as the new design was rated at what today would be considered a yawn-inspiring 1200 rpm. When compared to Fairbanks Morse’s (F-M) other recently developed two-stroke diesels, which ran at 300 rpm or less, and the rest of the industry at the time, it was indeed a fast-spinning diesel powerplant. F-M had only recently made the change from low compression hot-bulb oil engines to full diesels, but they jumped into the game with both large and small engines.