1927 John Deere E 3hp hit miss engine

[dw1973]

I am looking to sell or trade it. Up and running with a pretty paint job they sell for $2000+ This engine was running when disassembled only to degrease it and freshen it up - mag/igniter/carb rebuilt.
1927 John Deere E 3hp hit miss engine

 

[Oldsalt]

I am looking to sell or trade it. Up and running with a pretty paint job they sell for $2000+ This engine was running when disassembled only to degrease it and freshen it up - mag/igniter/carb rebuilt.

Two grand! You gotta be kidding. That thing is worth at least 4K if the person that was silly enough to take it apart put it back together. That has got to be a super rare museum piece.

 

[Tom S.]

Neat. Is the piston made of cast iron?

 

[Newoldstock]

Neat. Is the piston made of cast iron?

Yup!
Best pistons are iron, but because of the weight you can't turn them at high RPM.

Added link to E type JD
John Deere 3 hp - YouTube


So I went looking for the JD E type and found this completely by accident.
Made me almost weep because I trained 3 years to be a marine electrician when navy told me they would not require my services on the O boats.
scrapyard submarines - YouTube

 

[Oldsalt]

Yup!
Best pistons are iron, but because of the weight you can't turn them at high RPM.

Added link to E type JD
John Deere 3 hp - YouTube


So I went looking for the JD E type and found this completely by accident.
Made me almost weep because I trained 3 years to be a marine electrician when navy told me they would not require my services on the O boats.
scrapyard submarines - YouTube

Your pictured engine is an 3 HP 'early' type [approx. pre 1939] because it does not have a breather on the top crank cover. These are very common engines. Popular because they retained the 'ignitor' and low-tension 'mag' rather than going to a spark plug. A spark plug engine would usually quit if it rained. Also because every small town had a John Deere dealer so they are rather common. My avatar is an approx.1910 New-Way that should not be sitting in my shop and getting knocked around. They really did have all those flowers and etc. on them when new. This one was so bad [was submerged in a river] that all that could be done was repaint it. The red engine in the first pic is a 1907 3 HP Majestic that I purchased as you see it. It is too bad that someone had to 'restore' it. Ones in original condition are now more desirable than ones that have been pimped-up like the New-Way. The next pic is a huge engine that I want to get moved the hell out of my way but it will take a forklift to get it on a trailer. It is a 1915 Holt 4 cyl. 45 HP. About 900 cubic inches. It is shown the day we fired it before the original mag was rebuilt, it had a Toyota distributor I slapped on it. The last pic is a 15 HP 1919 Model Y Fairbanks-Morse. Eight or nine inch diameter bore. A local friend owns it. He found it in Hawaii and had it crated and shipped here. I made the little 1/4 scale model of the big motor that can just be seen on the his work bench. It was running when I took the picture. Fooling with these engines is as addicting as minibikes.