Beautiful Engines, Treasures of the Internal Combustion Century
By Stan Grayson

An Engine Book Like None You've Ever Seen!

BookSpecifications:
Total Page Count: 112
ISBN: 1-928862-03-9
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
Trim Size: 8 ½" x 11 ½"
Paper: Top-quality coated stock
Illustrations: Approximately 84 color and 46 b/w images
Price: $49.95 Winter Inventory Special Sale just $37.50!

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"All I can say is -- Wow!"

That's what one collector said when he saw advance pages of this very special book. Here is the story of internal combustion in full color! Beautiful Engines presents some of the world's most important engines, each one professionally photographed. Flame ignition, hot tube ignition, hit-or-miss, make-and-break, jump spark, diesel – they're all here.

The story begins with the remarkable Lenoir of 1861 (You've heard of it but have you ever seen and studied one?). Next is the fascinating Otto and Langen of 1867 followed by an incredible variety of stationary and marine engines. From Atlas and Daimler to Foos and International; from Best and Fairbanks-Morse to Union and Wolverine – every engine has been staged and then photographed in color. You'll find engines from the famous collections of the Rough & Tumble Engineers, Coolspring Power Museum, Mercedes-Benz Museum, and from private collectors around the U.S.

A variety of applications is presented to show the true impact and drama of the internal combustion century. You'll find a White & Middleton used to generate electricity, a Gray farm engine, a classic Lathrop one-lunger marine engine, a Samson that powered an irrigation pump, a Western used in a mine, the world's first four-cylinder engine -- a Daimler developed for use in a boat. And these are only a sampling.

In addition to the remarkable images, the operation of the more complex engines is described and key components are labeled. What's more, the history of the men behind the engines is told in stories that show you the true drama and genius that fueled the internal combustion century. From Ransom Olds and Edward Witte, to Nicolaus Otto and Wilhelm Maybach, you'll gain new and fascinating insights from their skillfully told stories. The author based his research on contemporary magazines, sales literature, interviews with descendents and collectors, and a new translation of an important but long out-of-print German history of that country's engine industry. Be prepared for some surprises!

Whether your primary interest is stationary or marine engines, or internal combustion in general, Beautiful Engines is a book you'll refer to and share time and again in the years ahead.

Volume I The Gasoline Era
By Stan Grayson

From the first motor launches and fishing boats to World War II landing craft - the real story of internal combustion!

Book Specifications:
ISBN Volume 1-0-9640070-4-5
Price: $35.95/volume soft cover
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and Volume II) of Engines Afloat.

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From the first motor launches, Gold Cup racers, and fishing boats to World War II landing Craft -- here is the true story of internal combustion on the water! This fascinating two-volume book presents the only comprehensive history of the U.S. marine engine industry. Engines Afloat offers a unique blend of biography,
history, and technical explanations with the kind of storytelling for which its author is so well-known. The time frame is 1884 -1944.

Chapter 1, Pioneers: Regan in San Francisco, Sintz in Ohio and Michigan, the Palmers in Connecticut, Daimler, Otto, Steinway in New York, and others. It was the pioneers who developed commercially viable four-cycle and two-cycle engines that could be applied to turning a boat's propeller. This is the story of the men, their inventions, and their companies.

Chapter 2 , Production: By 1898, it had become clear that the internal combustion engine would change most aspects of life and commerce, ashore and afloat. The handful of pioneer companies were soon joined by dozens and later hundreds of others. In those early days, many wondered whether it would be the marine engine or the automobile that would have the most impact and offer investors the most reward. This chapter explores the many connections between early car companies and marine engine companies and includes profiles of numerous marine engine builders throughout the country.

Chapter 3 , California: Although Midwest, East Coast, and European developments have generally been the focus of most engine research and history, the West Coast companies played a major role. Now, that role has been recognized in a chapter that includes the men and machines of Union, Standard, Hall-Scott and others.

Chapter 4 , Gray: When author Stan Grayson began his research for this book, he looked for one company that might encompass the entire story of the U.S. marine engine industry. He found it in the many previously disconnected aspects Gray Motor Company's history. Through extensive research, the author has linked the many chapters of the Gray story together to present a portrait of a company that remains among the best-known of all marine engine builders.

Chapter 5, Faster: While early marine engines were robust and heavy machines designed for the ceaseless work of driving a boat, a few men dreamed of building engines that possessed much improved power-to-weight ratios. This chapter explores two key pioneers. It chronicles the rise and fall of Van Blerck in Michigan and Sterling in Buffalo, New York, and their development of the high speed, lightweight marine engine.

Chapter 6 , Technology: Although it is now natural to take for granted the convenience represented by a modern engine, each step towards such machines represented a step into the unknown. Ignition, timing, carburetion, the layout of valves or ports, the two-cycle vs. four-cycle -- all these had to be explored along the way. This chapter describes such engines as the early Standard, the first Lenoir and Daimlers, the famous T-heads, OHV, and more

Engines Afloat, from Early Days to D-Day
Volume II The Gasoline/Diesel Era
By Stan Grayson

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when ordering a set (Volume I
and Volume II) of Engines Afloat.

Chapter 1, Fishing: Fishermen were early adopters of the gasoline engine. They recognized it as salvation from backbreaking work, a major advance in safety, and the key to better catches and higher prices. The chapter examines the engine's impact on the Great Lakes. There Kahlenberg of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, made an early and immediate impact. On the West Coast, Hicks played a similar role while, in New England, it was Palmer. Even the power skiffs used by fresh-water clammers on the Mississippi are included, as is the story of the coming of power to the Gulf Coast.

Chapter 2 , Diesels: Here is the story of the trend from gasoline to diesel. Included is the decline of the big West Coast gasoline engine and its replacement by the diesel developed by Atlas-Imperial . On the East Coast, Nelseco was also working to develop a diesel for both commercial use and in submarines. Its story, together with those of Seattle's Washington-Estep and the Sumner-Willamette of Portland, Oregon are included.

Chapter 3, Rivers: Here is the most detailed story yet of the "gasoline steamboat" and the rise of the diesel towboat. This is a little-known but important chapter in the history of internal combustion engine, for the engines made it possible for many more people to engage in commercial business on the country's inland rivers. From the Little Kanawha to the Mississippi and beyond, the story of these engines and the boats they powered is told. Engine companies featured include Fairbanks-Morse of Wisconsin and Cooper-Bessemer of Mount Vernon Ohio and Oil City, Pennsylvania.

Chapter 4, General Motors: Take a trip inside the GM research labs headed by Charles Kettering as GM engineers struggle to develop the high-speed diesel for World War II submarines, subchasers, and D-Day landing craft. This is the fascinating story of a great American visionary, for it was Kettering whose ideas and leadership paced the way through years of trials to ultimate success. Also told is the story of the self-made, Scottish-born millionaire Alexander Winton whose company GM eventually purchased.

Chapter 5, Navy: At about the midpoint of research for this book, the author began to wonder about what was going on within the Navy while so much activity was occurring in virtually every phase of marine engine development and application. The result is a very rare glimpse into the Navy's adoption of internal combustion engines for small boats and submarines. The Packard PT boat V-12 is covered. So is GM's "pancake diesel" used in subchasers.

Both volumes of Engines Afloat include an Appendix and a useful Index. In Volume I, the Appendix includes a most unusual glossary of terms so that readers will be able to identify how the first generation of engine designers defined the machines they were building. Volume II includes fascinating operating instructions relating to Kahlenberg and Hicks engines.

Both books measure a big 8 1/2" x 11" trim size! Volume One contains 224 pages and 101 illustrations. Volume Two contains 192 pages and 89 illustrations.

Old Marine Engines: The World of the One-Lunger
By Stan Grayson

A Classic Favorite! Second Big Printing!

Book Specifications:
ISBN: 0-9640070-2-9
Total Page Count: 276
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Illustrations: Over 100
Price: $34.95

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They called them "my one-lunger" or "my old make-and-break." What they were referring to was the single-cylinder, two-cycle marine engine that was a staple for fishermen and pleasure boaters for almost two decades beginning in about 1900. "One-lunger" referred to the single cylinder. "Make-and-break" referred to the ignition system that used a mechanically driven igniter and low-tension coil rather than a high-tension coil and a spark plug. Such engines would run even when soaking wet, and they were built by companies in the U.S. and Canada.

A perennial best-seller, this book focuses on the classic two-cycle marine engines and those who designed and built them.

This Book Includes 9 Chapters:

Chapter 1, The Coming of Power discusses the world as it was on the eve of the practical, two-cycle marine engine and the impact made by the first such engines on those who saw and used them. Also explored is the debate that flourished for a decade about the comparative virtues of two-cycle vs. four-cycle engines.

Chapter 2 , Portraits, brings you the stories of Palmer, Lathrop, Hawboldt, Boothbay, Fay and Bowen, and others.

Chapter 3, The Art and Science of the Two-Stroke unravels the mysteries associated with two-cycle design including the all-important layout of the ports.

Chapter 4, How They Built Them, takes you inside the factories like Acadia's and others to explore the methods used to build these stalwart, cast-iron machines.

Chapter 5, Daniel and Charlie and the Atlantic Marine Engine tells the story of one of Canada's longest-lived engines, the Atlantic, built by the Lunenburg Foundry.

Chapter 6, Daisy, tells the story of the restoration of a remarkable Lozier launch powered by an original Lozier, one-lunger.

Chapter 7 , Survivors, investigates the enduring appeal of old marine engines for those who collect and restore them. Both museums and individual collectors are discussed as are practical tips for those who wish to use a one-lunger in a boat but need advice on propeller sizing and engine installation.

Chapter 8, The Catboat Mable Hawker, tells the story of a man who decided to have a new one-lunger installed in his new, 18-foot Cape Cod catboat and what the experience taught him.

Chapter 9, In Retrospect -- the World of the One-Lunger, places the engines in the context of the overall marine engine industry. From New England to New Orleans to California, the one-lunger played an important role even years after more modern, multi-cylinder engines had been successfully developed.

This book includes several fascinating Appendices. Appendix A includes an annotated listing of U.S. and Canadian marine engine companies, some 800 in all. Appendix B describes the hilarious yet thought provoking story of a fisherman and his first engine. Appendix C presents the plans and commentary for a 14-foot skiff suitable for a small (3 hp) one-lunger.) Appendix D provides practical advice on the care and operation of a gasoline engine. Appendix E includes a listing of marine engines in a variety of museum collections around the country. A useful index is also provided.

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