We could always go the street rod route and just swap in a Chevy 350. :D

Restore it.......i would love to stumble into something that cool

I'll see it this weekend and find out what his actual plan is. It would be cool in a "what the heck is that thing?" way.

:D:D

If it did replace a mule pulling a one disc plow/harrow, there are some pieces missing I think. Wouldn't there be a handle bar gizmo so the operator could keep it on the straight & narrow? Or did it operate more like a rototiller?

The flywheel reminded me of some stationary pump engines I've seen around Ventura County that are now restored museum pieces. The one lung engine fires intermittently to keep a huge flywheel spinning a leather fan belt to some related farm contraption. Scary things to watch. Farming was dangerous.

The wooden handles are missing. You can see them in this video:

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Those hit-and-miss engines were extremely crude, but they were relatively cheap and they worked. The intake valve was "atmospheric" ie. air pressure opened it when the piston moved down on the intake stroke. The fuel mixer was sometimes just a chamber with a pool of gasoline that the intake air passed over and picked up gas fumes on it's way by. Speed was governed by holding the exhaust valve open when the operating RPM was reached and letting it close when the speed dropped.
The engine on the Vaughn appears to be throttle governed (has a carburetor).

Thanks everyone! I've learned that these were actually produced here in my hometown and that there's a group of local people who enjoy restoring them. I'm thinking we'll pass it along to someone familiar with them and maybe they can get it rolling again. It was headed for scrap so nice to hopefully give a piece of history another shot.

Great! Post some pictures if you get to see any they've restored.

Will do! I've already got a few "that makes no sense $-wise whatsoever" things going so a bit of a relief not to start another. :)

MO - it would great to get that running and operating, but don't paint or clean anything. Preserve agricultural history - which is a very strong trend in the vintage farm tractor world.

Put a chrome exhaust pipe on it - you'll have a rat rod!