4 HP Brown Cochran Mechanical Restoration

[Chris Epping]

This engine has been in our barn for about 20 years & we'd never really done anything with it until this winter. Although I've got too many projects going already I couldn't stand to see it sit any longer. So we got it out & started cleaning it up. Overall it was in very good condition. It still has a lot of original paint & almost no pitting. The only major problem it had was the previous owner broke the large governor drive gear moving it out of a shed & then used bronze to try to fix it. This didn't turn out well. The break went 2/3 of the way around the gear & the heat from the torch warped the gear slightly. It took me parts of four days to cut the old weld out, build jigs & wedges to secure the gear in proper form, weld the gap back together, and machine the excess weld off. I about gave up on it a couple times & thought of making a new one, but in the end it turned out really well & we were able to save the original piece. You wouldn't know it had ever been broke without studying it.

With that repair out of the way, everything else was mainly cleanup & polishing. I did have to find three matching oilers for the mains & rod. Thanks to those guys that helped with that! I found all three in a month & a half from this site. We then built a new oak skid & plumbed up a fuel & cooling tank. About all that's left to do is install a new muffler which a friend of ours is making off of his original. That & possibly adding a coil/switch box.

The exact history of this engine sadly is somewhat unknown. From its condition, I would say it never sat outside. It was originally used somewhere in north central California, probably in a mine or pump house. A collector got a hold of it in the early 50's & it remained in California until it came here to Nebraska in the late 80's.

One of the neatest features on this engine is the lever that lifts the ignitor trip out of the way when the exhaust valve is held open during "coast mode". It also holds the intake valve shut. The workmanship on this engine is second to none. Very nice casting & machining job.

Brown Cochran made in Lorain, OH - 4 HP Full Base - Serial number 1898

[Paul Spence]

Chris: That's one nice engine . Thanks for sharing .

[John Merry]

Very nice Chris- Your right-- the machining and casting on Brown engines are second to none! Your name plate is identical to my 20hp Brown except mine is larger with 4 rivets holding it on to the cylinder. 20hp and larger Brown engines used 4 hold down bolts on each side of the cylinder while 15hp and smaller used 3 per side. The cylinder is morticed into the base with such precision that the engine would probably run without hold down bolts! Carl Mehr of California has a 4hp Brown with the cylinder cast with the base. If you happen to run onto a Brown compression release please keep me in mind.

[Peter]

What a nice engine. I appreciate the chance to see the engine and the fine example you have set for others to follow, with regard to preservationist teniques.

[Junkologist]

Very nice! I could easily ride a bicycle from my house to where the Brown was built. Maybe some day I'll be able to find one stashed away somewhere...

[Chris Epping]

Thanks for the comments. I hoped you would enjoy seeing the project. I've got a few more pictures of the engine during cleanup. It was a careful operation trying to get things repaired & working without damaging the original finish. Yes, the cylinder does sit right down in the base. The valve cages have machined seats like some of the early engines, so no gaskets in between. The intake valve has two heads on the one stem. One is for gasoline & the other is for gas. Just lots of neat little features that make the engine interesting. A little oil really gave the old paint a nice color.


Chris

[Chris Epping]

And a few more pictures.

[Chris Epping]

A few scans out of an original sales catalog.

[Chris Epping]

And John D. would be disgusted at me if I left off the Portable.

[KyleBlankenship]

chris... amazing.. its looks beautiful!! id put it in my living room.

[Chris Epping]

Thanks Kyle. I've thought of putting an engine in my living room, but I'm afraid my house might burn down.

[John Davidson]

Originally Posted by Chris Epping

And John D. would be disgusted at me if I left off the Portable.

Thanks for putting in the portable catalog cut. I appreciate seeing all your restoration pictures. Engine sure looks great. Still trying to contact a friend who lives by a foundry to get a muffler cast for you.

Have been gathering Brown engine info to make a roster. My list has 14 engines so far ranging from 4 HP to 20 HP. There 4-4 HP,3-6 HP,4-8 HP, 2-12 HP & 1-20 HP. Have serial numbers on only about 1/2 of them. Smallest number is 618 and my 6 HP farm portable is the highest number at 2538. Anyone have a Brown to add to the list would be appreciated.

[Mike Shaffer]

Chris,
Thanks for sharing all of your pictures.That is really a nice engine. I really enjoy looking at before and after pictures.It really shows the amount of work (and fun) that goes into a restoration.

I have an air cooled vertical Perkins completely torn down now that needs to be assembled. I made sure I took plenty of before pictures.Thanks again for sharing.

[Jordan]

another fine restoration job done by the epping family. keep up the excellent work.

jordan

[Jeff R Parks]

Chris,

Great looking piece, thanks for sharing the pics. and story.
Try and post some video of it running on my antique engine
Youtube site, I'm sure we would all enjoy watching it go.

Take Care,

Jeff Parks

[Chris Epping]

Thanks again for all the comments guys. I really like looking at before/during/after photos, so I'll be looking forward to seeing your Perkins pictures Mike! Plus anyone else with restoration pictures. You can really tell a lot about how different engines are made after seeing them in pieces.

Jeff, I wish I had a video camera that I could upload videos from, but I don't. I'm trying to stay back in the 20th century. I've got a DVD video recorder, but no DVD drive in the computer. I suppose this is what you use to put videos on the net? The only video I can upload is with my cell phone, and with that quality you can't tell if it's a Brown engine or a washing machine!

Jeff, I might send you a DVD sometime with some engine video on it if you want to upload it or maybe you'll have to come see us in Nebraska in person!!

Cheers,
Chris

[Patrick McNallen]

I wonder if a Brown engineer might have wound up at Superior, another Ohio engine maker. The overall conformation of the Brown looks somewhat like the Superior 4-cycle engines. The valve placement is very different, but both use a cam operated exhaust and atmospheric intake with valves located in separate castings from the head. The wrist pin bearing arrangement is very similar to the Superior, as is the governor.

[John Merry]

No doubt there were quite a few engineers looking for work in the 1906-10 period when early manufacturers of heavy duty sideshaft engines disigned in the 1890's were going out of business. Some of them probably ended up at Superior engine company.

[Patrick McNallen]

Does the Brown have a cored-out section of flywheel rim for balance? I don't see any of the more typical balance arrangements in the pictures.

[John Merry]

Brown's used a cored flywheel. On my engine the 6 core holes on each side of the flywheel rim were threaded and a metal plug was screwed in before machining. No cork or wood plugs shoved in to hide the hole here. Brown- Cochran didn't fool around with ways to make their engines cheaper-most likely one reason they went out of bussiness.