Boy, this was a walk down memory lane! My Dad was a contractor that bought one of these for a big job in Bakersfield (they were manufactured in Calif.) in the early 60's. It just sat in the back yard and I'd play on it, turning the motor and dumping the hopper - we'd fill the hopper with water, dig a little ditch and set up our army men with the Germans down in the "canyon" with little cardboard bunkers and stick trees. Then we'd tilt the hopper to "bust the dam" and watch as the little grey men got washed away! I hadn't thought about that for over 50 years! Thanks for bringing these buggies home! Put a smile on my face remembering the old days. You can dunk that leaky float in hot water and watch for where it bubbles (the leak will bubble as the air inside heats up and expands). After you mark the spot, a dab or solder will do the trick (after you bake the gas out of the float.) Those Wisconsins are one of the best industrial engines this country's ever made!
It's typically pretty easy to drill a tiny hole in a corner of the float. Then make that corner the lowest point so the gas drains out. Once it's dry, a tiny bit of solder will easily seal that hole shut and then you just have to solder up the original leak you discovered from the hot water dunk.
Is that the same engine as the Wisconsin Robin.......or same company? In the mid 90's (Inland Empire of SoCal) as an early teen, I started working with my uncle who was a painter and his Speedflo airless had a Wisconsin Robin engine. He really liked that engine, but later we upgraded to a newer and bigger airless that I think had a Honda engine. That is pretty cool you got to play with that buggy. My brother and I would have had so much fun with something like that, as kids.
Talk about turning the clock back 65+ years - then you see how far we've come with how we do it today !! I much prefer how we do the same thing these days !! Thanks for sharing Matt !!
@@johnking8679 engineering of the same vintage as the Apollo Hoax. No wonder we've never been back to the moon! Ludicrous they fooled us the first time!!
That's the beauty of this channel, Matt. You got heavy equipment, trucks, mowers, saws, splitters, a mill, a power rake and now a cement buggy. Coolest channel of all.
The joy in your face when these old beasts come back to life makes this video entirely worth watching. The joy and passion you have just puts a smile on my face... Love this channel, been watching you for many years...
Those buggies are still used, at least new versions. Here in SoCal, we get a pump for everything but watching concrete guys in Wisconsin, they often use a buggy. It is cheaper and they can run any mix vs. having to thin it out and run gravel vs. rock.
You can fix the float by baking it in an electric toaster oven to get the gas out. Then use flux and a soldering iron to reflow the solder. Used to do that in the 70’s
Generic name for them on a concrete job is a "Georgia Buggy" . Use to see them all the time before concrete pump trucks came around. That's when men were men and sheep were scared.🍻
With all due respect there is nothing irrational about being excited most especially when resurrecting an old piece of technology! I do not have the capability of sandblasting where I'm at but my ADHD / OCD would compel me to sandblast the equipment you work on and repaint them! Georgia buggies are absolutely fantastic for Close Quarters and would arguably be more reasonable than hiring a pump. Congratulations on your new acquisition of the Ice Bucket!
I ran one of these for my Dad who was a concrete contractor. We used them to pour alleyways. The trick was to slam on the brakes, spin the dump bed and reverse the wheels while they were in the air at the placement location. There is a learning curve to operate them, but we tuned them up some so they were fast and fun for young men. At the end of day, you knew you had worked because during a pour the delivery was non stop and we used multiple units with passing lanes. We used those until concrete pumps became available.
Matt, If you have a float with gas it, dip in hot water. You will get a stream of bubbles where the leak is. Point the leak down so the gas will pee out of the float. Clean the spot where the leak is with fine sand paper and solders. Check with hot water to see if the float is real fixed, Stan
Great videos, from Kountze Tx. My son (43) and I (70) watch you them and discuss them the next time we see each other. You’re doing what I used to do , I had my son helping me changing turn table gearboxes when he was 10 or so. We appreciate you so much, we’re dragging my grandson into the fold, but girlfriends keep getting in the way. 👍👍👍
For its day and time I'd bet that this concrete buggy was quite innovative. The best part of these videos is seeing the joy on your face when you get something that looks like junk running.
Your enthusiasm is infectious! For those whom have spent time reconditioning a neglected piece of equipment we can relate. So much satisfaction involved. Thank you Matt for sharing your knowledge, time and sticktoitiveness in bringing us these awesome rescues.
It is definitely designed for concrete. The shallow angle at the lip and the narrowing means rock and dirt will pack as they move forward. It is a really nice piece of history.
I live in Melbourne Australia and I can remember back to around 1953. A 6 foot concreate sewer main was been laid under our street. They had a huge concreate mixer which dump trucks would tip sand and rock in a hopper on one side and an army of these motorised dumpers would be filled with mixed concreate to be transported to end of the sewer pipe. The workers were all Italian migrants and as a 10 year old boy I had never heard anyone speek anything other than English, I was fascinated by these people. Your video reminds me of times long passed. Thank you.
had what was called dumpies,in the SEC,later version of Matt's ,had 16 inch bar tread tyres,single cylinder diesel,which put the whole thing higher,no problems unloading,great fun to drive with the rear wheel steering.
Gotta admit it's pretty cool to see a way back in the day Georgia buggy living again. Not to mention another win for those antique Wisconsin engines, it seems like the ones that don't quit never quit. Edit: Turning it into a motorized beer trough sounds like a damn good minty idea👌
I remember watching a crew use those machines to drive concrete up a ramp and dump it into wall forms for my Grandfather's house foundation. I was probably about 10 yrs. old and I'm 76 now. Thanks for the memories.
Ah, the glorious "tremmie." They'd get raced around on multi-story buildings, sometimes going over the edge, sometime with the operator still aboard. Very much replaced by the modern articulated concrete pump. (Some Unions mandated them right into the 80s.) You almost never ran them straight into a spot, you canted them in, so as to start the turning of the dolly wheel before the need. If at a meet, like the Steam Show, for someone to ride in the bucket--this is not a good idea. If they sit on the edge, they are way in front of the balance point. If they sit back, they wind up folded up into the bottom of the dump bucket (there are OSHA and Shop Rules on this aplenty as a result).
17:00 The pulley tells you which way to wrap the starter cord , there is an angled side and a more vertical side. That is where the knot on the rope goes
Just one thing, don’t think the turning radius is tight enough 😊 well done! Give it a pressure wash then show us on the next video. That thing would look great all done up with new decals and a load of ice and beer in the hopper!
Three wheel power trolleys were very common in markets and factories between WW1 and WW2 in England and Australia. They were a bit larger than that one and had a single cylinder diesel. They were/are bullet proof and ran for many years.
I love it! It steers like the old school bumper cars. It's much faster than I figured it would be. I think you should give it a nice paint job, slap some Diesel Creek stickers on it, and use it to cruise around at the auction & shows. BTW, you could probably still buy OEM rings for the pistons. That and a valve job would probably cure most of the smoke & give it a bit more power.
One of my favourite episodes - seeing an ingenious machine back working - ‘beating the heck out of a wheelbarrow’- the whopping when she starts is always a magic moment
That one deserves a maximum beautification. I can just see a nice two stage paint job, some decals, maybe a replacement of all the original labels and such. Nice.
Interesting bit of trivia: The first CVT was actually designed in 1490 by Leonardo DaVinci. The first patent for one was issued in 1886 and they actually started getting popular around 1910.
I often wonder what kind of contraptions we'd have today if DaVinci hadn't been born 500 years ahead of his time. The guy was an engineering powerhouse!
Well, TBH, his design was not at all fumctional- like his helicopter (with a hand-powered spiral sail flying machine,, or, by a tank powered by a few people (dwarfs)- presuming paved roads, no grades, fire, etc...) All good ideas, just not well thought out, or ever tested or built, etc... Beautifully written though. (he was a poet, at heart, I think.) Tolkien was not a mechanic, not a skilled engineer, not evem a particularly good craftsman. He was a dreamer, and it was his talent that he could share his dreams with us, and he shared such dreams and inspiration through his stories and his contributions to philology...
Growing up in NYC, I remember seeing armies of these little guys pouring concrete to areas that the trucks and chutes couldn't reach...brings back memories...
This is one of the coolest things you’ve shown yet! Never seen anything like that. Operates like an old bumper car from the fair, in terms of the steering and whatnot. Very fascinating. I agree it would be so cool to have that at a party as a cooler. And also as a merch wagon like you mentioned. Are you planning to clean it up at all? Maybe do a whole restoration with paint like you did with the Galion? Either way, I hope to see it in person one day!
Matt, I've got a pretty good boneyard of old Wisconsin's (mainly 2 & 4 cylinder THD/TJD & VE4/VF4, but I think there's a couple one pot A series ones in there too). If you ever find yourself in need of some of the unobtainium there, feel free to reach out. Also have quite a bit of Ford SOS stuff, which is pretty much all unobtainium at this point, should you ever have a need for it. As far as this machine goes, it depends on what you wanna do for it. if you do a full resto, a dingle ball hone & a fresh set of rings would probably clean up the smoke & would last for as long as you need it. If you want to run it regularly & hate the rope start, throw a new Honda in it. Would have to adapt your clutch & that trick throttle set up to it, but I'm sure it could be done.
The old Wisconsin really takes me back. I was 9 years old in 1974 when my Dad bought two David Bradley Walk Behind garden tractors with 5 HP Wisconsin engines. From that age, I was taught that Wisconsin engines were the gold standard of small engines. My dad retired with over 43 years of working as the real live "Hank Hill" with propane gas, and during that time, he converted one of the David Bradley walk behinds and two of our Wheel Horse riding tractors with even larger Wisconsins up to 20 HP (not to mention various family sedans and pickup trucks) to propane power. EVERY ONE OF THEM had the pulley you had to wrap the rope around to start, like the one you have in your video. I remember Dad having a trailer to pull behind his walk behind tractors and he would ride in it and my Mom would refer to him as Ben Hur in his chariot. I also remember the insulation on the kill switch on the magneto being somewhat "shockingly compromised" and making my brother and me to use the choke to kill the engine instead of the kill switch...
Bonus video!! Thanks Matt! Those brass floats are pretty easy to repair. Just clean them up with water, then re-solder to repair the leak. If you need to drain the float you can either de-solder the seal or drill a small hole, drain and solder it back together.
FYI: If you will put your knot on the rope in the slot on the pulley and wind your rope around it, it will be a lot faster than spinning your motor backwards to wind it on. That's how we did it old school.
6:59 I had one, I did actually use it at a flee market and used it to haul dirt to my backyard, I was going to have to haul about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of dirt, but I had my wheelbarrow with a motor. I used it one year for hauling rocks clearing out a fence row, where the farmers had stacked all the rocks over the years. I paid 100 dollars for it at a garage sale, played with it a couple years and sold it for 400. Made money on it and got to use it. I very seldom sell my stuff, but I had my fun with it. 😊 I shall add mine had a Wisconsin engine on it and it was HOT SOB sitting on top of that engine on a hot day
I can recall seeing those being used on construction projects. I worked for a glass company right out of high school in 1975. It's really cool to see one again.
The bad float can be soldiered/repaired easily. It must be cleared of all fuel, washed in soapy water water, drained and dried then carefully soddered to reseal the float. Careful with a torch flame.. 😊😊
Matt, I used to have this goofy contraption of a riding lawnmower that worked the same way. It was piwered by the single front wheel, and for reverse youd just turn it past center. It was called Big Mow. Had a 6hp Tecumseh engine, and two teeny tiny blades under the 26" deck. The two speed transmission worked kinda like a drill press, but you turned this knob thingy and it would tighten one belt and loosen the other. I wish I'd have kept it.
This is BY FAR the most interesting episode that you’ve done for a while. Yes please to more things like this and it would be great to have an episode dedicated to cleaning it up and doing a rustoration
That is probably a replacement ignition coil. The original ones were usually black (at least on the AKN/D). They liked to get kinda gummy and after warming up would lose spark. The D on the part number just means stellite exhaust valve and hardened seat. Another gotcha with those engines is oiling. They are your standard splash lube affair but there is a trough through which the oil slinger runs, that trough is filled by a little pump that runs off a lobe from the cam, if the ball/spring in the pump sticks with crud from sitting you can have full oil but actually no oil in the trough. It's a clever system, means if you're low on oil there's still sufficient splash lube, but can also kill the engine.
Congratulations on your quarter-ton two-stroke sit-and-spin :) I love that you left it running even when you hoisted it into the air with your excavator bucket to dump out the hopper!
In the 70’s i operated a real similar machine. We had about a 15 ft wide X about 200’ runway and at first it was a real challenge to keep it running in a straight line. After running it for about a week you found out it was ALOT better than a wheel barrow.
This dumper is really cool. I have never seen one before. Here is a suggestion in order for the operator to orient the drive direction at a glance without having to look down at the motor: put a single mark or line (such as a heavy loop of electrical tape) on the steering wheel when it is lined up with moving forward. Basically, have the marked line on the "front" (farthest point away from your seat), that way you can glance at the road, the load, and the steering wheel all at the same time and know that it is ready to go forward. I would also put two parallel lines on the opposite side of the wheel ( the point nearest your seat) so that when you are driving in reverse those two lines are pointing towards your load which you will be checking any way. My suggestion should free you from having to look under your seat to confirm wheel direction. Just a thought. Love your page. Joe living in Germany.
Matt, it's nice to see you still giving screen time to the smaller, quirkier stuff here and there, especially as you expand your operations and acquire more better, more bigger things. Some folks like me will always be drawn to the small-engined weird stuff, so I appreciate it. Looks like some good, sketchy fun! Cheers!
Over in the UK similar units were very popular, for a large variety of purposes of hauling dirt, coal and other things around. The channel Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels has quite a few videos on some units which he recovered and restored. They're really good fun to play around with :)
@@afberglund2764 Diesel has been common in the UK and much of Europe for much longer, yeah. I'm still weirded out by so many (older) petrol-powered trucks and construction equipment in the US. It just seems so normal to me that anything but cars use diesel engines.
Your buildings/garage as well as equipment are phenomenal. Your ability to build and repair equipment are also phenomenal. You are the man! Keep those videos coming.
Hey Matt, I don't remember seeing an episode where you purchased the era correct, for the auto car Ford tri-motor corrugated fifth wheel trailer for the tractor 47:50
I needed one of these back in the day. Using a wheel barrow that was full of concrete down a hill was absolute fun for me (not) helping my step dad setting up footings or forms for him. This would have made life so much easier.
As someone who doesn't work with vehicles but rather electronics, I definitely think you could use an ultrasonic cleaner for your shop. You could throw the entire carburetor (or any other small parts, screws, spark plugs, you name it) into it for like half an hour while you work on something else, and have it come out looking almost brand new, free of any gunk inside and out. Yeah sure it wouldn't help with fuel in the floats like in this particular case, but doing a deep clean like that at the start of any new project sure as hell won't hurt, plus they're not that expensive and you can totally reuse the fluid a few times (or even just use water)
It may not be of much use, but you had lots of fun playing with it, and that was great to see. It's good that you find and care for these mechanical curios!
Hi from UK please see if you can find a scammel scarab articulated truck they were the best , you would be amazed how good they were . Three wheeler's hauling loads round yards please buy one you will be amazed and also and your viewers
Good for you Matt for preserving these dumpers, interesting finds are not always big hunks of metal, and as you say should be great for touring steam fairs and auto jumble sites.
Watched the full video before commenting and have to say I was surprised for a mid weeker and thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Always do enjoy your vids but nice to see a small old machine brought back to life.
Oh man. The memories of the oil field. I had one of these engines I used hooked up to a gear a circulating pump. I don't know how many times it was under water. Drained, cleaned and refilled fluids and fire off first pull. Great engines.
That is a really cool unit. And extremely useful. I've carried concrete in a wheel barrow enough to see the value in it. Too bad it doesn't mix also. You'd never need a concrete truck for smaller projects.
Hi Matt, I think the small pieces of equipment are just as important as the big. They still show the history and tell a story. I hope to see more like this
Man this looks like an absolute beauty of a little machine. Yes it could use some creature comforts as the cog lock but it seems to be a nice little zipper for dry sand, mud, smaller gravel and indeed concrete. And as you've said, a beer cart would also be cool. Another vote for full restoration! Make that puppy shine bright like the proud little power buggy it used to be!
You came up with some cool applications for these "buggies." ...I read your comment before I had time to cognize the concept. I forget where it was brought up, which TH-cam video, where some commenter mentioned these. Yeah, conveying sand, rock, gravel, dirt/loam, pavers, potted plants, fertilizer... Landscape contractors would love them: they can haul a few truckloads of materials either in or out of a freshly constructed house. Or older home that has gates, walls...impediments or restrictions from truck access. I've seen some motorized wheelbarrows, but nothing like these. Sorry, I ain't in the trades. Not just for cement...think about it.
I could use one of those! CVT's have been used in Snowmobiles since a Canadian by the name of Joseph Armand Bombardier first used one in 1959 on his invention. It was called a Ski-Doo. 🙂
Is this the genesis of the Bombardier Corporation which built everything from Ski Doos to Rail cars? Bom Bar Dee Ayyy, by the way. Lots of the AMTRAK SUperliner cars were made by them in Canada, then finished in Barre, VT.
@@nickmaclachlan5178 Yes, the same. They started as a recreational products company (plus their Bombardier tracked vehicles) and ended up as an aircraft company.
12/14/23 hey Matt, that old red Whiteman(?) 8 hp gas wheeled cc 'buggy' with 360° swivel engine steering is really neat! Glad you got it working! Purpose?..well..like you said...best use now day is for special events, admiring its engineered design & practicality...hauling beer 🍻 🎉😊 Nice video today! Stay safe & carry on!⚙️⚒️💪🔧🍺🎅
Seriously cool Mat now. What you have to do is fix it up and put a flame job On it put some chrome on the exhaust polish up the wheels Then fill it with ice and your favorite beverage and invite your friends over for barbecue looks pretty cool
What a fantastic piece of equipment! It's ridiculously simple and I love the fact that you can access any part of the engine by just rotating it. Damnit I'm gonna be on the hunt for one of these now!
Can you imagine how much fun the lads had using these things on jobs?! The look on your face when you get things running always cracks me up! Absolutely brilliant
Before the cement pumper, these were used on skyscrapers!! A few went airborne by mistake !! They were off the buildings!!! They also had models with fan blades used to smooth the cement! The blades were no help when they went airborne 😂😂😂!
Great ideas for its uses might be good for landscaping. At that price, it's hard to go wrong . Always interesting to see what you are doing. Central California watching.
The second hopper buggy needs a Yanmar single cylinder air cooled diesel. It would be a fitting swap for the channel, and they're horizontal shaft like those are. I've been wanting to get my hands on one for a while to power a mower.
I worked for a company called Mellon Stewart back in the late 80's on a 28 story highrise in Orlando. The company was out of PA. We had 5 of these we used to get trash out of the building. Done the buckhoist to the loading dock dumpsters. My crew would full 3 to 4 dumpsters in a day with these.
Way cool i like it TIP- place wheels facing forward than put a piece of colored tape at the top center of the steering wheel now it is easy to tell what direction you are going
Great save Matt! When I resurrect an aircooled engine I always pull off the shroud to check for mice nests which could clog the fins and cause overheating.
Hey. It's not Saturday! I'm at work today. Now I gotta hide in the bathroom for 48 minutes to watch the new released video!!!! 😂
Taco Bell is all you have to tell them 😂
🤣🤣💩🤭
Same 😂
Same 😂
In this place on earth its just in time after my lunch and going to TH-cam 😂😁🌎
Boy, this was a walk down memory lane! My Dad was a contractor that bought one of these for a big job in Bakersfield (they were manufactured in Calif.) in the early 60's. It just sat in the back yard and I'd play on it, turning the motor and dumping the hopper - we'd fill the hopper with water, dig a little ditch and set up our army men with the Germans down in the "canyon" with little cardboard bunkers and stick trees. Then we'd tilt the hopper to "bust the dam" and watch as the little grey men got washed away! I hadn't thought about that for over 50 years! Thanks for bringing these buggies home! Put a smile on my face remembering the old days.
You can dunk that leaky float in hot water and watch for where it bubbles (the leak will bubble as the air inside heats up and expands). After you mark the spot, a dab or solder will do the trick (after you bake the gas out of the float.) Those Wisconsins are one of the best industrial engines this country's ever made!
It's typically pretty easy to drill a tiny hole in a corner of the float. Then make that corner the lowest point so the gas drains out. Once it's dry, a tiny bit of solder will easily seal that hole shut and then you just have to solder up the original leak you discovered from the hot water dunk.
Is that the same engine as the Wisconsin Robin.......or same company? In the mid 90's (Inland Empire of SoCal) as an early teen, I started working with my uncle who was a painter and his Speedflo airless had a Wisconsin Robin engine. He really liked that engine, but later we upgraded to a newer and bigger airless that I think had a Honda engine. That is pretty cool you got to play with that buggy. My brother and I would have had so much fun with something like that, as kids.
Thank you for sharing your memory, sir.
Talk about turning the clock back 65+ years - then you see how far we've come with how we do it today !! I much prefer how we do the same thing these days !! Thanks for sharing Matt !!
@@johnking8679 engineering of the same vintage as the Apollo Hoax. No wonder we've never been back to the moon! Ludicrous they fooled us the first time!!
Made me smile, chuckle, then made me laugh at the end 😊
That's the beauty of this channel, Matt. You got heavy equipment, trucks, mowers, saws, splitters, a mill, a power rake and now a cement buggy. Coolest channel of all.
Thanks 👍
Definitely! One of each! LOL
The joy in your face when these old beasts come back to life makes this video entirely worth watching. The joy and passion you have just puts a smile on my face... Love this channel, been watching you for many years...
Glad you enjoyed it
""I'm getting a little off track here..." lol I think it's genetic Matt old boy.😀 @@DieselCreek
Great job Matt! Cool project
Definitely the type of unit that deserves full restoration.
Nice ride! Good find!
Atleast a good detail. Would shine some more 😅
The float can be resoldered saving the carburetor
You find some amazing pieces of industrial history Matt.
10/10 for seeing potential and not scrap value 👍
It breaks my heart I live in NY 7 hours away from Matt and everything old iron around me I wanted to own has been scrapped
Those buggies are still used, at least new versions. Here in SoCal, we get a pump for everything but watching concrete guys in Wisconsin, they often use a buggy. It is cheaper and they can run any mix vs. having to thin it out and run gravel vs. rock.
You can fix the float by baking it in an electric toaster oven to get the gas out. Then use flux and a soldering iron to reflow the solder. Used to do that in the 70’s
100%
If all else fails, a guy can find em on evil bay.
That was a fun video. Take getting the hang of to drive and not hurt anyone.
@@kriswright1022 More fun to fix 'em.
DO NOT use a torch to vaporize the gas out. I was fixing a float and the gas was vaporizing out nicely, with a little jet of flame. Then it blew up.
Generic name for them on a concrete job is a "Georgia Buggy" . Use to see them all the time before concrete pump trucks came around. That's when men were men and sheep were scared.🍻
You can still rent the more modern versions.
For some jobs, cheaper than the pump truck and plenty fast.
With all due respect there is nothing irrational about being excited most especially when resurrecting an old piece of technology! I do not have the capability of sandblasting where I'm at but my ADHD / OCD would compel me to sandblast the equipment you work on and repaint them!
Georgia buggies are absolutely fantastic for Close Quarters and would arguably be more reasonable than hiring a pump. Congratulations on your new acquisition of the Ice Bucket!
That is a sweet little dumper !!! Love it ! Grtz , Jean , France.
It isn't every day you see a grown man this happy. 😂
I ran one of these for my Dad who was a concrete contractor. We used them to pour alleyways. The trick was to slam on the brakes, spin the dump bed and reverse the wheels while they were in the air at the placement location. There is a learning curve to operate them, but we tuned them up some so they were fast and fun for young men. At the end of day, you knew you had worked because during a pour the delivery was non stop and we used multiple units with passing lanes. We used those until concrete pumps became available.
Matt,
If you have a float with gas it, dip in hot water.
You will get a stream of bubbles where the leak is.
Point the leak down so the gas will pee out of the float.
Clean the spot where the leak is with fine sand paper and solders.
Check with hot water to see if the float is real fixed,
Stan
Great videos, from Kountze Tx. My son (43) and I (70) watch you them and discuss them the next time we see each other. You’re doing what I used to do , I had my son helping me changing turn table gearboxes when he was 10 or so. We appreciate you so much, we’re dragging my grandson into the fold, but girlfriends keep getting in the way. 👍👍👍
Hey Matt: As far as the engine smoking a bit, remember you put 2 stroke gas in it, so that's most likely the cause. What a fun find! Enjoyed it!
I can't believe that he forgot about the fuel he's used.
When you went..EEWWWW..all I could think of was Jim Varney. Know what I mean Vern?..Cool machine
For its day and time I'd bet that this concrete buggy was quite innovative. The best part of these videos is seeing the joy on your face when you get something that looks like junk running.
Your enthusiasm is infectious! For those whom have spent time reconditioning a neglected piece of equipment we can relate. So much satisfaction involved. Thank you Matt for sharing your knowledge, time and sticktoitiveness in bringing us these awesome rescues.
Wow! Never seen anything like this before. Quite a unique find! I vote for full restoration.
concrete carrying bumper cars :)
Being in commercial construction since 1978 I saw allot of these on many projects I was on as a union carpenter . I have been retired since 2011 .
Definitely a good clean up and a lick of paint with the Diesel Creek stickers on the side and you'll be the envy of any show.
+1 At least a good cleanup, full working condition and a nice coat of paint.
Amazingly, Whiteman Power Buggies are still manufactured - $14,000!
I think this buggy would be a great candidate to fully restore and make it a show piece to drive around at shows!
It is definitely designed for concrete. The shallow angle at the lip and the narrowing means rock and dirt will pack as they move forward.
It is a really nice piece of history.
I live in Melbourne Australia and I can remember back to around 1953. A 6 foot concreate sewer main was been laid under our street. They had a huge concreate mixer which dump trucks would tip sand and rock in a hopper on one side and an army of these motorised dumpers would be filled with mixed concreate to be transported to end of the sewer pipe. The workers were all Italian migrants and as a 10 year old boy I had never heard anyone speek anything other than English, I was fascinated by these people. Your video reminds me of times long passed. Thank you.
had what was called dumpies,in the SEC,later version of Matt's ,had 16 inch bar tread tyres,single cylinder diesel,which put the whole thing higher,no problems unloading,great fun to drive with the rear wheel steering.
Always fun to see you smile when you get an engine started.
Congrats.
Thanks for the vide.
Gotta admit it's pretty cool to see a way back in the day Georgia buggy living again. Not to mention another win for those antique Wisconsin engines, it seems like the ones that don't quit never quit.
Edit: Turning it into a motorized beer trough sounds like a damn good minty idea👌
I remember watching a crew use those machines to drive concrete up a ramp and dump it into wall forms for my Grandfather's house foundation. I was probably about 10 yrs. old and I'm 76 now. Thanks for the memories.
That Ax to grind comment. Just wow. Caught me COMPLETELY off gaurd heh.
Mid-week upload!? YES!!!
Ah, the glorious "tremmie." They'd get raced around on multi-story buildings, sometimes going over the edge, sometime with the operator still aboard. Very much replaced by the modern articulated concrete pump. (Some Unions mandated them right into the 80s.) You almost never ran them straight into a spot, you canted them in, so as to start the turning of the dolly wheel before the need.
If at a meet, like the Steam Show, for someone to ride in the bucket--this is not a good idea. If they sit on the edge, they are way in front of the balance point. If they sit back, they wind up folded up into the bottom of the dump bucket (there are OSHA and Shop Rules on this aplenty as a result).
I’d love to see this blasted and restored ❤
17:00 The pulley tells you which way to wrap the starter cord , there is an angled side and a more vertical side. That is where the knot on the rope goes
How am I suppossed to get my own projects done when Matt posts another cool video.
How very true,everything stops when Matt has a new video out,and i watch it till the end.
that was fun to watch Merry Christmas
Just like a kid on his first go cart ! Love it Matt.
Hey Matt you can use it for pickup your wood so if have a wood stove for your shop. But hey great video keep them coming. 👍
Just one thing, don’t think the turning radius is tight enough 😊 well done! Give it a pressure wash then show us on the next video. That thing would look great all done up with new decals and a load of ice and beer in the hopper!
Three wheel power trolleys were very common in markets and factories between WW1 and WW2 in England and Australia. They were a bit larger than that one and had a single cylinder diesel. They were/are bullet proof and ran for many years.
Firewood hauler for the boiler
To get "irrationally excited" is a wonderful thing, Matt! May you never lose that sense of satisfaction and wonder!
I love it! It steers like the old school bumper cars. It's much faster than I figured it would be.
I think you should give it a nice paint job, slap some Diesel Creek stickers on it, and use it to cruise around at the auction & shows.
BTW, you could probably still buy OEM rings for the pistons. That and a valve job would probably cure most of the smoke & give it a bit more power.
What a cool dumper, love the simplicity of design, in some ways these old designs are better than we have today.
I love that little cart!!! Such a cool beer wagon for parties!!! Can't believe how well she carried all that stone...
One of my favourite episodes - seeing an ingenious machine back working - ‘beating the heck out of a wheelbarrow’- the whopping when she starts is always a magic moment
That one deserves a maximum beautification. I can just see a nice two stage paint job, some decals, maybe a replacement of all the original labels and such. Nice.
Interesting bit of trivia: The first CVT was actually designed in 1490 by Leonardo DaVinci. The first patent for one was issued in 1886 and they actually started getting popular around 1910.
I often wonder what kind of contraptions we'd have today if DaVinci hadn't been born 500 years ahead of his time. The guy was an engineering powerhouse!
@@Studio23Media He stole most of his ideas , just like Edison.
Well, TBH, his design was not at all fumctional- like his helicopter (with a hand-powered spiral sail flying machine,, or, by a tank powered by a few people (dwarfs)- presuming paved roads, no grades, fire, etc...)
All good ideas, just not well thought out, or ever tested or built, etc... Beautifully written though. (he was a poet, at heart, I think.)
Tolkien was not a mechanic, not a skilled engineer, not evem a particularly good craftsman. He was a dreamer, and it was his talent that he could share his dreams with us, and he shared such dreams and inspiration through his stories and his contributions to philology...
I love hearing the old Wisconsin and Clinton engines run they have such a distinct sound. Glad to see another piece of old iron live again.
These 1940s Concrete Buggies are very neet Matt @Diesel Creek
Growing up in NYC, I remember seeing armies of these little guys pouring concrete to areas that the trucks and chutes couldn't reach...brings back memories...
This is one of the coolest things you’ve shown yet! Never seen anything like that. Operates like an old bumper car from the fair, in terms of the steering and whatnot. Very fascinating.
I agree it would be so cool to have that at a party as a cooler. And also as a merch wagon like you mentioned.
Are you planning to clean it up at all? Maybe do a whole restoration with paint like you did with the Galion? Either way, I hope to see it in person one day!
Convenient contraption, all you need with that is an excavator to unload it 👍. Powered wheel barrel-300 bucks, excavator-25,000
Looks like it’s well engineered and has impressive traction. I never expected it to go as fast as it does.
lol looks unnecessarily fast
6.8 hp won’t go fast when it’s loaded up.
Matt, I've got a pretty good boneyard of old Wisconsin's (mainly 2 & 4 cylinder THD/TJD & VE4/VF4, but I think there's a couple one pot A series ones in there too). If you ever find yourself in need of some of the unobtainium there, feel free to reach out. Also have quite a bit of Ford SOS stuff, which is pretty much all unobtainium at this point, should you ever have a need for it.
As far as this machine goes, it depends on what you wanna do for it. if you do a full resto, a dingle ball hone & a fresh set of rings would probably clean up the smoke & would last for as long as you need it. If you want to run it regularly & hate the rope start, throw a new Honda in it. Would have to adapt your clutch & that trick throttle set up to it, but I'm sure it could be done.
The old Wisconsin really takes me back. I was 9 years old in 1974 when my Dad bought two David Bradley Walk Behind garden tractors with 5 HP Wisconsin engines. From that age, I was taught that Wisconsin engines were the gold standard of small engines. My dad retired with over 43 years of working as the real live "Hank Hill" with propane gas, and during that time, he converted one of the David Bradley walk behinds and two of our Wheel Horse riding tractors with even larger Wisconsins up to 20 HP (not to mention various family sedans and pickup trucks) to propane power. EVERY ONE OF THEM had the pulley you had to wrap the rope around to start, like the one you have in your video. I remember Dad having a trailer to pull behind his walk behind tractors and he would ride in it and my Mom would refer to him as Ben Hur in his chariot. I also remember the insulation on the kill switch on the magneto being somewhat "shockingly compromised" and making my brother and me to use the choke to kill the engine instead of the kill switch...
Bonus video!! Thanks Matt! Those brass floats are pretty easy to repair. Just clean them up with water, then re-solder to repair the leak. If you need to drain the float you can either de-solder the seal or drill a small hole, drain and solder it back together.
Be careful soldering a float. Too much heat before sealing it will cause it to collapse when it cools. Don't ask me how I know.
This is an interesting one!
I know I say it a lot but it stands true every time- Thanks for sharing the journey with us.
FYI: If you will put your knot on the rope in the slot on the pulley and wind your rope around it, it will be a lot faster than spinning your motor backwards to wind it on. That's how we did it old school.
6:59 I had one, I did actually use it at a flee market and used it to haul dirt to my backyard, I was going to have to haul about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of dirt, but I had my wheelbarrow with a motor. I used it one year for hauling rocks clearing out a fence row, where the farmers had stacked all the rocks over the years. I paid 100 dollars for it at a garage sale, played with it a couple years and sold it for 400. Made money on it and got to use it. I very seldom sell my stuff, but I had my fun with it. 😊 I shall add mine had a Wisconsin engine on it and it was HOT SOB sitting on top of that engine on a hot day
I remember concrete small jobs around homes for commercial!! Pads , etc
I can recall seeing those being used on construction projects. I worked for a glass company right out of high school in 1975. It's really cool to see one again.
The bad float can be soldiered/repaired easily. It must be cleared of all fuel, washed in soapy water water, drained and dried then carefully soddered to reseal the float. Careful with a torch flame.. 😊😊
Matt, I used to have this goofy contraption of a riding lawnmower that worked the same way. It was piwered by the single front wheel, and for reverse youd just turn it past center. It was called Big Mow. Had a 6hp Tecumseh engine, and two teeny tiny blades under the 26" deck. The two speed transmission worked kinda like a drill press, but you turned this knob thingy and it would tighten one belt and loosen the other. I wish I'd have kept it.
This is BY FAR the most interesting episode that you’ve done for a while. Yes please to more things like this and it would be great to have an episode dedicated to cleaning it up and doing a rustoration
6:27 I do believe that to not be an axe, but a drywall hammer... the bill side would be for scoring the sheetrock...
That is probably a replacement ignition coil. The original ones were usually black (at least on the AKN/D). They liked to get kinda gummy and after warming up would lose spark. The D on the part number just means stellite exhaust valve and hardened seat.
Another gotcha with those engines is oiling. They are your standard splash lube affair but there is a trough through which the oil slinger runs, that trough is filled by a little pump that runs off a lobe from the cam, if the ball/spring in the pump sticks with crud from sitting you can have full oil but actually no oil in the trough. It's a clever system, means if you're low on oil there's still sufficient splash lube, but can also kill the engine.
Congratulations on your quarter-ton two-stroke sit-and-spin :)
I love that you left it running even when you hoisted it into the air with your excavator bucket to dump out the hopper!
It's not a two-stroke. Matt just used oil-mixed gas to be gentle to the engine sitting for so long
Another tip for old floats is submerge them in water and watch for bubbles.
In the 70’s i operated a real similar machine. We had about a 15 ft wide X about 200’ runway and at first it was a real challenge to keep it running in a straight line. After running it for about a week you found out it was ALOT better than a wheel barrow.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO SEE YOUR VIDEOS POP UP!!!
This dumper is really cool. I have never seen one before. Here is a suggestion in order for the operator to orient the drive direction at a glance without having to look down at the motor: put a single mark or line (such as a heavy loop of electrical tape) on the steering wheel when it is lined up with moving forward. Basically, have the marked line on the "front" (farthest point away from your seat), that way you can glance at the road, the load, and the steering wheel all at the same time and know that it is ready to go forward. I would also put two parallel lines on the opposite side of the wheel ( the point nearest your seat) so that when you are driving in reverse those two lines are pointing towards your load which you will be checking any way. My suggestion should free you from having to look under your seat to confirm wheel direction. Just a thought. Love your page. Joe living in Germany.
Matt, it's nice to see you still giving screen time to the smaller, quirkier stuff here and there, especially as you expand your operations and acquire more better, more bigger things. Some folks like me will always be drawn to the small-engined weird stuff, so I appreciate it. Looks like some good, sketchy fun! Cheers!
Over in the UK similar units were very popular, for a large variety of purposes of hauling dirt, coal and other things around. The channel Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels has quite a few videos on some units which he recovered and restored. They're really good fun to play around with :)
Hey young lady, this is reason 110 why I love 'DA TUBE'! You get insight and history from others in a OTHER COUNTRY!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!
Lawrie's have been diesel wonder if most of the ones in UK is diesel.
@@afberglund2764 Diesel has been common in the UK and much of Europe for much longer, yeah. I'm still weirded out by so many (older) petrol-powered trucks and construction equipment in the US. It just seems so normal to me that anything but cars use diesel engines.
@@MayaPosch apart from gardening tools, petrol is the norm there. Well until you get into really big mowers
Your buildings/garage as well as equipment are phenomenal. Your ability to build and repair equipment are also phenomenal. You are the man! Keep those videos coming.
Hey Matt, I don't remember seeing an episode where you purchased the era correct, for the auto car Ford tri-motor corrugated fifth wheel trailer for the tractor 47:50
Great revival, got to look after the little guys, thanks for sharing 👍💨💨
I needed one of these back in the day. Using a wheel barrow that was full of concrete down a hill was absolute fun for me (not) helping my step dad setting up footings or forms for him. This would have made life so much easier.
Beats the hell out of a wheel barrow!
As someone who doesn't work with vehicles but rather electronics, I definitely think you could use an ultrasonic cleaner for your shop. You could throw the entire carburetor (or any other small parts, screws, spark plugs, you name it) into it for like half an hour while you work on something else, and have it come out looking almost brand new, free of any gunk inside and out. Yeah sure it wouldn't help with fuel in the floats like in this particular case, but doing a deep clean like that at the start of any new project sure as hell won't hurt, plus they're not that expensive and you can totally reuse the fluid a few times (or even just use water)
It may not be of much use, but you had lots of fun playing with it, and that was great to see. It's good that you find and care for these mechanical curios!
That thing looks like a blast to run.. It truly deserves a bit more of a restoration. If nothing else a good sandblasting and a fresh paint job.
Nah, keep it as is and restore the battered one
Hi from UK please see if you can find a scammel scarab articulated truck they were the best , you would be amazed how good they were . Three wheeler's hauling loads round yards please buy one you will be amazed and also and your viewers
Good for you Matt for preserving these dumpers, interesting finds are not always big hunks of metal, and as you say should be great for touring steam fairs and auto jumble sites.
Watched the full video before commenting and have to say I was surprised for a mid weeker and thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Always do enjoy your vids but nice to see a small old machine brought back to life.
Oh man. The memories of the oil field. I had one of these engines I used hooked up to a gear a circulating pump. I don't know how many times it was under water. Drained, cleaned and refilled fluids and fire off first pull. Great engines.
That is a really cool unit. And extremely useful. I've carried concrete in a wheel barrow enough to see the value in it. Too bad it doesn't mix also. You'd never need a concrete truck for smaller projects.
What a great little machine, no matter big or small, they all need a little lovin'. Thank you Matt, Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Wow at how clean the fuel Tank is Vs The Sediment Bowl crazy Matt 10:07 @Diesel Creek
Hi Matt, I think the small pieces of equipment are just as important as the big. They still show the history and tell a story. I hope to see more like this
Man this looks like an absolute beauty of a little machine. Yes it could use some creature comforts as the cog lock but it seems to be a nice little zipper for dry sand, mud, smaller gravel and indeed concrete. And as you've said, a beer cart would also be cool. Another vote for full restoration! Make that puppy shine bright like the proud little power buggy it used to be!
AND, put the DC logo on it too.
You came up with some cool applications for these "buggies." ...I read your comment before I had time to cognize the concept. I forget where it was brought up, which TH-cam video, where some commenter mentioned these. Yeah, conveying sand, rock, gravel, dirt/loam, pavers, potted plants, fertilizer... Landscape contractors would love them: they can haul a few truckloads of materials either in or out of a freshly constructed house. Or older home that has gates, walls...impediments or restrictions from truck access. I've seen some motorized wheelbarrows, but nothing like these. Sorry, I ain't in the trades. Not just for cement...think about it.
I agree, what fun. I really do appreciate your small engine work, that’s more my speed. I was impressed at its speed. Beer wagon makes sense.
I could use one of those! CVT's have been used in Snowmobiles since a Canadian by the name of Joseph Armand Bombardier first used one in 1959 on his invention. It was called a Ski-Doo. 🙂
Is this the genesis of the Bombardier Corporation which built everything from Ski Doos to Rail cars? Bom Bar Dee Ayyy, by the way. Lots of the AMTRAK SUperliner cars were made by them in Canada, then finished in Barre, VT.
The same Bombardier of the Aircraft engineering world by any chance?
@@nickmaclachlan5178 Yes, the same. They started as a recreational products company (plus their Bombardier tracked vehicles) and ended up as an aircraft company.
12/14/23 hey Matt, that old red Whiteman(?) 8 hp gas wheeled cc 'buggy' with 360° swivel engine steering is really neat! Glad you got it working! Purpose?..well..like you said...best use now day is for special events, admiring its engineered design & practicality...hauling beer 🍻 🎉😊 Nice video today! Stay safe & carry on!⚙️⚒️💪🔧🍺🎅
Seriously cool Mat now. What you have to do is fix it up and put a flame job On it put some chrome on the exhaust polish up the wheels Then fill it with ice and your favorite beverage and invite your friends over for barbecue looks pretty cool
What a fantastic piece of equipment! It's ridiculously simple and I love the fact that you can access any part of the engine by just rotating it. Damnit I'm gonna be on the hunt for one of these now!
Can you imagine how much fun the lads had using these things on jobs?!
The look on your face when you get things running always cracks me up! Absolutely brilliant
Before the cement pumper, these were used on skyscrapers!! A few went airborne by mistake !! They were off the buildings!!! They also had models with fan blades used to smooth the cement! The blades were no help when they went airborne 😂😂😂!
Great ideas for its uses might be good for landscaping. At that price, it's hard to go wrong . Always interesting to see what you are doing.
Central California watching.
Awesome find!..looks like it goes pretty fast 😂..I could see why they stopped making them..looks like it could tip over easily
Google "Whiteman power buggy". They are still around, though modernized and re-priced a bit.
Still making them, or variants thereof. They do walk behinds, tracked and wheel drive versions.
The second hopper buggy needs a Yanmar single cylinder air cooled diesel. It would be a fitting swap for the channel, and they're horizontal shaft like those are. I've been wanting to get my hands on one for a while to power a mower.
I worked for a company called Mellon Stewart back in the late 80's on a 28 story highrise in Orlando. The company was out of PA. We had 5 of these we used to get trash out of the building. Done the buckhoist to the loading dock dumpsters. My crew would full 3 to 4 dumpsters in a day with these.
That’s really cool, love seeing you save the oldies ! Great job, Love watching.
Way cool i like it TIP- place wheels facing forward than put a piece of colored tape at the top center of the steering wheel now it is easy to tell what direction you are going
Great save Matt! When I resurrect an aircooled engine I always pull off the shroud to check for mice nests which could clog the fins and cause overheating.