March 2015 is a month I will never forget. This was by far the most fun several of my family members and I have ever had acquiring a gas engine. I was offered the opportunity to purchase a gas engine, however, we had to get it out of a basement that was four stories underground.
The adventure begins
In the beginning of March, I received an email in regards to an engine for sale. According to the email there were no identifying marks on the engine, they just wanted it gone. When looking at the photos of the engine in the email, I was pretty sure it was a rare old-style Backus. The engine sat on a white ceramic tile base in a dingy dark room. Engines like this don’t turn up every day. My first thought was, who is playing a joke on me? It seemed too good to be true.
Skeptically, I called the number and spoke with a gentleman named Tim from World Impact Ministries located in Newark, New Jersey. Tim was in charge at World Impact and told me he was a car collector and knew a little bit about old items and their value. He thought the engine in the basement of their building was a steam engine. Tim and his crew did not want to see this neat piece of history get scrapped. They knew someone would want it, so they contacted me. They wanted to sell, but I would be responsible for getting the engine out of the building’s basement. I was super interested but still doubtful. I had some questions that Tim could not answer right away. He said he would get back with me. Several days went by and I didn’t hear back from him. My wife, Karen, insisted I call him back. I made the call and received the answers I needed. I couldn’t believe it. This was a legitimate deal.
My excitement level went through the roof. Tim had a scrapper come in months earlier to give him a quote and details of
