This cute little Buffalo Pitts portable only needs a few small repairs to get it going but somehow they never get done. That cute little kid is now a 20 year old!

It has a lot of interesting features that are typical of American manufactured engines but not common on British engines. The big steam dome is never seen on British engines and the tiny flywheel likewise. The mounting of the cylinder on the side of the boiler is unusual, too, but  makes it more accessible. The engine exhaust passes through a feed water heater, A less desirable feature of the boiler is the "wet" firebox. Where as British boilers were open under the firebars, in this boiler the water space wraps right around the firebox enclosing the area under the firebars. This means that you cannot knock out the firebars and get at the firebox from under the engine. The only access is through the firebox door. It also means that when housekeeping practises were not good the fireboxes soon rusted through on the bottom. This engine has some very "agricultural" repairs to the boiler in this area. 

The seat at the front of the boiler puts the machine into historical perspective. It is clearly from pre tractor days. This the drivers seat from where he controlled the horses. A foot assisted handbrake helped keep the engine from over running the horses coming down the hills.