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Ladies and Gentlemen welcome back to the final episode of the Clinton 494 engine restoration. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I think it came out great.
This old Clinton was mounted on an old lawnmower chassis. I decided to try my hand at restoring it, and here is part one of the restoration.
If you have any suggestions for improvement, or compliments share them below!
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Some history on the company that made this engine.
C.A. Depue was the president of the Central Steel Tube Company in Clinton, Iowa when he opened a small factory in Maquoketa to manufacture machine gun components during World War II. He expanded the operation calling it The Maquoketa Company and built a factory on the east side of town. This building was built as an office building for the plant from 1945 to about 1947. By 1950 the factory had grown to 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2). That same year Depue sold the facility to Don Thomas, who moved his Clinton Machine Company from Clinton, Michigan to Maquoketa. The Maquoketa Company moved to Clinton, Iowa.
Clinton Machine Company manufactured small gasoline engines, and by 1956 they were the tenth largest employer in Iowa. It changed its name to Clinton Engines Corporation in 1958. It was at this time that farmers began working in the factory and farmed around their shift work. Thomas sold the company to the Charnay Group, an investment company based in New York City. The company manufactured engines for washing machines, chain saws, outboard motors, industrial air circulation fans, and lawnmowers for a variety of companies.
It won the President's "E" Award in 1966. However, the Charnay Group failed to adequately support Clinton Engines financially, and it had to file for bankruptcy the same year. Clinton Engines was sold to Martin Hoffinger, a New York investor, who operated the company on a reduced basis. It was eventually downsized to produce spare parts for engine repairs. By 1999 there were only about 35 employees left. The plant was in disrepair when it closed that year. In 2000 the facility was donated to the city of Maquoketa, which tore down the factory and maintained the office building. The Jackson County Historical Society maintains the Clinton Engines Museum, the Jackson County Research & Family History Library, the JCHS Media Arts Center, the Clinton Engines Association, and a large program center in the building.
14 апр 2023
