It's real the 1/2 scale engine's are made by Tom Sieber!
The Little Indian Comes Alive
Winger and Indian couple of years ago, Dick Winger showed up at the AMCA national meet at Eustis, Florida with a 50% scale working model of an Indian V-twin engine built by Tom Sieber of Chula Vista, California.
Whereas a real Indian twin, circa 1907, weighs about 88 pounds, Sieber's tiny replica weighs only 20.
Proving beyond a doubt that the little engine runs, at Oley Winger arrived with it installed in a scaled-down chassis that he had built from scratch during the last 45 days.
Winger jokes, "Does this mean I have too much time on my hands?" Sieber, has built five of the little Indians, and was on hand at Oley to research the idea of building a miniature Indian eight-valve.
He estimates that designing and fabricating the first miniature Hedstrom-type twin required approximately 300 hours.
More to come.....
One Little Indian
I have written before about how much I enjoy the ingenious, odd, and sometimes bizarre contraptions that the skilled craftsmen within the AMCA membership come up with from time to time. Years ago, I recall seeing at the Little Indian Engine Davenport meet a demonstration of a single-cylinder engine for which someone had constructed a Lucite cylinder. It could not be run for more than a few moments at a time due heating and lubrication problems, but when in operation, one could clearly see the piston whizzing up and down, and a kind of a smokey fog in the combustion chamber. At Eustis this year I was amazed again by a tiny Hedstrom-type Indian twin, seen here, that Dick Winger had on display. Appearing to be somewhere around 50% scale, it was assembled from beautifully cast and machined parts. Winger says it will run, and thinks an Indian eight-valve would make an ideal future project. Indeed, it would!
Speaking of Indians, we have previously reported on the collaboration between collector Dick Winger and machinist Tom Sieber to build 50% scale Indian engines. Displaying a half-scale, 20 pound working replica of a Hedstrom twin at the Oley, Pennsylvania AMCA meet, Winger announced that Sieber planned to build an eight-valve Indian. Pictured here is the result, approaching completion. Note that the valve train has been finished for the rear cylinder, but the front cylinder head remains to be drilled and machined. If you doubt that this is actually a miniature, compare its size to the name tag on Winger's shirt.
See pic below for the Blue and Red 1/2 Scale Indians, and pic of Dick Winger & Tom Sieber with the other 1/2 scale Indian, In last pic is Dick Winger holding his Cyclone engine 1/2 scale version, built by Tim Sieber!
Mr B. you are correct they are 20-inch wheels!
