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The Scott/McCulloch OX Story

One of the little known chapters of the McCulloch outboard venture is the series of Scott and McCulloch OX outboards they produced. One of these (a McCulloch 140 OX) was recently purchased at the Barrie Automotive Flea Market by member Don Crossland. This model (probably the most common) has a 14 hp McCulloch powerhead mated with a 45 hp lower unit, large low-pitch prop and reduction gearing. This (and all OX models) was designed to push or pull heavy loads (log booms, barges, etc) at slow speeds while allowing the motor to run at normal RPMs.

Other versions include the 45 hp McCulloch 450 OX and the extremely rare Scott OX 150D - a three cylinder two stroke diesel outboard mated to a 28 hp Scott lower unit. It is thought that only 300 of the Diesels were produced and that all of them went to China where in Singapore Harbour there was a law against gasoline outboard motors due to the fire risks with people living gunnel-to-gunnel in Sampans. However there is a rumour that some of the Diesels may have been sold in North America to logging and mining companies for use on northern rivers as these companies already had diesel equipment on hand.

The OX The Scott OX 150D The OX 450 Made where? The specifics

Mercury Offshoots

With financial help from his father, Carl Kiekhaefer bought the dying Thor outboard motor manufacturing company in Cedarburg, Wis. His plan was to make magnetic separators for the dairy industry. However, after buying the plant, Carl needed to pay his employees and his attention fell on the 300 remaining outboard motors that had been rejected by the Montgomery Ward mail order retailer as unreliable. Carl and a small group rebuilt the motors and with a little persuasion and a successful demonstration sold them back to Montgomery Ward. The engines performed so well that the buyer placed an order for more.

Working on his own designs Carl developed features such as a rubber water pump rotor, a one-piece streamline lower unit and a reed valve induction system and named them Mercury, after the fleet-footed messenger of the Roman gods. At the 1940 New York Boat Show, Kiekhaefer displayed his engines for the first time; accepting orders for more than 16,000 motors and kick starting the new Mercury outboard business.

In December 1941, the United States entered World War II. American factories shifted production from commercial to military products. At the Kiekhaefer Corporation, as the government restricted supplies of aluminum for non-military use; production and expansion ground to a halt. Nationwide, factories were converted to manufacture equipment for the war effort and Kiekhaefer was no exception. In order to remain in business, the company went after military contracts. The military needed efficient chainsaws for the army, and Carl got busy on designs. Though Carl had never produced a chainsaw; and though army engineers had tried to develop a reliable, useable portable  saw; in a mere two months the Kiekhaefer Corporation presented a new saw for testing. In the test the saw powered by the Mercury engine cut through a 24-inch green log in 17 seconds. Since the closest competition finished the job in 52 seconds; the contract was awarded to Kiekhaefer.

During World War II the Kiekhaefer Corporation mass-produced chainsaw engines (the chain and bar were produced by Disston) and by the end of the war, they were the largest builder of chainsaws in the world. The Kiekhaefer company also manufactured  two-cycle engines for military drone aircraft, and became a recognized authority on radio-controlled aircraft.  

Johnson, Like all the others, was not strictly building outboard motors either, as this 1946 add in the Canadian puplication Farm Workshop Guide demonstrates.

Oddballs

Not all motors made it from the drawing board to the back of someone's boat, as shown here. Move your cursor off the picture than back over, pause and click on the symbol that appears at the lower right to enlarge.

Accessories

Sometimes other manufacturers wanted to get in on the boating boom profits and came up with useful (or usless) accessories for the boating public. Check here for a sample.

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