The Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Company of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, has been manufacturing

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

s since 1909. In its early years Wisconsin made a full range of engines for automobiles, trucks, heavy construction machines, and maritime use. After 1930 it focused on small air-cooled engines widely used in agriculture and construction machines. Wisconsin Engines (previously, Wisconsin Motors) continues to manufacture high quality engines.

History

*March 12, 1909 Wisconsin Motor was incorporated by Charles H. John and Arthur F. Milbrath. By 1912 they employed about 300 people. *1937 Wisconsin Motor merged with

Continental Motors Company Continental Motors Company was an American manufacturer of internal combustion engines. The company produced engines as a supplier to many independent manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, trucks, and stationary equipment (such as pumps, gene ...

but retained a separate identity. *1940 V series V4 engines introduced *1965

Ryan Aeronautical The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tech ...

bought 50 per cent of Continental Motors Corporation *1969

Teledyne Technologies Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate Al ...

bought Continental Motors Corporation *1971

Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

, owner of

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

, appointed Teledyne Wisconsin Motor US agents for their Robin engines *1992 Teledyne Total Power sold out to Nesco Incorporated *2010 Hydrogen Engine Center, Inc. and Wisconsin Motors Sign a Joint Venture *September 30, 2017 Subaru Corporation ended production of small engines.

Products

Small air-cooled engines

Wisconsin's fame came from its small air-cooled engines, such as AEH (used on generators, garden tractors, skidsteers tractors), AEN, and VF4. In the 1950s they were able to claim they were the world's largest manufacturer of heavy-duty air-cooled engines. All Wisconsin's products were 4-cycle and they had power outputs from . There were single, inline two, V-two, and V-four cylinder models. The engines were designed for outdoor field service in industries including agriculture, construction, marine, oil-field equipment and railway maintenance.Wisconsin Motor Corporation. ''New York Herald Tribune'' (European Edition) (Paris, France), Monday, Feb. 4, 1952 There are a wide range of variations in each engine family, including displacement, vertical and horizontal crankshafts, power ratings, and fuel used. Fuels can be gasoline, heating oil, kerosene, LPG, and CNG. File:HowardGem.jpg, Howard Gem Rotavator with Wisconsin THD engine File:Rétromobile 2015 - Half Track M16 White MGMC - 015.jpg, Wisconsin auxiliary on a White M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage File:Snapper Mower with Wisconsin engine.jpg, Snapper Mower with Wisconsin W1-185 engine

Engines for cars and trucks

New automobile companies bought them for their big cars. The

Stutz Bearcat The Stutz Bearcat was an American sports car of the pre– and post–World War I period. Essentially, the Bearcat was a shorter ( wheelbase vs ), lighter version of the standard Stutz passenger car's chassis. It was originally powered by a , 6 ...

car was available with either Wisconsin's four-cylinder Type A or their six-cylinder engine. Both engines were rated at 60 horsepower. Stutz began to build their own engines in 1917.

Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...

was among other customers for Wisconsin engines. Wisconsin engines also powered the trucks made by The FWD Corporation.''Belt Pulley'' Magazine, September/October 2004. Accessed online September 16, 2018
/ref> Between 1945 and 1965

King Midget The King Midget was a micro car produced between 1946 and 1970 by the Midget Motors Corporation. The King Midget company started out by offering a kit to build a car, but soon added completely assembled cars and later only offered completed cars. ...

Cars used a Wisconsin AENL single cylinder engine in their micro car. File:Stutz 4.jpeg, 1914 Stutz Bearcat File:1917 Pierce-Arrow Model 48 Touring (3828790975).jpg, 1917 Pierce-Arrow 48 File:FWD truck from WWI at IWM Duxford Flickr 5781176743.jpg, FWD military truck WWI File:Motor Vehicles - Motor Trucks - Parts - Chassis & Engines - Type "A"- Exhaust View- 4 cylinder - NARA - 45505969.jpg, 1917 Type A File:Freestone King Midget.jpg,

micro car

Engines for construction equipment

Their four and six cylinder engines were used in heavy construction equipment including

Bucyrus-Erie Bucyrus-Erie was an American surface and underground mining equipment company. It was founded as Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1880. Bucyrus moved its headquarters to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1893. In 1927, B ...

and

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

drag-lines and shovels. File:1917 Bucyrus Class 24 Dragline and 1929 Bucyrus Erie 200-B Stripping Shovel (2535705692).jpg, Bucyrus Erie 1917 dragline and 1929 stripping shovel File:VR Class Vk11 Hyvinkaa Rly Mus Finland 1.jpg, 1930 shunting locomotive for Finnish Railway

References

External links

Publication reprints at VintageMachinery.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisconsin Motor Engine manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1909 Motor vehicle engine manufacturers 1909 establishments in Wisconsin American companies established in 1909 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Milwaukee