Why ‘Auto-Marine’

By Staff

The following is one of several articles written by the late Max
Homfeld but never published. These were recently found by his widow
while going through some of his files, and the article appearing
here was sent to us by subscriber Dick Day, who thought the
information would be of interest to marine engine collectors.

I helped restore two Ferro marine engines for the I Chesapeake
Bay Maritime Museum. The first one was a 2-cylinder 2-cycle engine.
The nameplate was inscribed ‘Ferro Machine & Foundry Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio, Type G, 11 HP, serial no. 26885.’ The second
Ferro was a single cylinder 2-cycle engine with this added
statement on the nameplate: ‘Ferro Auto-Marine.’ On this
name plate, the model, HP, and serial number spaces were blank. The
‘Auto-Marine’ statement was intriguing, and I wanted to
learn what it meant.

William Granson Rose’s book, Cleveland: The Making of a
City
, tells that Ferro had its beginning as the Hoffman Hinge
Company, making hinges and railroad car couplers. The name was
changed to Ferro Machine and Foundry Company in 1905. The location
was always at 3155 East 66th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. The company
prospered by building high-quality marine engines, with Crispin
Oglebay as president and treasurer. In 1910, he claimed that Ferro
was the largest maker of marine engines in the world. The marine
engine line consisted of ten models, 3 to 25 HP, using three
different cylinder sizes, and built as one, two, and three-cylinder
engines. All were 2-port, 2-cycle engines. The lubrication system
was most unusual, as there was an oil tank (cast into the base on
most models) which was pressurized by crankcase pressure through a
check valve. Oil under pressure went to a row of drip oilers for
main bearings, the pistons, and carburetor air. Coolant passages
were drilled rather than being exposed pipes as on most marine
engines of that time. Ferro built their own brass carburetors and
timers. The 3 HP model was the Ferro Special, a lower-cost
single-cylinder engine. It had a drip oiler for the piston and rod
and grease cups for the main bearings, normal practice in those
days. Ferro also built outboard motors during the years
1906-1917.

There was an article in a 1911 issue of Motor Boat
Magazine
saying that Ferro was going into the stationary
engine business ‘in a big way.’ The stationary engines were
simply the marine engines mounted on an iron base with a pair of
large flywheels and a governor.

Ferro V8 Engines – Model Designation and
Specifications

Model

Bore

Stroke

HP

Weight

8-35

2 5/8

3 3/4

35

360

8-48

3

3 1/2

48

467

8-60

3 1/4

4

60

487

12-80

2 7/8

4 1/2

80

730

Oglebay intended to enter the automobile engine market as well.
They began to produce a V8 auto engine in 1917. 1 believe that any
Ferro marine engine bearing the ‘Ferro Auto-Marine’
nameplate was built after the V8 entered the design stage. The V8
was a pioneer for its time, as it was one of the first V8’s to
be cast en bloc (the cylinder blocks and crankcase in one piece).
That indicates the skill and capability at the Ferro foundry. The
engine was a valve-in-head design.

I found sales literature on Ferro automotive engines in both the
Patent Library of the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association
and in the Automotive History Collection in the Detroit Public
Library. In the photograph file of the latter library are 8×10
photographs of the Ferro V8 by itself as well as installed in a
car. V8 engines were offered in three sizes – 35, 48, and 60 HP
-and there was a VI2 of 80 HP.

The 1919 edition of the Victor W. Page book, The Modern Gas
Automobile
, lists the purchased engines used in 1919 model
cars. The 8-35 Ferro V8 was in the Scripps-Booth model D, and the
8-48 in the Jackson and Wolverine cars. The Page book contains a
drawing of the Ferro in a Jackson car. Incidentally, there were 76
cars that used purchased engines (not their own make).

I found advertisements for Ferro marine engines in the 1917
issues of Motor Boat Magazine, though the ads were much smaller
than in previous years. There were none in the 1918 issues. This
must have been the period when the marine engines were dropped.
When production of the automotive V8 was terminated is not
known.

Rose’s book states that Ferro began making cylinder block
castings for the Ford Motor Company. I have learned that Ferro cast
the six cylinder blocks for Ford for a few years before and a few
years after World War II. I believe that Ferro found automotive
foundry work more profitable than building their own engines.
According to Rose, Ferro produced over 100,000 tons of castings
during World War II. In 1946, a management group purchased the
company from the Oglebay interests. There was a note in the
Clevelander in May 1951 that Ferro was building a 35,000 square
foot addition to the factory. Perhaps they anticipated an
automotive contract that didn’t materialize. In February 1953,
The Clevelander stated that Ferro had been sold to the
John Harsch Bronze and Foundry Company. Then The News of
April 13, 1955 announced an auction of all the Ferro equipment.
Employment had gone down to 300 employees, compared to 2,800 in
former times, and Ferro was going out of business.

I checked the Cleveland telephone directory and found that the
Ferro name lives on. There is a Ferro Corporation at 1000 Lakeside
Avenue, with 11 divisions, and there is a Ferro Engineering
Division of the Oglebay-Norton Company with the main office at 1100
Superior Avenue. Remember that the president of Ferro in 1910 was
Crispin Oglebay. I wrote to both companies, and received a
telephone call from Reynold Thompson, president and CEO of
Oglebay-Norton. He told me about the present company and sent me an
annual report. Today, the company operates bulk carriers on the
Great Lakes, and operates coal and silica mines. Ferro Engineering
Division designs and builds special equipment for steel mills and
coal mines.

  • Published on Oct 1, 2001
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