Outboard Marine Corporation 4 Rotor: The Real Story

[@donparker8246]

My father worked at Johnson Outboards until 1986. I remember all the hype about rotary engines and how they were essentially mopping the floor with Mercury. I never knew about all the controversy and politics that went on behind the scenes. Thank you for posting this video. As an OMC brat, this was beyond intriguing. 👍😁

[@timothyengland3]

Don, I remember hearing of the rule changes etc in the 70s, however at the time I thought it was just rumours

[@fairwind3111]

If you dig deeper and talk to some old OMC guys you will find more info. From the Waukegan plant. The truth is out there!

[@chevyon37s]

Buuuuut “mopping the floor with Mercury” is basically like wiping your ass after you poop. Everyone does it. Mercury is the Walmart great value brand of outboards.

[@donparker8246]

@@chevyon37s kinda like the MTD of Outboards.

[@donparker8246]

@@fairwind3111 that's where I heard it. My Dad worked in Waukegan for 33 years.

[@Ryan_H22]

That was amazing. Thanks for all the time and effort to make this video!

[@everythingexe]

Glad you liked it

[@robzu1010]

Fantastic work! Never knew this happened as it was well before my time, and it was extremely interesting to hear about. You absolutely nailed it with the video essay, made 40 minutes feel like 10.

[@UltraMagaFan]

I can’t believe OMC went out of business. I wish that company was still around. I have a 1999 Johnson 150 Ocean Pro and it’s a great engine.

[@MasterWitchDoctor]

they didt keep up with the times. They kept making all the same crap year after year and only changed the paint scheme. By the time they tried to keep up it was all over, Yamaha and Mercury were already making loop charged V6s while OMC kept making the antique cross flow crap.

[@samdittmar5142]

This was fantastic, i didn't realize how much the rotary engines actually dominated outboard racing

[@robertjohnson4784]

Wow awesome video I've always been a fan of OMC and rotary engines I never knew they carried the technology that far and was kicking Mercury's butt again a great video and breakdown of their racing heritage I loved watching it

[@GlenB1963]

Such an awesome video. I've been a boaty my whole life of 59 years, and this is the first time that I heard of the OMC rotary. Trust a rival to F up their progress.

[@msurette]

Great video! Keep it up! You will have an audience if you keep making them like this! God Bless!

[@every-istand-ophobe6320]

Omc was a powerhouse. And still to this day you cant beat the reliability of the 70's80'sand 90's Evinrude and Johnson 2 strokes. Period.

[@prevost8686]

True. Yamaha stole technology from OMC to produce their line of 2-stroke outboards. No disrespect to Yamaha’s two strokes as they were great engines but back then Japan loved stealing US technology much like the Communist Chinese do today. Young people today think that Americans couldn’t design and build quality engines which is completely false. NAFTA did more to destroy quality American products than anything else.

[@joserdiazalmodovar1898]

I had a 2000 50 HP Johnson 2 stroke outboard engine that i bought used with a 16 Key Largo CC and it was something out of this world in terms of confidence and endurance of course i treat it like a baby but i put dozens of hours 2 impeller replacements spark plugs i mixed it myself and it worked i mean like an EFI it never failed . Never a problem with low RPM,s trolling or whatever. I Think it was built like a tank . Had it from 2008 to 2019 i sold my boat. Still Working Perfect¡

[@geesss8675]

You operate any new OMC products made after 1984? Exactly what qualifies you to make this statement?

[@staticcorvette5998]

Amazing documentary! I love rotaries but I didn’t even know there was such a big market for these engines back then…this engine was insane!

[@ericsekula8103]

Awesome little documentary! Had no idea OMC/Johnson/Evinrude produced so much more than just outboards.

[@kypackerfan4-12-15]

Only one additional bit of Information here. I worked in the OMC rotary snowmobile engine department until it shut down in 1974. My supervisor, Ronald Tetslove, raced with the rotary engine for Team Evinrude. Dick Wishe ran every engine built and also dyno tested them at the same time. I know that they were making as much as 47 hp at the shaft at that time.

[@everythingexe]

Awesome

[@skipper6567]

Thank you for deep dive into these odd ball outboards. Im a marine engine mechanic and had never seen these omc rotary outboards.

[@peterg321]

Excellent video Liam, certainly a lot of info there that I didn't know about. I have a single rotor engine in my S2 RX-7 that develops 98HP at the wheels on pump gas using fuel injection, and has an RX-8 higher compression rotor. Sounds like a single cylinder motorcycle. With a small turbo it develops about 220HP and with a single Nissan GTR R spec turbo (the cars have 2 turbos) and running 48psi boost, the motor makes about 330HP. Much more fun! Keep up the rotary history work... its not all Mazda after all.

[@danw1955]

Interesting! I'd love to see some rotary content on your channel, but it seems you're more into the model train scene. There's some other guys (@teamboosted) that built up a single rotor and put it into a Porsche Speedster kit car. They did get it running, but I haven't seen any new material from them in almost a year now.😐

[@itsnotmeitshim]

Such a shame OMC went under, they did push the boundries all the time. Made some amazing products.

[@geesss8675]

Sadly the products sold to consumers after 1984 were nothing but substandard at best. . . One engineering failure after another lead to the demise of Evinrude/Johnson/Omc. . . It was very sad indeed to watch but the saddest part was loyal consumers being relentlessly pounded in the wallets and buttholes with one failed product after another.

[@Publicdefender77]

This video is amazing! I have come back to it several times. The information you have provided is invaluable. Thank you!

[@JR-ho5qm]

Great video! I would love to see a video on the Evinrude G2 it is such a great motor that unfortunately got a bad rap and was discontinued.

[@randalltaylor3700]

I grew up racing in the APBA circuit back In the 70's. I had heard the story of Jimbo McConnell slowing down and waving at the Mercury pits while racing the Rotory. I laugh every time I think about it

[@robertpierce1981]

When you talked about lapping the field I remember in F1 Hakkinen and Coulthard lapping the field in their Mercedes’. That was awesome.

[@arboristlife3494]

Hay Liam Great work! I love the rotary motor but more important you did a great job putting this video together and narrating. I believe there’s definitely a future in this for you.

[@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259]

Thank you so much, for puttings this piece together!

[@andrekemp5059]

Mercury 2000cc V6 2 stroke are great engines they make 330hp max at 11 000rpm. I raced F1 powerboat racing in Sout Africa from age 16.

[@TheKajunkat]

Thanks for doing this. I remember reading an article about an experimental rotary outboard engine back when I was in high school. I remembered it as a Mercury but maybe it was the Johnson. I do remember one quote from the driver being scared of the motor because he never got it to stop gaining rpm and propelling the boat faster than he could handle.

[@Leosarebetter]

Fun fact, total global sales of outboard engines is just north of 450,000 units per year. Dismal when compared to vehicle sales and amazing what outboard engines have achieved.

[@stewartarmstrong7567]

One longtime OMC NUT right here Liam well done with the video you have me hooked on your channel . 🇦🇺🤙

[@everythingexe]

Thanks! This great response has motivated me to make another OMC video. I got a few other stories from the same guy

[@stewartarmstrong7567]

@@everythingexe that's awesome , looking forward to them. 🚤 👍😁🤙

[@JETTSET]

Great story and well told. Well done sir👍

[@petec1113]

My Dad, Ron Capp, was a regional Sales Manager for Johnson Motors in the 60"s, 70's and early 80's . He /we had a Wankel powered snowmobile back in the day. There would be tons of people that would stop by to check it out and test drive. We also had a Rampage that we would work on with performance parts he'd pick up from the Waukegan plant so I could Kick the Polaris's, Rupps and Artic Cats butts on a Saturday .

[@nashsutton]

Rampage? Like lil pick up?

[@petec1113]

@@nashsutton No, Johnson Motors named one of their snowmobiles "Rampage" back in the 70's. It was a higher performance machine with special graphics and a higher horsepower engine.

[@atheplummer]

Thank you for a great documentary. I had always heard that OMC had problems with sealing rings.. Apparently that is incorrect. A good machinist friend, who's long since past, always said that if OMC showed up they'd dominate the Merc boys. I've been running 3 liter V6 and 3.6 liter v8 since the early 90's... The only draw back is they are heavy, like you said. I hope Rotopower decides to take on a boat motor project.

[@ct1762]

they are light compared to the 4 strokes!

[@christianmgtow4744]

@ThePlummer Speaks: I'm putting together a pair of 1990 3.0's I'm sure you're aware of second effort. Just curious if you know of where I could find second effort exhaust snout for the 3.0 from back then. These engines are going to be mounted on a brand new 30ft rage. They will be fuel injected and modernized.

[@atheplummer]

@@christianmgtow4744 Unfortunately I do not. I have a 85' 3.6L V8 with some second effort heads, but that's as far as my knowledge goes. I would however contact Monty Racing in Florida. He took my 88 3.0L Looper and got 297HP at 5700RPM on pump gas, measured at the prop shaft. If anyone would be able to help you Gordon (Monty) Montague is the man.

[@christianmgtow4744]

I've been in contact with Monty racing. It's the point where he won't answer the phone anymore because I think he's too busy. And I'm not blaming him either. Someone said he hooked up with sharrow propellers

[@Smart-Skippy]

Kudos #LiamHughes ! What a wonderful and informative doco you put together. I knew zero about this topic prior to watching your video. Thank you so much !!!

[@richardfrisbie252]

Great video! Liked all the racing competition shots and review of the results. Knew OMC and Mercury were tough competitors against each other, but didn't know about the potential sabotage and special racing rules to benefit one side. ONC's rotary engines power to weight ratio is fantastic, but high bsfc numbers don't portend well for economical fuel applications.

[@murraymadness4674]

Great video. Every rotary needs a turbo, the hot exhaust is just wasted without them.

[@andykerr3803]

They are also limited in mechanical compression ratio... So turbo or supercharger for sure.

[@jerrygriffin7629]

The short story is it was a great company that the Canadians ruined

[@kevinhoffman6592]

Shame don't think Canadian people ruined OMC though . i liked their snowmobiles back in the day. Always perfered my little inline four mercury with magneto ignition. Had a few for fishing back in the old days

[@Hiltechshipwrights]

thanks so much man....... friggin loved the vid. From Australia.

[@everythingexe]

Thank you!

[@jmpsavescars]

Great video. I hope their hard work in development gets put to use in the future, long live the rotary

[@everythingexe]

Me too

[@kevinarchbold3704]

not likely

[@jmpsavescars]

@@everythingexe any more audio available on these? Onboard footage would be so cool

[@everythingexe]

I wish, any info is very hard to come by

[@andyharman3022]

Pause at 22:14. The man on the left is Mike Griffith. He was my boss for about 6 months at the John Deere Rotary Engine Division. He had many stories to tell about his experiences on the OMC rotary outboard project. This was about 1987. Then Mike left Deere to continue development of the OMC engine at Moller International. I've worked on many other engine types since my time at REDiv, but I'll always have a warm place in my heart for the Wankel.

[@everythingexe]

That’s so cool. I love all the old rotary programs. I’ve read basically all the sae papers I can find on deere SCORE engines and whatnot. If you ever want to share some stories feel free to email me!

[@riverakers]

OMC was lightyears ahead of the competition in technology and performance thats what scared them and the had to be squashed no matter what the cost. This always hurts the consumer and results in such a loss that it can never or very seldom be recovered. OMC had the most advanced environmentally friendly highest power to weight outboard produced when it was killed. All to the detriment of the marine buying public.

[@GIGABACHI]

Brought to you by Corporate Monopolies and good old lobbying.

[@kevinhoffman6592]

Mercury was far better

[@everythingexe]

Well they shouldn’t have cheated then and made their own class

[@kevinhoffman6592]

@@everythingexe they all had different classes. OMC 3 cyl stingers ran really nice . i just have fondness for old 2 cyl n 4 cyl magnetos mercury motors had a handful of those back in the day.

[@everythingexe]

See now that I can understand!

[@adamdelaney4415]

Thanks for putting this together. Very cool and informative video.

[@stevenvanheel3932]

I didn’t know that they raced sleds at Ogilvie! I go there quite frequently to watch dirt track racing, that was neat to see a sled go around the track!

[@everythingexe]

Cool!

[@getriteb4ugetlft]

Awesome! Thank you, I always wondered what happened to this program.

[@wallydyck844]

This is amazing I have heard about the omc rotary before and how it went into race boats but this is extremely in-depth and really cool what happened in the 70's.

[@PatonMachines]

This was a good documentary you put together! Very interesting. I have a running km3 on my yt and just got a km48. My brother has a km914. I'm looking at building a kart to put the km48 on.

[@everythingexe]

Yes they’re cool little engines

[@owenschicker9211]

KM 914 is 303cc the rotor and housing are 70mm wide ( 2mm wider than the 294cc Km24 and KC27 variants )

[@jamesjost6116]

I worked at OMC & BRP for 47years. As an expediter was responsible for collecting and scrapping all the rotors and engines at the Plant 1 assembly area and machine shop floor. One thing several of us old time OMC guys wonder is what would the Ficht injection been able to do on the rotary.

[@andrekemp5059]

Thanks alot for this videos content! Super amazing info. I want more?

[@kevinbushey1879]

Awesome video loved it

[@brianlavigne3579]

Very interesting and well done!

[@christianmgtow4744]

OMC should never have given Mercury any work during their transition to Brunswick.

[@captlucky2320]

Same could be said for mercury they should of never helped Yamaha get into outboards

[@rumnboats7612]

Paul Moller...genius grant to produce the "Moller Merlin" flying car that never came about...and destroyed the potential of the rotary outboard. OMC bought out even though etec actually had potential for those of us trying to get light outboards with great power for small boats.

[@patrickshaw8595]

If you watch "Lamar. Missouri - a two horse town" they tour OMC's Lawnboy factory and you can see my Dad's identical twin brother Jerry Shaw = Chief Engineer. He passed away in 1974.

[@pauldavis4656]

Great video! Thank you for all this knowledge.

[@hookednrolling2009]

Evinrude holds the world speed record for single outboard naturally aspirated. A two run speed average I think in like 1997. I believe 176 mph not positive JT

[@andykerr3803]

Yes, that sounds like the V8 outboard. It still stands.

[@timothymattson3680]

It was set by Bob Wartinger who still races outboards here in PNW. 450 hp Omc V with Nitrous =650 hp I race Johnson 15 hp 2 stroke in A class and also raced a 1937 Evinrude twin that has a vane pump inside that sure is torquey and loud. Bob does Uim safety talks at meetings and has said 6/8 people Died who tried to break the OB world speed record (Bob doesn’t “own” records , he “borrows” them !). Record was set in a 20’ Karelsen wood tunnel hull.

[@donk499]

So cool. Those were the days, for sure

[@OutsideCleaners]

lol 10600 rpm. Would've loved to hear that. GREAT video man!

[@Masterkill45588]

Great now i want one of these outboards

[@danielcarroll5667]

Thanks for a fascinating video !

[@everythingexe]

Thanks for watching!

[@Chuck88vert]

Great video I love driving a good running rotary.

[@patrickspringer6534]

Mercury was acting like Ferrari in F1. Good job on the video.

[@dougbawden4321]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video

[@fleetwin1]

Very informative indeed, thanks!

[@milesmatbia8264]

now this right here is good

[@emeryanden6190]

bought a v8 evinrude still on the boat even today it was so heavy it broke the transom it almost flipped and sank good thing i was closed to shore for sure

[@everythingexe]

Awesome

[@SAMUGOPOO]

awesome video, you deserve waaay more subs than you have

[@everythingexe]

Thanks

[@FE-bs5uu]

OMC 💓 best of all times..

[@Rlip]

Bombardier drove OMC into the ground. They started tanking and lost their single isle aircraft and I knew it was going to tank

[@jeffreyfwagner]

I worked in outboard engineering from 1981 t0 1992. The guys who worked on the wankel were the last of the progressive engineers at OMC. When the wankel project was done, it became a job of maintaining the old motors, with few real new offerings. Charlie Strang's interest in racing put consumer outboards on the back burner. As your video stated, the EPA got interested in emissions from outboards, but in 1981 (when I interviewed there) the chief engineer for outboards told me that they would never be regulated. (32:40) WTF? When I worked there there was not rotary on display in the engineering building or anywhere else: it was forgotten by then. BRP took over in about 2000, not 1976. Thanks for a good video.

[@everythingexe]

Thanks for the info. I have another account from engineer John that I will make a video about in the fall

[@adrianh6953]

Johnson and evinrude were the standard back in the day, its ashamed they are gone

[@shektek]

Thanks for doing this video! Any information on where to find details on old OMC outboards?

[@everythingexe]

Online forms are where I found most

[@Eluderatnight]

Bombardier and suzuki bought up everything.

[@diannawilson1329]

Antique outboard motor club. Ken Cook Co. Good luck finding parts

[@shektek]

@@diannawilson1329 thanks!

[@billallen4793]

@@Eluderatnight I've got a 1975 RE5 that I had planned on adding a turbo to and going for 200mph at Bonneville with. Then in 2003 I became disabled in a workplace injury...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠

[@thomasstark5381]

What a great video !!

[@bobg3034]

What a great story!

[@boredgaminglowammo9335]

Wow, shares some similar racing situations to the 787B . Too bad they were just too good to compete .

[@leestuart6749]

This is an awesome video!! John Deere made a Wankel multi fuel engine as well.

[@everythingexe]

Yes! Fuel injected one too

[@alexcastas8405]

This should so be a movie 🎥 with Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller 😂

[@kiiiisu]

awesome video!

[@MarcoAntonio-vd3le]

Interesting story, I didn't know.

[@garywooten8612]

I can't help but think if they would've kept this going in the background and come out with it instead of that dang G2 they would still be in business today

[@unclebilly1353]

Very cool!

[@mugrootbeer2270]

Nice video

[@everythingexe]

Thanks

[@fairwind3111]

Great video

[@WPAPi3.14]

You totally skipped over the of the rotary being used by BMW as a supercharger in the pre-second world war motorcycle grands prix to prove their superiority! A grave omission!!!

[@everythingexe]

Hey yeah I remember that!

[@mikesuch9021]

There's one of these engines at the salvage yard half mile from me. They want $250 for it is that a good deal? It's supposedly runs.

[@everythingexe]

I’ve paid 150-200$ for mine before. I’d offer 200

[@scottvickery2057]

Mercury played dirty!

[@otm646]

Consumers purchase longevity not dyno numbers or race wins. There is a nearly unfathomable chasm between a race ready one off motor and a production ready design. They might have been extraordinarily far ahead technologically, that doesn't mean it was production viable. GM drops a billion dollars with a B on simple process improvements. OMC simply never had the engineering budget to push these into production. Unfortunately it was doomed from the start on to be a vanity project on finances alone.

[@everythingexe]

I might have to disagree with you on that, the rotary snowmobile engines were very robust and they produced upwards of 20,000. A two rotor variant water cooled with a single piece crank would be very different than the race motor and a lot more reliable

[@jtothefx]

Masterpiece 👌

[@everythingexe]

Thanks! Remember seeing you around the FB groups

[@imtheonevanhalen1557]

Still can't believe anyone tried to make this engine design work for everyday life. The failures were built in and known.

[@ChiefCabioch]

Failures?, Mazda dominated ALL auto endurance Racing, Daytona, Lemans, Sebring, no one could touch them....I built and ran a 1979 RX7 that was started last on the 1980 Daytona 24Hrs because the three Drivers couldn't qualify the car, so Jim Cook drove the car, and though he wasn't a registered Driver John Bishop head of IMSA gave us a provisional, starting last on the grid (72nd), finished 5th in GTU, 17th overall, not bad from 72nd place....

[@dzmarinemechanics3238]

THE ETERNAL GREAT OMC

[@danw1955]

*Just an FYI:* Rob Dahm of the 4 rotor street car notoriety, has just taken on a project with a 12 rotor N/A powerplant designed by Tyson Garvin to fit in essentially the same space as a big block Chevy, with the intent of making a longer lasting, higher output, marine type powerplant. So far, Garvin has only run the engine with a large 4 bbl. carburetor, which limits it to 2000-2500 rpm., but even at that, it produced phenomenal horsepower and torque. Rob Dahm is attempting to set it up with programmable EFI and ignition, but there are some internal issues that need to be worked out before it can be tested to it's full potential. It will be an exciting project nonetheless, so all you rotary fans might want to check out Rob's channel for updates.😉👍

[@andrekemp5059]

Make more history content of old secrets?

[@everythingexe]

Sure what do you want to hear

[@markhonea2461]

I wonder if Shweinfurt translates as pig fart?

[@ISOTROPOSPHERE]

I'm betting Rob Dahm would like this video.

[@everythingexe]

I’m betting I would like Rob dahm

[@Roosters_Restos]

Someone said omc was a power house 😂😂😂😂 Merc ruled racing. Omc stands for outdated motorized contraption.

[@stelitejet]

Enjoyed that video... Just goes to show even if you can run rings around the opposition they can cheat there way around the rules 🙄🤦‍♂️ go the rota brap brap brap😎

[@justme-n-gracie]

lol @ spon-soon... it's pronounced spon son. Also Parker is not a river... the Parker AZ race is held on the Colorado River at/near Parker AZ. You really should do a little more background research before doing this but I do like your efforts. Also... an APBA race in "Paris"?????

[@andrekemp5059]

Just imagine Etec direct injection fuel system on that 4 rotary! 600hp and half of fuel consumption. Just imagine Hydrogen feul in that 4 rotary 1000hp! No turbo

[@ct1762]

fuel delivery wasnt an issue ie. i dont see how direct injection would benefit power. fuel economy certainly, which would help them greatly in a race. as for hydrogen, its less dense in liquid form... not sure if that would make a difference as well.

[@fairwind3111]

Andre, I think you have seen what I have seen!

[@jtothefx]

Slick vid!

[@everythingexe]

Thanks. Recognize you from vintage Wankel group btw:)

[@jtothefx]

@@everythingexe its a small group. But loving one ☝️

[@jtothefx]

This is great. The world needed this content 100%.

[@raleighboyzchump]

my boats

[@miketee2444]

The sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. Merc was and will always be king. The Looper Beast would have changed the OMC boys optimism.

[@christianmgtow4744]

Mercury would not be around if it wasn't for OMC.

[@sancharino4672]

As someone whos life has depended on outboards. I respectfully disagree.

[@alexandermathar7780]

UUUUÄÄÄÄHH !!!

[@steveshoemaker6347]

🇺🇸

[@kevinbushey1879]

All the motor were junk

[@hodwooker5584]

It’s pronounced Vankel not Wankel.