Waukesha’s Marketing Names for its Engines of Yesteryear. (added March 2017)
In 1965, at the height of the its engine offerings, and exclusive of the Climax, LeRoi and Cerlist engines, the Waukesha Motor Co. was building 14 basic engine sizes in about 90 different configurations. At the time the engines ranged in HP from 18 to nearly 1,200.
From the beginning, Waukesha used “catchy” marketing names on its engine sales bulletins to catch the eye of manufacturers looking for an engine to power their equipment.
Founded in 1906, Waukesha’s very first engine, the Model A, was a huge success and word quickly spread about this new engine being built in the City of Waukesha - it was marketed as “The Waukesha”.
In 1912, Waukesha began introducing a series of long stroke/high torque engines, for trucks and farm tractors. They were marketed as the Hi-Power Series, Models L, M, N, O, P, R and S.
In the 1930’s, Waukesha introduced several new series of new engines including three light weight, high speed models:
- Meteor Four - The 4-cylinder Model ICK, also marketed as the “The 121” The first three digits of the part number series assigned to the engine’s components;
- Agile Four - The 4-cylinder F series which started with the FKJ & FLJ engines and then the popular FC engine;
- Twin Cub - The 2-cylinder Model 150, a 180-degree, horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine, used in the pre-War II Crosley mini-cars)
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| Bulletin 1125-A Meteor Four - ICK Nov 1938 Click to open - 950 KB |
Bulletin 846-J Agile Four - FC April 1937 Click to open - 875 KB |
Also in the 1930’s, Waukesha introduced its series of 4 and 6 cylinder “F” head engines: Models 4-80, 4-95, 4-115’ 6-90, 6-97, 6-100, 6-110, 6-125, marketed as Hy-Power.
Other series of engines where introduced in the 1930’s, with new engines being introduced on a regular basis for years, with marketing names such as:
Engines for delivery and other trucks:
- Century Comet Six - 6D-100-462
- Century Six - 6HB, 6AB
- Comet Diesel - 6DB-100-462; 6D-140-648; 6D-80-278
- Commercial Six - 195
- Courier Four - FC
- Courier Six - 6ZK
- Dispatch Four - XAH
- Dispatch Six - 6TL
- Express Six - 6MS, 6ML, 6MK, 6MZ
- Fire Fighters - 140, 145
- Highway Six - 6AB, 6HB
- Hy-Power - F-Head Engines, 4 - (power), 6 - (power)
- Lumber Carrier Six - 6WAK
- Marathon Six - 6BKH
- Mark III Century
- Mark III Silver
- Mark III Six-Eighty Silver Comet Six - 6D-125-585; 6D-140-648
- Special Delivery Four - XAH
- Stalwart Six - 135
- Super Express Six - 6MKR, 6MZR
- Super Transport Six - 6SRL, 6SRLR, 6SRK, 6SRKR
- Transport Diesels - series of diesels for transport trucks
- Transport Six - 6SRS, 6SRL
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Bulletin 795-A Dispatch Six - 6TL Feb 1930 Click to open - 1650 KB |
Bulletin 978-A Marathon Six - 6BKH Nov 1935 Click to open - 950 KB |
Stationary industrial power units:
- Big Six - Model 6RB
- Blue Streak - series of Climax engines of Clinton, IA
- Compressor Service - various models
- Cotton Gin Six - 6LS, 6LK
- Diesel Four - DWC, DWF
- Dynamic Diesel Six - 195D
- Engiturbo - Gas turbine
- Four-Forty - VIK, four cylinder, 40 HP
- Four-Fifty - CHK, four cylinder, 50 HP
- General Four - VK
- Giant Four - WOK
- Giant Power Six - 6LRH
- Giant Six - 6LR
- Great Six - 6OK, 6OS
- Heavy Duty - 145
- Hesselman XB - XBKH
- High Duty Industrial - 190G, 195G
- High Duty Diesel - 148DK
- High Duty Six - 6GAK, 6GAL, 6WALH, 6WAKH, 140
- High-Output Oil Field Special - 6WAKBU
- High Torque Four - JZ
- Husky Four - XAK
- Industrial Four - ICK
- Industrial Six’s - 6WAK, 6NK, 6LR
- Irrigation Units - various models
- Master Power Six - 6EL, 6EK
- Mogul Six - 6NK
- Oil Field Special - 6WAK
- RoiLine - a series of LeRoi engines that Waukesha that had the acquired to rights to
Safety Oil Field Engine - CHK - Super-Driller Gas Engine - 6LRZ
- Super-Duty Gas Engine & Unit - 6LRZ
- Super Duty Six - 6WAK
- Super Four - WK
- Utility Diesel Six - 190D
- Utility Diesel Four - 180DLC
- Utility Power Six - 6LS, 6LK
- Utility Six - 190DLC
- Waukesha Gin Engines - a series of medium to large bore engines designed for cotton gins 1000 HP/1000 RPM - L7040GRS
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Bulletin 720 Cotton Gins Feb 1929 Click to open - 2000 KB |
Bulletin 839-A Giant Six June 1931 Click to open - 850 KB |
The most colorful marketing names were those used for Waukesha’s Hesselman, and later diesel marine engines. These names gave a sense of what you would want in a marine engine. From small engine to large, they were:
- 197 Bristol Bay - It consisted of the Model 197 diesel marine engine packaged with heat exchanger, surge tank, reduction gear and mounting rail the for gill-netter boats fishing the waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Eighty engines were ordered and built, but before they could be shipped a west coast fishing cannery strike caused the order to be cancelled! Many Bristol Bay’s ended up in fishing boats in The Gulf of Campeche, Mexico.
- Navigator - 197 diesel
- Cutwater - 135 diesel
- Vigilant - 145 Hesselman, 148 diesel
- Resolute - 6WAL Hesselman & diesel
- Defender - 6WAK Hesselman & diesel and later the LRD
- Wanderer - 6NK Hesselman & diesel
- Reliance - 6LR Hesselman & diesel and later the VLRD
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Bulletin 1870-A 197 Bristol Bay March 1964 Click to open - 575 KB |
Bulletin 1146-A Resolute, Defender, Wanderer & Reliance Oct 1939 Click to open - 770 KB |
By 1995, Waukesha had discontinued its diesels and smaller carbureted engines to concentrate on its popular, large stationary industrial carbureted gas engines. This ended Waukesha’s nearly 90 years of supplying engines to a multitude of niche markets and the need for catchy marketing names.
Rocky Schaefer, Historian
WEHS
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