Customer Reviews

Iron Fist: The Lives of Carl Kiekhaefer

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As one who grew up on a marina in central Ky., the outboard "wars" of the 1960-70's were a major part of my life. We were Mercury fanatics in Evinrude country. Rodengen's work on the life of Carl Kiekhaefer is mandatory reading for anyone who worshipped at the Mercury altar. It confirms the genius of Kiekhaefer, and the superiority of his product, while at the same time making clear the weaknesses that ultimately led to the loss of his company to Brunswick, and with it the unique "personality" that made Kiekhaefer Mercury the beloved company of its time.

The most amazing thing to me was the number of engineering accomplishments and the ultimate dominance of the marine industry by the men in black. For any Mercury devotee, this book will literally cause tears in your eyes. I'm glad it was written.

This book is full of details few imagined about Kiekhaeffer and Mercury Outboards. Many of his personal triumphs and disasters are explained. Mr. Rodengen has done a very through job of researching the story of a very secretative and often confusing character. Serendipity often followed this gentleman through his amazing career. From early on when outboard motors were not his intended focus, to when he sold Mercury to Brunswick (for what turned out to be a less than favorable deal for him, though he remained well off by average standards) to his last adventure with the rejuvenated Kiekhaeffer Aeromarine as an Offshore racing engine and outdrive maker making him another fortune in boating. The story is very interesting, but the source material for the book is Mr. Rodengen's anthology of of his own magazine articles about Mercury and Kiekhaeffer. While background information was necessary in each magazine installment a little too much remains in each chapter and story for best clarity. I recommend perservering with the writing style to learn this interesting story that is told no where else.

... especially considering the mountain of paid-for corporate propaganda, 'legends of ...', put out by the same author.

I really enjoyed this book, knowing very little about Kiekhaefer before, although my parents were a Mercury dealer 1957-'61. An unforgetable moment was when a Mark 55H was unpacked at our store, ordered by a lawyer with a Class D Speedliner. I got to take it out of mothballs and air it out once in the 1980s. Amazing motor. And the story is about an amazing man who lived and breathed: compete and win.

Really interesting that the man who built the world's fastest outboards in the era 1949-'64 grew up on a farm repairing heavy machinery, had never set foot in a boat (the author points out that Robert McCulloch raced outboards in college), and whose aim was to build magnetic separators for livestock feedlots when he fell by accident into the defunct Thor outboard factory. The author apparently tells the whole tale of E.C.K. as he knows it, girlfriends, awful temper, paranoia and all, which makes for a first rate biography. That is, Kiekhaefer (whon some local yokels persisted in calling Kefauver) was a ---, but as one said of others like Patton, he was a magnificient ---.

I remember the photo of my Dad standing by the first (red) Mark 75 that arrived in our store in spring, '57, and the twice around the world endurance run at Lake X with two Raveau powered Mark 75s (I also recall reading the factory bulletins). Rodengen tells the tale of cheating and manipulation, how key parts and even powerheads were illegally changed while someone took the auto club observers out to eat. However, his statement that they 'pulled the heads' to clean the carbon from the exhaust ports is technically wrong, they perhaps pulled the exhaust water jacket to clean the ports. Every inline Mercury had a 1-piece block, there was no cylinder head. I liked very much the descriptions of Strang and Rose (both MIT engineers) and Jost. I knew and liked Edgar Rose and Jim Jost during my OPC racing 1977-'85 (although Edgar Rose was widely disliked with respect, he was in charge of motor inspection for APBA), and recall how Charlie Strang appeard at APBA National Championships with his mother. Wonderful story how, while Kiekhaefer was squandering money and engineering effort on car racing, Strang secretly created the first 6 cyl. prototype by cutting and welding 2 4 cyl. blocks and 3 2-cyl. cranks! But that was anyway how Kiekhaefer made the first 4 cyl. prototype from two 2 cyl. blocks and cranks. My father, who was very active in NOA racing, complained to Kiekhaefer Corp. about the enormous size and low gearing of the Mark 75,78, and Merc 800 gearcases. The results, nearly too late in 1960, were the speedmaster and sportsmaster gearcases. The NOA unlimited record was held in 1960 by a John-Rude 75 at about 57 mph on a wooden Allison runabout. The production John-Rude had a high geared stock gearcase that resembled a Quicksilver lower unit. I held the 70-80 cu. in. record at 51 mph with a clubfoot Merc 800 on an Allison. with the sportsmaster gearcase, about the size of a 1975 Evinrude 75 shortshaft but geared higher, I ran nearly 57 mph in 70-80, and both Paul Allison and we broke 60 mph in unlimited (Paul ran over 61, I managed about 60.5). We have the NOA record certificates to prove it, but the records never went into the books because the other drivers voted to outlaw the Allison boats after the fact (this is analogous to Kiekhaefer's persistent NASCAR problems described by Rodengen). In any case Kiekhaefer coundn't stand losing, and neither could we. From 1977-1985 I won 3 APBA National Championships in EP, was US 1 twice, held 2 speed records, and won (with George Laycock driving) the NOA 40-70 Championship in 1981.

On the sob side of the coin, in 1961 after my Dad had gone into debt putting Mercury on the map locally and also in NOA racing, a lethargic but longer established dealer in Knoxville (who left it to Scott and the OMC dominate NOA) took him to court (we sold some motors outside our region), Kiekhaefer corp. supported the dealer and my parents lost the dealership. My Dad was not a Kiekhaefer fan after that.

The book is sadly incomplete: who designed the Mark 78 and Mark 58? Who designed the Merc 800? In particular, who designed the Merc 500, the first production outboard with exhaust tuning? Was it Strang, Rose, Strang and Rose? I think that while Edgar was head of engineering at OMC, Jim Nerstrom actually designed the motors. Or, as is speculated on an outboard website, did O.F. Christner (Qunicy Welding) play a role in designing the 50 cu. in. OMC 3 cyl. looper that I raced 1977-'85?

What I also liked very much: the description of the Mercury-OMC battle to set the world outboard speed record from 1957-about 1990. the last record mentioned is 176+mph on a 3-point hydro powered by an Evinrude V-8 ca. 1990 by Bob Wartinger. Our two young sons sat in the cockpit briefly last summer, the boat is alledgedly headed to a museum in Seattle.

If anyone knows how to contact either Edgar Rose or Jim Jost, if they're still with us, I'd appreciate being contacted (jmccauley@uh.edu).

Suggestions to Rodengen: a biography, maybe combined, of Dieter König and Robert McCulloch. McCulloch is described in Iron Fist, but not König.

I have collected outboards for years. I have always been a collector of Scott-Atwater outboards and Evinrude's. I have always liked Mercury's, but have never really collected them. I bought this book just to learn a little about the man and the company. Of all the books I have ever read, about outboards, this is the best one. Not just a great outboard book but a great book on the early years of outboards. You would have to put Carl Kiekhaefer in the same category as a Henry Ford and a Bill Gates. He built a company and didn't settle for just being in business, he strived for perfection and dominance. When it was all over he had accomplished both

As anyone reading this review will know, Cark Kiekhaefer was one of the godfathers of the racing world. His Kiekhaefer 625 motors and Don Aronow's cigarette designs, decimated the competition for many years. The book made me appreciate just how hard he strived for success. It also brings to light a softer, more vulnerable side to Kiekhaefer that is endearing. I'm sure he probably would have been highly embarrassed. The book is a great account of a life that I believe would make a great movie. If you liked the offshore world of the 70's and 80's where monohulls and KAM power ruled - you should enjoy the book. The only drawback for me personally was that there weren't more pictures.

Rodengen has written what is likely to remain the most complete Keikhaefer biography, and because of this man's life will be the detailed history of Mercury outboards. Rodengen reveals here for the first time: who really invented the inboard/outboard and why Volvo and Mercury never challenged each others patents. He details how Keikhaefer made the mistake of a lifetime, and lost everything he had built. How the genius engineer inventor, Charles Strang was lost from Mercury as an employee, and from Carl as a friend, and became instead the leader and CEO of the "Enemy", at Evinrude. Loaded with detail, and fully indexed, a work to be admired and a "must-have" for any Mercury Outboards fanatic.