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View Full Version : Question old Johnson A vs Kg4h



mk30h
03-18-2006, 09:54 AM
Just wondering how the pre war Johnson A motor would run in comparison to the later Merc KG4H. I don't mean the alky versions, just the stock motors with the minimum mods. Anyone with first hand experience running these engines that could comment. Seems that once OMC stopped racing in the forties, just left the field wide open to Merc and Champion. Would they have still been competitive or were they too outdated?

Mark75H
03-20-2006, 08:45 PM
This may be the answer to your question: the last record held by a KR was 53 mph and the first hydro record with a stock KG4H was 47 mph.

But its a confusing question.

There was no "stock" Johnson KR raced at the time of the Merc KG4H and KR's ran only on hydros while KG4's ran only on runabouts until about 1954. (Adding to the confusion, the original early 1930's rating of the KR-55 was 12.5 hp; probably pretty close to the real power of a KG4)

The KR vs KG question didn't really come up at the time; at the same time KG's were allowed in with the KR's - the Anzani's and Konig's came in too. Konig A's hit 66+ mph less than a year later and Bill Tenney's Anzani's chipped away at the record at almost every mile & kilo event.

The majority owner of OMC (Briggs) at that time was neither concerned nor impressed with racing ... it would not have mattered if they won, lost or were melted for scrap during the war; there would be no OMC racing motors built during his time.

mk30h
03-21-2006, 11:16 AM
Thanks Sam,
You nailed the question. While I knew that both engines were from different time periods, I always wondered how they would stack up against each other. Seems it would have been a toss. :)

mike schmidt
03-22-2006, 06:46 PM
Hard to compare, as one was raced as an alky motor (PRO today..) The other was a "stock" motor. Both were great engines in their day. One hell of a lot of young men learned to race with them without spending a lot of $$$$. The big advantage the Merc had was the "quicksilver" lower unit. At the end of the KG-4's racing days, they were so well developed it was scarry. Howard Pickerall was running 63 MPH in competition....

Michael D-1