Gray Marine Motor Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Marine engines manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Gray Motor Company |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Founder | O. Mulford, Paul Gray, David Gray |
| Defunct | 1967 |
| Fate | Division shut down by Continental Motors Company |
| Headquarters | Detroit , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | John W. Mulford (general manager) |
| Products | Gasoline and diesel marine engines, outboard motors |
| Parent | Continental Motors Company (from 1944) |
Gray Marine Motor Company was an American producer of marine engines from 1910 until 1967, manufacturing gasoline and later diesel engines with one to six cylinders for recreational vessels, commercial workboats, and naval craft. Headquartered in Detroit, Gray engines powered a variety of boats including fishing vessels, lobster boats, tugboats, and pleasure crafts generally ranging from 12 to 32 feet in length. Many of their engines were adaptations of automotive powerplants originally developed by manufacturers such as Hercules, Studebaker, Pontiac, Continental, American Motors, and the General Motors Diesel Division.
In addition, Gray designed outboard motors that featured a distinctive curved casing linking the engine to the propeller, utilizing a flexible rotating shaft internally instead of the conventional right-angle gearbox.
Origins
Established in 1892 and renamed Gray Motor Company around 1910 by O. Mulford along with partners Paul and David Gray, the company’s engines found applications beyond marine use. They powered vehicles like those from Traffic Motor Truck Corporation in St Louis, Koehler Truck in New Jersey, Panhard trucks, and the Crow-Elkhart automobile. In 1922, Gray engines were also installed in Prairie Queen tractors.
Automobiles
In 1921, Frank L. Klingensmith, William Blackburn (formerly of Cadillac), and Frank F. Beall (formerly of Packard) acquired Gray Motor Company, renaming it Gray Motor Corporation with a capital investment of $4 million aimed at competing with Ford. They developed two automobile models powered by the Beall-designed Z motor—a 4-cylinder L-head engine producing between 12 and 18 horsepower—bearing resemblance to the engine used in the Model T Ford.
By 1924 financial setbacks prompted Mulford to regain control over the marine engine segment, reconstituting it as Gray Marine Motor Company. Automobile production under Gray Motor Corporation ended by 1926.
Marine engines
Operating for more than forty years, the marine engine branch specialized in adapting automotive engines for use in fishing boats, pleasure cruisers, and military landing craft such as the Canadian Ramped cargo lighter and Higgins boats during World War II. Initially manufacturing proprietary engines until 1924, Gray then focused on converting automotive power units. During WWII, Gray Marine produced approximately 100 marinized GM 71 series diesel engines daily by employing GM cylinder blocks.
On June 14, 1944, Continental Motors Company purchased Gray for $2.6 million. John W. Mulford, son of O. Mulford, assumed the role of general manager. The company continued producing marine engines after the war until Continental shut down the division around 1967.