1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

TampaNate77

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Im looking at a 1973 Johnson 65 hp without controls. Guy wants $400 for the boat and motor. Im went to check it out today but forgot to bring my compression tester. Gonna go back thursday to run a compression on it, but if the compression is good is it worth the price? And is it a good motor? I just got rid of a 1982 Evinrude 6o... So is it gonna be just as reliable as my the Evinrude I had? And can I use the controls from my Evinrude on it?
 

durban

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Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

i would snatch it up the cables will fit the ignition wires i would double check but i dont think it will be a problem , as over the weekend i replaced my m8ts 1984 90hp ignition & wires & harness from a 1973 135hp over to the 90hp the only thing that required a little attention was the wiring up of the choke as he had a push ignition choke with the key & the 135 has a toggle switch , but it all worked out & every one is happy .
 

TampaNate77

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Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

The throttle and gear cables look like the mount in the same place also.... Only thing that makes me iffy about the motor is that it is a Electric shift motor. Wouldn't the control box be diff for an Electric shift motor then a Mechanical shift? And what is the difference between Electric and Mechanical?
 

durban

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Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

you could use the same controls , i would just check the black & yellow wire coming from the harness from the motor & the black earth wire the solenoid wire witch i think in your case is the yellow&red wire & red wire witch is positive compare these wires in the harness plug to the harness plug coming from the ignition if they are in the same place as the ones in the motor harness then you should be sweet , the main one to check is the black earth wire as i know the earth is wired up slightly different on the electro shift to the later models , because in the off position it should meet up with the black & yellow wire in the ignition switch ,you can do all the checking with a meter , i will do this ,
 

1kruzer1

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Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

The 1973 65 HP is not electric shift. It's what was called Hydraulically Assisted Mechanical Shift, which used a pump in the gearcase to create pressure to assist with crisp shifting action. The controls have both a throttle and a shift cable in the conventional manner. The system is fairly reliable, but is expensive to repair. This assisted mechanical shift was used on 3 cylinder 65 and 70 horse models through 1975. The 1976 and later 70 and 75 HP models use conventional mechanical shifting.
 

durban

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894
Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

the wires for the electro shift on the gear box side witch i think is the blue & green ones those 2 wires comeing from the controls going to the blue & green you just have to wire them up to complete the circuit they are positive wires , so if you are not going to use electro **** gear box those 2 wires have to be briged to complete the ignition circut that way your motor will work with the controls you have
 

TampaNate77

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Messages
117
Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

The 1973 65 HP is not electric shift. It's what was called Hydraulically Assisted Mechanical Shift, which used a pump in the gearcase to create pressure to assist with crisp shifting action. The controls have both a throttle and a shift cable in the conventional manner. The system is fairly reliable, but is expensive to repair. This assisted mechanical shift was used on 3 cylinder 65 and 70 horse models through 1975. The 1976 and later 70 and 75 HP models use conventional mechanical shifting.

So then I can use any johnson control box that has a RED plug on it... Because the plug coming from the motor is a RED plug.... right?
 

durban

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Messages
894
Re: 1973 johnson 65 hp.... good motor?

providing the wires correspond with the pins , you have to check it out , get 2 drawings & compare you will see that the black earth wire in your ignition harness does not correspond with the black wire in the motor harness plug pin the motor will start but wont switch off because of this if you have the controls with the electroshift the 2 wires goin to the blue & green ones tape them up or bridge them .
 
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