1946-1947 Champion 1J - worth getting running?

[pckeen]

I picked up a couple of 1946-1947 Champion Outboards. The 2J, which is the model with the recoil starter, had a seized power head, a broken skeg, and what was obviously a leaking lower unit. The 1J had a powerhead that turned over, and was intact, save for the side panels. The lower unit was in decent shape. The 1J's carburetor has obviously lost some linkages, but the carb on the 2J was in good shape. I figured the coils were bad on the 1J, as the spark plug connection had been lost at some point. When I took off the gas tank and flywheel, however, I found this underneath.



What are your views on this. Should I try to get it running? I have no interest in doing a full restoration, but if there is a decent chance of getting it running, then I will. I have some mechanical skills, but have not tried to get an outboard running before. What steps should I go through, and what should I look at?

Some of my basic questions are:

• Do I need to replace the coil, or can I simply splice in a new spark plug connector?
• If I do need to replace the coil, where would I find one for an engine of this vintage....can I find one?

 

[F_R]

Should you get it running? Of course. When they are gone, they are gone.

The wire is easy to change, just twists around a tab on the bottom of the coil. Your coil looks much better than many. It may be good. If not, go to www.aomci.org then the Webvertize ads pages. You may have to scroll down a page or two, but find an ad by Old Outboard Jim who sells new coils. I know he has been having problems getting these Scintilla coils made lately. Let's hope he got them.

 

[pckeen]

OK - so I have a bunch of other old motors to be parted out 0- anything wrong with removing the wire from one of them, or do I need a specific type or guage of wire for this motor. I'm new to repairing engines.