Try to start it or not?

[The Phantom]

I just became the owner of a 1955 Evinrude 3HP Lightwin that is in INCREDIBLY good condition. It looks like it was hardly used at all. No dings, dents, or corrosion, good compression, etc. Even the decals look pretty good. The previous owner knows little of its history, (it was in his basement when he bought the house) but it looks like whoever stored it did it right. It was completely cleaned and lubricated (everything moves freely), gas drained (the inside of the tank is spotless!).<br /><br />The question is; Should I just gas it up and try to start it, or clean/rebuild the carb, put in new points, plugs etc first? Will it hurt anything to try it?<br /><br />Thanks!

 

[fireman57]

Re: Try to start it or not?

I would definitely put a new water pump in. After that, fire it up in water and see what happens if you are sure that everything moves freely. If you do have to redo the carb it is not a big deal.

 

[JB]

Re: Try to start it or not?

Ditto fireman.<br /><br />Good advice. <br /><br />Be sure to use a 24:1 fuel mix in that pre-'64 engine.

 

[The Phantom]

Re: Try to start it or not?

Thanks for the good advice. I take it the waterpump is likely to be in pretty bad shape, huh? Gee, it's probably ONLY 49 years old! <br /><br />About the gas oil mix; the decal on the motor says half pint oil to 1 gal gas. If my math is right that's 16:1? Yikes! Is 24:1 a better ratio considering today's 2 cycle oil?<br /><br />Thanks again for all the help.

 

[fireman57]

Re: Try to start it or not?

I would use 24:1 with a good tcw3 oil. You can adjust the mixture from there after you have run it for a while but it probably should be no worse than 30:1. The water pump probably has dried out and cracked over the ages. Good luck and let us know how she runs.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Try to start it or not?

On that year engine the coils are probably aged cracked, so check for spark before doing a lot of yanking on the cord to get it started. Don't worry about the water pump until you get it started, and know what you've got. There are only four bolts that hold the gearcase on. Drop it out of the way until you know the engine will run. If the engine is sound, it makes a great little fishing motor.

 

[The Phantom]

Re: Try to start it or not?

Thanks! I'll check out the spark first and move on from there. It might be a while, as the snow here in Boston is taking my mind off the boat for a little while. <br />I'll let you know how it works!

 

[The Phantom]

Re: Try to start it or not?

Well, the snow has stopped, so I dragged out the motor to see if it would run. It started on the 5th or 6th pull and ran as smoothly as I could imagine. I even saw water spitting out from the exhaust relief! (I can only imagine what my neighbors thought hearing an outboard running in the back yard in November!)<br /><br />Thanks again for all the help.

 

[fireman57]

Re: Try to start it or not?

Great. Make sure you run a fuel stabilizer in it and you have a sweet little engine for years to come.