?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

Good Day!

I have a 5.5 1962 Evinrude fisherman. I want to make some improvements on it.

I heard once that you can take a carburetor from a 9.9 fisherman and put in a 5.5 and it will produce more horsepower. It that true?

I also would like to make a console for my boat. Can I put a steering unit, gear shifter, and throttle adjuster on a 5.5 1962 Evinrude fisherman?

Any replies any of you have is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Re: ?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

pretty sure you can hook remote to it. 5.5 is not a lot of horse power so if it is a very big boat go with a bigger motor. The carb thing is somewhat of a myth. I am sure if you could get a bigger carb on there and then get it adjusted right you would gain a little, but not much. I would look for a bigger motor.

Re: ?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

Freddy-

Thank you for your reply. I have a 14 foot v-hull starcraft, I fish a lake that has a max HP limit of 10 horse. If I do not get much more HP then I will not attempt it.

But as for the 'Remote' for it I am not too sure what you mean or go about attempting to find one for it. Can you give a little more info on that?

I would love to find a bigger motor but I just do not have the money for it.

Thanks again

Re: ?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

There is absolutely no way you can make your motor into a 9.5hp. It is and always will be a 5.5 - nothing more.

Your motor should have anchor bosses for standard OMC throttle, shift and steering attachments. If it lacks the shift side anchor, it wouldn't he hard to make one up that bolts to the lower cowling. It would take a standard Evinrude "Simplex" or Johnson "ShipMaster" style controller. They turn up on eBay with some regularity and it is also likely your local Johnson/Evinrude dealer has a set or three hanging on the wall.

- Scott

Re: ?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

I have the same engine and yes you can hook controls up to it but as Scott says you wont make it a bigger engine. I know of no way to up the hp on that engine other than to get another engine.

I used to have a '61 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman on my 16' pontoon boat with remote controls and it worked great. Better than one would have thought. It would still move the boat fine with 6 adults on it. And it got awesome fuel mileage... You could run all day on a tank...

I attached a photo but you can only see half the engine...

Re: ?s for a 1962 EvinRude Fisherman

OMC turned that 5.5 engine block into a 6 horse so a marginal gain is possible. Remember, just throwing a bigger carb onto is not going to raise the acceptable maximum rpms. Now timing, expansion chamber, reed valves together with carb, assumng it is 100% up to it, might give you a 10 to 20% boost in power (how many horses do you end up with?) Such upgrades are not available, would give a marginal boost and perhaps an even bigger drop in engine durability. The cost would be way out of line if were even possible. In other words save your money and run it as it is, or trade up to a bigger motor. If you sell your 5.5 and buy a decent 10 you will satisfy the speed demon in you plus all the regs on your lake as well. A halfway decent 10 would not be a lot of money.

Remote controls are another consideration. The 5.5 through 25 (9.5 excepted) use the same adapter for a cable and pully system. Presumably an adapter for rack & pinion single cable for any of those engines could be shared with your 5.5. A Simplex remote throttle & shift can be used on your motor, but you also need an adapter for an engine less than 10 horse. It is just a simple mounting boss for the shift cable, but where can you find one of those today?

Ponder thses issues and see if a 10 might be for you. The cost of it would be ofset by the sale of your current antique. Good luck with whatever you decide!