Should I buy this ???

J

jayard78

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
101
I am about to purchas a boat, motor, trailer deal.

Boat is a 1975 17ft. orlando clipper in decent shape, little cleaning up needed.

Trailer is a 1975 no rust (not really concerned about trailer)

MOTOR is a 1986 VRO50 Johnson w/o trim and tilt.
Compression is 138 psi upper, 140 psi lower
Motor is pretty clean, starts and runs but backfired quit a bit. Had not been started since Sept. though.

Also I already have a 1985 VRO50 Johnson with a blown piston that has tilt and trim and other the piston the motor is very nice. (got it with another boat I bought but piston was fddd.) (Great parts motor for the 1986 tho)

So the motor trailer boat $1000. My gut tells me yes, what you think?

Also does anyone know what overheating safety mechanisms this motor has? I had a 1980 Merc and fried it all to hell cause I had no warning of over heating and I am a noob still.

An alarm or even a shut off mech would be great for a motor killer like me.
 
H

HybridMX6

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Messages
676
Re: Should I buy this ???

Sounds like a good deal, I'd do a minor overhaul of the motor though if you do buy it. Clean carbs, new impeller, etc. Is the VRO still hooked up? It's up to you, but I believe it's those early year ones that were problematic.
 
itsaboattime

itsaboattime

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
791
Re: Should I buy this ???

My gut tells me no. That boat is 35 years old and unless it is in excellent shape its worth,to me, about $800.00. The motor backfiring gives me a little pause. I would check the l/u oil for water and the condition of the oil. I would be buying the motor and the trailer, the boat would be free.

There should be an overheat alarm in the contol box. I'm not sure what controls you have but there should be a slot near the ignition/key switch that is used to check the overheat alarm. You can use the key to test the alarm by inserting it in the slot. the alarm should sound.
 
ezmobee

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: Should I buy this ???

Sounds like a decent deal to me.
 
kenmyfam

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: Should I buy this ???

Can you give the outfit a test on the water ??? (except the trailer that is !!!)
 
J

jonesg

Admiral
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
7,174
Re: Should I buy this ???

UNless the transom has already been done...and the stringers too...
its just hazardous waste.
Until proven otherwise.
The engine and trailer alone could be worth more than $1000.
if I liked the boat I'd buy it, but i like working on them too.
 
J

jayard78

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
101
Re: Should I buy this ???

I could ask about a test drive but the guy has had a lot of people calling on this so I don't want to annoy him too much. Atm he is holding if for me until tomorrow evening b/c he had to go to the tag office to get the title.

Decisions, decisions.

Say I wanted to just get that motor off the boat and then sell the boat and trailer to get some of my mula back, what can I expect to sell the boat and trailer for. Keep in mind I am in Fl. and boats are pretty high demand, dunno w/o motors tho :rolleyes:

Also I have a 15.5 foot tri hull that is not bad and a good fisher (blown merc on it tho :mad:), which of these boats should I get up off of? The tri hull is called a Siracco. Handles 4-6 foot waves like I could not believe.

thanks for the advice guys!

Im addicted to working on boats

ALSO Regarding the VRO, I looks like the oil injection had been bypassed and they are just straight feeding 50:1 to the pump.
 
J

jonesg

Admiral
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
7,174
Re: Should I buy this ???

Its a free boat, on a decent trailer with a nice engine.
Unless he can show how the stringers and transom were re-done or the boat was never used and stored indoors.

Don't buy into "I'm getting a lot of calls".

No deal is so good that you cannot afford to walk away from it.

And don't be the first to tell him its kinda old, let the other lookers tell him,
the mkt is flooded with old boats.
 
tashasdaddy

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Should I buy this ???

did it backfire of just cough and spit, big difference. the motor in running condition is excellant, i have had quiet many of them, they are easy to work on, plus you already have a parts motor.

value is in the trailer and motor. i say go for it. read the TOP SECRET FILE, it has all the points you need to get that motor ready for the water.
 
J

jayard78

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
101
Re: Should I buy this ???

what is the difference between backfire or just cough and spit. How do i know which is which and what is the cause for each thing?
 
J

jayard78

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
101
Re: Should I buy this ???

Anyways, guees everyone got board with this thread. I bought the boat and now I need to decide whether to ride out in this one or keep my 15.5 ft tri hull fishing boat.
 
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