Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

Im trying to find a little outboard for running around on the river. The current is not bad, we are go up river with a 55 pound thrust trolling motor, but it is slow.

I have found two motors one is a Johnson Lightwin 3hp for $100, and the guy said it ran perfect 3 years ago, been in a garage since.

The other motor is a Montgomery Ward it is a 7.5hp a 1977 model for $175, is running now but gets a little warm so Im sure it needs an impeller.

Which would be the best option, are they over priced? My thinking is the Johnson is smaller but the parts are easily found. The MW is bigger and newer but how hard will parts be to come by, and how high. Also is the MW direct drive or does it have F-N-R?

Any opinions or information would be appreciated.

Thanks
Justin

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

The family of 3, 4 and 4.5 outboards that include that "3HP Johnny" are the best outboards ever made and $100 is a steal, even if you need to bring her back to life.

BTW, Lightwin is an Evinrude, Sea Horse is a Johnny. Which is it and how old?

Really a no brainer, Justin. JohnnyRude all the way.

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

Im not sure how old the motor is, I'll post a picture maybe someone can give me a range.

It must be the Sea Horse, the guy stated it was a Johnson. I was kinda leaning towards the johnson before I posted this, I just wanted a little feedback.

From what Ive read these little motor will last forever, and as long as you can clean a carb, put in new points, and a coil then I can get it going.

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

I've had a few MW outboards and they were good but starting recoil mechanism sucks on them. Parts are a lot harder to find then JohnnyRude's and they generally cost more.
If its pumping water and still overheating I would stay away from it.
It does have F/N/R

The Johnson is pretty old and will be harder to work on then the Sea King.

Both of them are priced accordingly for what they go for in my area. I probably wouldn't buy either one of them but if I had to I would get the Ward's as long as you know for sure why its overheating and as long as the recoil pulls and retracts smooth.

If the Johnson was running good I might go with that one but I think that 50's model requires a lot of oil.

How big is your boat and payload?

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

Range is not good enough, Justin.

That is a Johnson Sea Horse and looks right for the 50s-60s. You need the exact year to get the fuel mix right according to BRP.

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

I believe it is a '53 3hp, but no newer than a '54 model. I suspect they're good little motors. I would try to make sure it is not older than a '53 because in that case, I believe it would not have the universal magneto and be harder to find parts for. But I think you're o.k. I would pick the johnson over a montgomery ward, unless the montgomery ward were made by gale, which I don't think it is.
That's a good looking garage sale pic. Looks like some good ol' manly stuff there!
I'd try to get it as low as possible since you're sure to need some parts but a 100 bucks isn't that bad. Especially if the tank is not beat up too bad. It would be wise to pull it over and get at least a feel for the compression and find out if it were seized. I assume you did that already!
I wish I could find one of those in nice shape locally!
JBJ

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

Well I went and got the Johnson today. it is a JW-10 serial #1107885. It turned out that the picture did the motor no justice, it is in nice shape with only one ding in the tank and a few other scratches.

The motor seems to have nice compression, I'll put a gauge on it in a couple of days to see if a decarb is in order. Once I got it home i set it in my test barrel, checked the spark, put a little gas in her (24 to 1), and pulled the rope a few times. And what do you know, she tried to fire. I bumped the thorottle up to fast and pulled the rope a few more times, and bam she fired off and stayed running. Although she dies if you try to idle her down to the start position.

I was getting a nice mist so the impeller seemed fine, though I'm planning to put a new one in. So i guess my question is where do I go from here?

Do I need to clean and set my points even though I getting a good spark? I'm also I planing on pulling the carb off and giving it a good soaking and cleaning. Im guessing the idle problem has to do with my high and low speed settings? Where do set them for normal running/starting?

Im real happy with my little purchase and am looking forward to getting her tuned back up.

Thanks for pointing me in this direction!
Justin

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

I'd check and see if the correct fuel/oil mix wasn't 16:1.
Myself, I would go ahead and pull the flywheel and take a good look at the coils and clean and regap the points--.020" Don't forget to retorque the flywheel nut properly (30-40 ft./lbs.)
I'd then go ahead and replace all fuel lines, clean the tank really good, make sure the fuel filter in the bottom of the tank is clean, and clean the carburetor. I'd then change the lower unit oil, impeller, and run it. I'll bet when you get good spark on both cylinders and clean the carb it is really going to idle well. That's a really neat motor to me and not having a terribly dinged up tank is awesome---they usually do.
Hooray for the choice of the johnson!
JBJ

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

54,fuel mix is 16:1. use TCW3 rated oil.A fantastic little motor,easy to work on, with a vast supply of new and used parts from dozens of venders.Including iboats,BRP dealers and NAPA auto parts.Look for waking a sleeping outboard in the FAQ section.You can check the points and coils through the port in the flywheel.
Could also clean and adjust if the coils don't need replacing.

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

I give my 2 cents on the oil mix. 16:1 is the ratio for 30 wt oil. Not the newer twc3. At 16:1 you can leave the bug spray at home for sure. I have 3 old early 50's Scott Atwaters that call for 16:1. I run all of them at 24:1 and they still smoke like crazy.

With a 3 hp going upriver you will be choking on the fumes.

Re: Johnson or Montgomery Ward, which one??

JBJ had it right on the year, just by looking at the pic. The key is the green paint and the "horns" on the front of the cowl. I think those went away with the 1955 model year.

Good eye, JBJ!