1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

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PhilfromOhio

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Okay okay, I know it's old, but its a classic, and lets all admit, it was a cool
looking motor. I couldnt resist when I saw it, and had to have it. I got it and the boat for 100 bucks. Believe it or not, after blowing all the dead ladybugs and mouse nesting out of her, she fired right up with a bit of priming, and is sucking up water through the pump like a dream. Now here's the question? I want to break her down and put new gaskets and seals top to bottom. I have found about 40% of the parts from I-boats, wholesale marine and twin city, is there any one out there who knows where I can go to find more goodies for this old gal? Oh yeah, and by the way, those spark plug door medallions that are impossible to find, well heres a trick I learned. Harley Davidson running light bezels which are an excelent chrome, fit perfectly, and look the biz.
 
tashasdaddy

tashasdaddy

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

here are the correct manuals, you will definately need the parts manual so you can cross reference parts, and dealers are more helpful if you have the part #. also check out http://www.aomci.org/
 
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tmcalavy

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Try Engine, Blade & Prop in Milwaukee, WI. They're on the web.
 
1946Zephyr

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Nice old motors. You got a nice deal on it. I seen a 60 hp on Craiglist here for $100 the other day myself.:cool:
 
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tmcalavy

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Very stout and reliable, but they can thrown down a 6-gallon tank pretty quick at WOT.
 
1946Zephyr

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

:D:D:D Oh yea!!!! Almost like a wild Irishman in a bar.:D:D:D
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I have heard that she's going to be a thirsty one, but who ever heard of boating economically? hahaha...
I will definately contact those links and with any luck, I'll have her purring and painted before the warm weather gets here, hopefully with a few pics.
 
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rodbolt

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

I owned one and water skied behind it, decent running beasts,require a lot more maint than a more modern ign system.
your gonna faint at the price of some of the ign parts.
once you get it on the lake tell me the fuel brand you use.
I will buy stock in that company :)
you may be amazed how fast 4 cylinders can empty a 6 gallon tank.
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Hey Rodbolt! Thanks for the heads upon the maint and ign.
Fortunately I have a lot of mechanics in the family, a couple grads
from Purdue who love to tinker, guess I'll have something for them to do
when they drop by the house. Thankfully those old magneto/points systems are so easy to work on, I plan on using 87% regular 6gal - 1qtoil I believe
or 24/1 ratio? based on the service manual. I have heard they are hungry buggers, how well did yours pull you? and what would you say a top running speed is going or should be on a 15' runabout?
 
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rodbolt

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

DO NOT let perdue graduates under the hood, trust me.
most engineers simply cannot maintain a rig.
the engineering work was done in 1958 and worked.
needs to be maintained and repaired just like it was designed.
trust me, my father was both a mechanical and a civil engineer and wrote and did the refueling protocols on the USS enterprise back in the 60s for NNS.
last distributer cap I bought was about 110 dollars and I think the points were about 25 apiece and I dont know if they are even still avalible.
the lower unit seals tended to leak,especially the shift shaft seal.
that notor did not like overheats,go through the cooling system BEFORE placing the motor under a load I dont care how well it pumps in a barrel.
the starter uses a gear reduction unit best I recall,keep it lubricated.
mine did something around the 30 MPH mark on a 16ft tri hull.
it could also toss back a 6 gallon tank in about 30 minutes.
I got rid of it back in the mid 80s and have only worked on one since.
two if you count it as first and last that I did not own.
kinda like a 470 mercruiser.
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Wow, sounds like your Dad was the guy in the know? I'll keep it in mind when my brother-n-law comes by with his fancy engineering tool kit, hahaha. I can usually wrench my way around these old classics pretty well, have owend a few before this one, not a V4, but an old 10Hp and some others, not to mention a 1963 Corvair Monza and a 1968 Series Landrover, both of which run like tops. After reading through the service manual, I can see where I may be pinging you for more info...
Thanks again for the great heads up on all this ..
 
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rodbolt

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

I am not sure I remember.
but your talking to a guy who at 16 bought a 1961 studebaker lark 6 from martinez auto wrecking in martinez CA and drove it to vallejo for 75 bucks.
fixed it up and it was my staple car during high school, the 72 monte carlo and the 69 442 ate to much fuel but were fun to drive.
first car was a 1962 VW bug that leaked oil like crazy and ate points.
thank god for TRC re-refined oil in the 5 gallon pail.
at that point in history at age 15 you could get a license in the great state of mississippi at age 15 and drive almost legal at 14, well at least the sherriff didnt bother ya.,
from age 7 to about 13 we had a metal scrap yard,first in pascagoula MS later moved to Grand Bay AL.
anything in the yard was fair game for dissasembly,reassembly or shooting at.
funny how all my high school was in san fransisco,Novato or Vallejo CA.
48 now and wrenching is about all I have done other than 6 years programming and setting up CNC lathes and mills in cleburne TX and 6 years as an FC in the USN.
so trust me, that fat fifty can be fun but with so many parts NLA you may have a ball.
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Wow! dont care how much oil drips from VW's absolutely love them all, even the Carmenghia(sp). wouldnt be a classic if they didnt mark their territory from time to time. My first old lady was a 1965 Pontiac Catalina, Oh the first cars we let go. Really anxios for the weather to warm up so I can finish this engine. I almost bought an old Studebaker a few years back, took all my will power to leave her in the lot. Have you ever been to the Studebaker museum in SouthBend Indiana, awsome place. If I'm not mistaken, Studebaker made an outboard as well? Do you still have anyof the oldies? I plan on using my 68 Landrover to ull my 64 runabout with my old fat fifty on the back, should make for a cool sight.
 
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Chris1956

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

I had a fat-fifty for a lot of years. The best I could do was 28MPH. Of course it would push most any boat under 20' at that 28MPH, reguardless of hull or weight. PTT would have helped as I had it on a fairly light 14 footer for a while, w/o improvement.
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Well, 28 Mph isnt bad on the water, I just want her to be able to pull my lil-man around on a tube, and do a bit of late evening trolling around with mama anyway.
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Hey Rodbolt! I took your advice and ordered some spaghetti seal, marprox 1000, and actually found a water pump seal kit for the fat fifty. I took lower unit at cooling system apart, gaskets were pretty stiff. Thanks again for the heads up on the cooling issue, rest of the pump/impeller looks really good.
 
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coolguy147

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WzHHOYYO84&feature=related

theres a 1959 50hp. very similar to yours.

i still like my mercury better than that thing. faster and far more fuel effecient:eek: only thing i have left to do is replace motor mounts and put new seals in the lowerunit.;)

your motor gives a lot of room to work on things. trust me....mercurys dont...
 
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Thanks for the info. The Merc looks a lot like the johnson.
Cool stuff...There is a lot of room for work...
 
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W_Guy

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Phil,
I thought you might like to see and hear what your '58 Fat Fifty should look and sound like. This was taken last June on my maiden voyage with her. It's on a 16' Thompson Sea Coaster. 3 people aboard and yep.....28mph.

VLFPrivate
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PhilfromOhio

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Re: 1958 Johnson 50hp V4S-10 " Fat Fifty"????

Hey W_Guy. thanks a million for the post. Looks and sounds great. I noticed you had a good size tank back there? I have been told everyone that they are thirsty? Yours sounds great, did you restore it?
 
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