options about buying old motors

I am looking at buying a 50hp johnson that is somewhere around a 75 model. What do you guys think about guying a motor that old if it runs normal? Would it be better to try to find something newer?

Re: options about buying old motors

well life is dynamic and so are outboard owners....

but in general the only reason to buy an older running motor is because it is CHEAPER than a newer running motor..

GENERALY!!!

I know some guys think back to when the outboard companies made stuff tougher..

and sometimes simple-er...

but I like the pre computer newer -ish motors myself.

they were adding more hp per LB and needed less tuning it seems

good luck

bob

Re: options about buying old motors

Buy the motor with the best compression, smooth lower unit, least pitting of aluminum and lowest cost..unless you're into nostalgia.

Everything else seems to be basic maintenance (carbs, geacase seals, ignition, impeller, etc)...new or old!

Mas

Re: options about buying old motors

Lots of questions you need to ask. How many hours on it? When was the last time it was run? Maintenance records?

Many OB gurus will tell you that a late 1950 to early 1960 was the best OMC outboard made. I personally had problems with early 70's OMC's. That was a poor time period. They didn't get their act together again until about '77 or '78. Most Mercs in the 60's and 70's were timebombs.

If you buy that motor, figure on a carb rebuild and a new water impeller at minimum to make it reliable. If its been sitting in a garage unused for awhile, maybe more than that. Have the coils checked. And anticipate that shift dog clutches may need to be replaced if it has a lot of hours on it.

The good thing is that parts are available. The bad thing is that many dealers don't want to work on them, so be sure you have a local friendly mechanic.

Re: options about buying old motors

Just a suggestion...........place this in the non-repair outboard discussion with your specific motor model in the title. There's no sense in not asking some of the guys here with MANY years of experience with motors that old to see what particular weak points the motor had, or if it was a motor they didn't think highly of. I try to do this and have ALWAYS received spot-on advice.
As for the age of the motor, it's not that important to me as long as the motor looks in good shape, without a beat-up, shabby, skeg/prop-mangled appearance.
I wouldn't buy an electric shift or hydro-electric shift OMC unless it was a super nice looking motor that I could see shift in person, and probably not even then unless it was a great deal. What kind of shift is your motor? I don't recall hearing a lot of good things about the 50horse OMC motors in the past..........

Last of all, do you mind cleaning carbs, replacing impellers, fuel lines, tearing lower units down and replacing seals? If not, a motor that old probably isn't for you. If you don't do that kind of stuff before you get ready to use it, then that motor will probably wind up plaguing the heck out of you with regular breakdowns.
If you can do those things yourself, an older motor that wasn't abused could be a super good buy, and be a reliable old servant to take fishing.
BTW, a motor that's over about 6 or 8 years old is going to have some of the same things in common that would need to be replaced/rebuilt that a 40 year old motor would have.
Good luck,
JBJ