In the 40's and 50's????

Tronald · Aug 2, 2010

Were small outboards all the rage in the 40's and 50's? I mean, you still see these old relics on Craig's list and if you go out to the local lakes, many of them are STILL putzing around. Were they just made better back then and lasted forever or did every Tom, **** and Harry own an outboard......OR both??

Just curious.

Yours in boating and stuff like that,

Tronald

ondarvr · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

quote
Were small outboards all the rage in the 40's and 50's?

There were no large motors, small was it.

There were many built, some good, some not so good, the good ones are still around.

a70eliminator · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Things used to be built to last, then the era of plastics along with a cost effective build processes, then we had disposeables, now we have green, I seriously doubt todays engines will still be running in 2040.
Then again I'm probly full of crap.

BTMCB · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

I wasn't around until 1953, so I don't have any first hand knowledge to answer!

hungupthespikes · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

LOL, BOTH they were all 2-cycles and carbed. If they lost compression due to wear on the rings you could pull the spark plug and shoot some oil along the cyl.. walls, add starter fluid and you were good to go for the day, The refurb kits were cheap and you could install the kit after work in a couple of hours.
Just nothing to them, I think I was 12 when I did my first refurb without help.
hey, thanks for the memories.

BuzzStPoint · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Things were built to last back then. Now we are dealing with throw away.

Plus back then you also have to realize people didn't have the disposable income or line of credit to throw away. Some of these people worked for a long time to get a boat and motor. So they took real good care of them.

I can tell you where to find many old restorable cars. Still able to be driven.. But I can't tell you where to get a mid 80's Chevette in good condition.

Brewman61 · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

We have an outboard motor salvage operation locally, in fact it's nationally recognized. They claim to have parts for motors dating back to 1909- that's now over 100 years old. It's a rather interesting place, to say the least.

haulnazz15 · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

The I/O hadn't been invented yet (at least not in mainstream production) so your choice in boats was an outboard or an inboard. The only boats with inboards were mainly cruisers and the 20'+ range. The reason you still see so many of the puttin around is because there wasn't much of anything to break or wear out. I don't think the fiberglass construction was any better (we can argue about layup tech and thickness later). You pretty much had a bow light, stern light, and a steering wheel (optional). Those were the main items of wear with it being unlikely that the transom would be as susceptible to rot like with an I/O.

So really, the reason you see so many putting around is because there isn't much to break, and the outboard design made it more likely that the transom would remain intact. The later outboards had so many drains and thru-fittings in them that it cost them a bit in the transom life.

riptide09 · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Built to last.

I have an old '57 Evinrude 3hp. Starts on the first or second pull every time. I have been using since I got it from my Uncle back in 1981. He was the original owner. It blew a head gasket in 83 or 84 and I rebuilt the carb at the same time. No other problems. Throw in sets of points and condensers every 3 years or so and new plugs about every 5 years and you are fine.

Just think about it. 3 HP, twin cylinder, water cooled, beefy, all metal. The thing is bullet proof and heavy also. No wimpy parts allowed. I don't care if it is only 3 HP, it is a manly man's motor.

windsors03cobra · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Most of the oldest outboards I see around here are 1970's vintage with a few here and there from the 60's and even less from the 50's.

They did build good stuff back then no doubt but most of the manufacturer's have gone away making getting spare parts a bit cumbersome.
I received about a 1950 West Bend 7.5 awhile back that had a full tank of 30 year old gas. The fuel was turned off but the engine had not been run in 30 years.
I pretty much just drained the tank, cleaned the tank and filled it with fresh fuel and it started on about the 5th pull.
No doubt it needs an impeller, kind of rare nowemdays. Custom made are available for a price I believe.

tboltmike · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

In the 50's 35's were considered BIG engines.

A lot of fishermen rented boats, but brought a 5 or 12 HP in the trunk of the car and carried it out to the boat. A 12 was as about as heavy as an average man could carry.

Western Auto, Sears, Mongomery Ward, even tire dealers sold engines.

We had a 5 Wizard, two twelve SeaBee's and later a 12 Royal and it was something with fwd, rev and neutral shifter and a twist grip throttle on the tiller. These engines are in the family and will run with a little work.

Remember the evening before fishing ritual was buying white gas in a 5 gal can and going to the icehouse to get a block of ice chuncked up for the cooler.

The 5's starting procedure was to turn the mixture knob to "prime" until gas ran out of the carb and left a sheen on the water. the knob was turned to mid range to start.

In 1960, a neigbor bought an Evinrude 75 and it was a grey monster. Everyone thought he was crazy to get such a big engine.

ondarvr · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

I don't go with the line thought "back then they were built to last" and the "now they're junk" I grew up using motors from the fifties. They ran fairly well, used a great deal of fuel and much of it could be seen on the water behind the boat.

If you had a brand new J/E from the fifties and ran it side by side with a current motor, the current one would probably go at least twice the number of hours before it died.

The motors that are still around from back then are the best of the best, the lesser brands and/or models are long gone.

People say cars aren't built like they used to be either, well now 100,000 miles is nothing, most people expect about 200,000 and many go much further. In the fifties a great car went 100,000. You don't even change the plugs until 100,000 now, back then a complete tune up was done many times if you expected to make it even get close to 100,000 miles.

The real cost of what you get now makes it even a much better deal. People almost consider a kicker a disposable item now, back then a 10 or 15HP motor was huge investment and wasn't far from the biggest motors made.

I love that my new kickers start almost effortlessly hot or cold and do it for years on end with virtually no attention.

Wingedwheel · Aug 2, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

I have an old '52 5HP TN24 Johnson seahorse that a friend gave me. It had been sitting in his garage for years as someone gave it to him and he never did anything with it. I had to put a heli-coil in the lower cylinder, fabricate a new gasket and float for the carb, re-worked the needle and seat and it sat for over a year while I searched for the needle valve that acts as a fuel shut-off because it was leaking. After searching at different plumbing and hydraulic suppliers and coming up empty because its such an odd size thread I finally figured out that if I took a small piece of fuel line, flattened it out and took a razor blade I cut my own gasket and re-packed the valve. Eureka!!!! No leaks!. Believe it or not after all those years that little jewel fired on the third pull. I took it out last weekend fishing on my cousins duck boat and I think I had more fun tooling around the lake than I did fishing. Its a beautiful little motor and yes it was a breeze to work on. I truly do love the older simpler ways.

Brewman61 · Aug 3, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Sometime in the 40's or 50's, specific Evinrude ob's with tiller steering had a screwdriver hidden in the handle. It was there to adjust the carbs. You had to pull off the rubber hand grip to find it. Must not have been very well publicized, as the vintage O/B repair place in town always points out the hidden screwdriver whenever someone brings in the engine for service, and nobody ever knew the tool was there. So they get to see a 60 to 70 year old screwdriver in mint condition. Pretty neat, I think.

DECK SWABBER 58 · Aug 3, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

tboltmike said:
A lot of fishermen rented boats, but brought a 5 or 12 HP in the trunk of the car and carried it out to the boat. A 12 was as about as heavy as an average man could carry.

This describes my grandfather, when I was a "kid" I remember helping him carry his Evinrude 5.5 Fisherman that he hauled in the trunk of his Buick Wildcat. Great memories.

seahorse5 · Aug 4, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

the outboards back then were simple technology. They ran 16:1 fuel oil ratios ( 1 pint oil per gallon) because of the brass bushings instead of roller and needle bearings. RPM's were a lot lower, the motors smoked profusely, and sometimes were very finicky to start.

The motors were not high performance or very economical compared to today's as they had much less than 1 horsepower per cubic inch. Service manuals talked about removing the heads and cleaning out the carbon buildup every season because of the rich oil mixes using automotive oils.

They were like old farm tractors, lawn mowers, and general aviation motors, built on 1930's technology, simple to fix, very polluting and inefficient, but would run forever only needing a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench to fix them.

Back then warranties were 90 days, not 5 years.

cougar1985 · Aug 4, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

yup !just looked in my operating manual for my 1939 22.5 hp evinrude and 90 day warranty it is!

JimS123 · Aug 4, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Tronald said:
Were small outboards all the rage in the 40's and 50's? I mean, you still see these old relics on Craig's list and if you go out to the local lakes, many of them are STILL putzing around. Were they just made better back then and lasted forever or did every Tom, **** and Harry own an outboard......OR both??

Just curious.

Yours in boating and stuff like that,

Tronald

IMHO, "boating" came of age in the late '40's and early '50's. When our Dads and Grandads came back from the war, they likely got married and wanted to take their sweetie out in a boat. Liveries were quite common back then, so the "norm" was to buy a small OB to take along and put on the rented boat.

One of the largest selling OBs of all time was the 1946-49 Johnson TD-20 5 HP. In the past 5 years I have acquired 5 of them at garage sales for as little as 5 bucks each. They all run! In my experience, most of them show very little use. Stands to reason. If you own a boat you probably are a "boater" and use it all summer. But, if you rent a boat maybe you only go out a few times each year.

Compared to my 2008 OB, the old ones run a little rougher, and of course smoke like the dickens. But, they are easy to fix and parts are generally readily available.

So, as others have said, there are many of them around, they show little use, they have been maintained well over their life, and we just like to keep them because of nostalgia.

Silvertip · Aug 4, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

Well folks -- I'm older than dirt and I have my Dad's 5 HP Johnson he bought new in 1946 and he and I spent lots of time being pushed along by that motor. I also have a 5.5 HP purchased in 1949. Both run today like they did back then. Smokey at idle but pur nicely at speed (however relevant that is). Yes -- most serious outdoorsmen in the day had an outboard and most of them were in the 5 HP range because that's what was available and affordable. Folks put the motors in the trunk of their car and went to a resort where they rented a boat to go fishing, duck hunting etc., or just puttering around a lake. Far fewer people actually owned boats than they did motors. Those were fairly good years so people did a fair amount of recreation which involved boating.

tboltmike · Aug 4, 2010

Re: In the 40's and 50's????

DECK SWABBER 58 said:
This describes my grandfather, when I was a "kid" I remember helping him carry his Evinrude 5.5 Fisherman that he hauled in the trunk of his Buick Wildcat. Great memories.

It was with my granddad too.

As others mentioned, they did purr and run smooth.

Granddad, a machinist, prided in the care of his engines. He would run them in the barrel after use and before going out. He would tune them and when he was satisfied, he would "it running in "G" (musically speaking)" or "listen to her Cadillac".

In the 40's and 50's????

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