You are gonna love this question...

I'll be taking my 1960(s) Johnson Super Sea Horse to my marine mechanic in a few weeks. I bought the engine back in October. The owner told me it ran the last time it was on his boat. I don't know when the last time it was on his boat though, could be 20 years ago for all I know. Anyway, I'm just looking for a rough figure here. Let's say the engine isn't shot and could be brought back to life. What do you guys think it will cost me to get it in running shape??? Are we talking thousands or hundreds???

Re: You are gonna love this question...

Well, that depends on a lot of things. Did you do a compression test? How does the oil look in the lower unit? How does the ignition system look? There are a lot of things to take into consideration. I don't think it'll cost thousands to bring it back to life though. If you do the stuff yourself, you will save a hundred or two. Maybe even more, depending on what it needs. Three most important things to look at doing, is the waterpump impeller, carb kit and tune up. If the coils are cracked, they'll need replacing. If water has gotten into the lower unit oil, then the lower unit will need to re-sealed. So, the best thing to do is, look this motor over real good and let us know what you find.

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agreed, then after looking it over, replacing the water pump, likely rebuilding/cleaning carbs, performing a link and synch, checking the lower unit oil, and knowing the coils and points are in decent condition, i would follow this links advice http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086
feel free to come back and ask as many questions as needed, thats what we are here for, to help and learn from each other. also suggest strongly you chase down a repair manual for that engine.

Sean

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Assuming the motor has good compression, even if it needs coils, points condensers, plugs, wires, a carb rebuild kit, an impeller and a lower unit seal kit and oil - the usual maintainence items for an older motor - all those parts won't cost more than $150. That's if you want to tackle your own repairs. A mechanic will charge you $70-90 an hour for labor. So to do all the above, you're talking $500+ by a certified mechanic. That's probably more than the motor is worth. That's why most of the people on here do their own work. Most everything mentioned is doable by anyone with some mechanical ability and standard tools. There are a few specialized tools that are needed, but you can buy a lot of tools for the $70-90 and hour labor charge the mechanic is going to charge.

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If you are just wanting a motor that runs for lowest cost, you will come out way better to find you a 80s or 90s model motor that is in already good running condition...those older motors have parts that are NLA and hard to find used ones that still work. IMO that motor is obsolete and I would not invest $50 into it. But there are some guys in here that have made a hobby out of making these older motors run, and for a hobby that is great, but I am all about having a motor run for the lowest cost/effort possible. If you want the same you are pissing in the wind with an obsolete motor. Especially if you do not know much about outboards and have to rely on a mechanic.

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"IMO that motor is obsolete" - Whoa!!! Them's fightin' words! Once tuned up and serviced, that '60s motor will run another 40 years with minimal service. Most parts are still available. And if something does go wrong, like with the ignition, it can be repaired much cheaper than a newer motor with all the electronics (have you priced a new power pack lately?) I can't tell you how many times I've towed a boat with a "newer" motor with my pontoon and 1957 Lark. My neighbor has a 1990 Mercury 25hp which is in the shop more than it's out on the water. He's seriously considering putting a '50s motor on his pontoon in place of that Merc. Well, like you said, IMO.

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Yea, I agree with lindy46 here. After all Sparkie, if you saw his fine collection of restored classics, you might change your mind.

The cost of a newer motor is outrageous and you can actually fix up two (or more)old classics for the same amount of money. I actually sold a nice 1986 Evinrude 25hp and got $800 for it. I could totally tune up two of the old Johnson 40's and get them in prrrrrfect running order for that.

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SparkieBoat said:

If you are just wanting a motor that runs for lowest cost, you will come out way better to find you a 80s or 90s model motor that is in already good running condition...those older motors have parts that are NLA and hard to find used ones that still work. IMO that motor is obsolete and I would not invest $50 into it. But there are some guys in here that have made a hobby out of making these older motors run, and for a hobby that is great, but I am all about having a motor run for the lowest cost/effort possible. If you want the same you are pissing in the wind with an obsolete motor. Especially if you do not know much about outboards and have to rely on a mechanic.

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He's got a point there.
It's really hard to find a used outboard for a cheap price that doesn't need some work. If you can't do the work yourself, you probably are better off buying one that's 100% perfect.
That said, there aren't many OMC motors from the 50's and 60's that have parts that are hard to find. The 1960 super seahorse is not obsolete in my book. Buy a manual, get help for the hard stuff here, and fix it yourself. If you don't want to do the work yourself, a 1960 outboard will quickly cost more to fix than it is worth by paying a mechanic. That's why a lot of shops refuse to work on them. They want happy customers.
my 2 cents,
JBJ

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If you can do the work yourself, there's nothing wrong with the 50's & 60's mtrs as many parts are still available. IMHO I'd rather have one of them than what's out there today. You didn't need a laptop to work on one of them.

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it is just my opinion..I had a 69 40 HP sea horse..ran fine..carbs need rebuild...I could not believe how incredibly hard it appeared to be just to remove the carbs...started having issues with the electric shift...ran an ad in the local sale paper..after 6 months and not even being able to give it away..I hauled it to the dump.
I currently have 4 motors 1989 110, 1989 200, 1995 115, 1995 150 60 degree...all 4 motors are very dependable..easy to work on and cheap to maintain. I purchased them all for low cost, they all did need work which I was able to do myself for low cost and little time/effort. And parts new and used are readily available. they get reasonable fuel mileage and crank and idle perfectly..i would take any one of them 50 miles off shore, with great confidence.
power packs range from $100-250..and I saw a post on how to build one yourself for cheap, if you want to go that way. I am no fan of points or electric shift. For a hobby it is cool..but for your average joe a 80s or 90s model motor just makes more sense.
again that is just my opinion..but that does not mean that I cannot appreciate those who enjoy collecting/repairing the older motors, I just do not think it would be a good match for this guy.

I knew this would stir up you old motor lovers..did not really mean to though..but I feel like outboard motor manufacturers made some real major improvements in the 80s...so if I got to sink money into a outboard it will not be a 70s or older model..plus most people will not pay as much for those older motors and makes resale less profitable. But I would rather have a old motor than a newer EFI/DI.

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Save the trip to the shop...buy a manual and "cut your teeth" bringing it back to life. The old motors are not too terribly difficult...especially with help from this forum. You'll be money ahead, and with the added knowledge, you'll have a lot more satisfaction over shelling out dough...save that for gas!

Mas

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You'd be surprised at how many people out there have No Longer Available (NLA) parts. I can find any part that I need for my 1963 75hp Evinrude. Prices can be low for cases where the dealers just want to dump parts to quite high, but they are available.

Re: You are gonna love this question...

lindy46 said:

"IMO that motor is obsolete" - Whoa!!! Them's fightin' words! Once tuned up and serviced, that '60s motor will run another 40 years with minimal service. Most parts are still available. And if something does go wrong, like with the ignition, it can be repaired much cheaper than a newer motor with all the electronics (have you priced a new power pack lately?) I can't tell you how many times I've towed a boat with a "newer" motor with my pontoon and 1957 Lark. My neighbor has a 1990 Mercury 25hp which is in the shop more than it's out on the water. He's seriously considering putting a '50s motor on his pontoon in place of that Merc. Well, like you said, IMO.

Click to expand...

I concur.

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Yep..parts are out there. Here are a couple of pics of a "built from scratch" powerhead made from all new old stock (nos) parts for my 1957 Evinrude LArk 35 hp. Every single part is new that were acquired fron various sources!

Mas

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that is really cool...I love old stuff..I got a 1967 Pontiac GTO...I hope to do a full restore one day...

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If I had the money I would be cruising around in a 2011 Checkmate with a 2011 engine. However, that kind of "bank" isn't there. I am one of those guys that works with what I have. If this engine is completely shot, I'll start looking for something that I can see running before I buy. If my mechanic can bring it back to life for less than $1K, then I'm all for it. What kind of 80 h.p. will I get for under $1K and what year??? Even an 80 h.p. from the
80s would probably require mechanical work. It all depends on what you want and how you are going to allocate your money. I see you guys on this board doing complete restorations on these older boats. Same difference...

Re: You are gonna love this question...

"IMO that motor is obsolete and I would not invest $50 into it."

hahaha, sparkie obviously doesn't own vintage johnson outboards, you can get most of the parts to replace the ignition at napa auto parts.
I bought a 1959 10hp, went down the street and bought coils, points, condensers, plugs, plug wires etc from napa. Less than $90.
New water pump impeller $12 and it runs like a clock.

Just steer clear of the electric shift, those parts are like hens teeth.

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I have seen plenty of 1980s 70 HP-90HP motors running for under $1K...If you are going to pinch pennies you will have to learn how to diagnose/repair your motor...If I am not mistaken the motor in question is electric shift, Is that not right??? I can usually pick up an old boat, motor and trailer for around $1000-1500...but most motors will at least need a full maintenance.

and I did have a 69 40 HP sea horse once...piece of junk IMO..even when it ran it drank fuel like a sailor on leave...then the electric shift went out, I could not give it away.

I had a 1988 Mariner 30HP motor that ran way way way better, had almost as much power, and gave 12 years of reliable service until I sold it..as far as I know it is still running strong. I am sure that there are some 40s and 50s still going strong also, but not without the careful attention from a skilled mechanic.

In the 80s and 90s motors (auto & Marine) saw some real improvements IMO. The machine work on the block, rods, pistons all was done to lesser tolerances, electronic ignition was invented and IMO is way better than points any day..also they got rid of the crappy electric/assist shift that was just waiting to leave you stranded miles from the dock. Now they have went too far with EFI/DI motors..

.I like simple and I believe the 80s and 90s carbbed motors to be very simple to work on and keep running and to be very very dependable. also the overall cost difference is almost not even worth mentioning..generally speaking if you have an vintage motor you have it because you like it, not because you cant afford a later model motor. come on guys fess up, you know those things have certain parts that are much harder to get to also. you got to pull the flywheel on most of them to do anything beyond change a spark plug.

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Well, again, this young man probably doesn't have a whole lot of money, to go spend a grand on a newer motor (which he just said). This old 40 is excellent machinery and will do good. If this old 40 is a manual shift, then it's worth every effort to tune up and get running.

First off, I would spray a bunch of fuel mix into the carb and crank it over a bunch of times with the plugs out. Hook a ground wire to the leads coming out of the mag plate, (that are intended to hook to your ignition switch) and this will prevent the spark plug leads from firing. If you get enough fuel mix into the powerhead, this will loosen up and lube up the rings and bearings. Once you get it all loosened up, this would be a good time to take a compression test. The readings should be as close to even as possible. Let us know what you get and we'll go from there.

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I love how everybody starts to bash an older motor when the majority of the boats on this forum are from the 60s and 70s.