1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

Hey there!

My family and I have a 24' pontoon boat (1985 flotebote). It currently has a 40hp Evinrude on it, we got it last year and the 40hp really is just underpowered for that boat. An acquiantence of ours had an old boat with a 115 mercury on it he was willing to sell me, but after looking at the motor (that had been sitting for 8 years), we decided it was not the best route to go (and a little much for our boat).

I found someone selling a 14' little fiberglass speedboat on craigslist yesterday that has a 1975 stinger2 75hp on it, they lived only about 10 miles away, so we went over there and negotiated with the guy and got the boat and motor for $300. Actually, I just put a deposit on it and he said we could take it home and test the motor to make sure we were satisfied before paying the rest of the money. We brought it home last night and we have the motor lined up to be running in a feed water tank and plan to test it today after work (needed to charge the battery).

I have attached pictures

Just looking for any tips on what we should be looking for, my husband had replaced the seals and the water pump on the 40hp evinrude last year (I think it is a 1978 motor). So, he figures he should probably do that to this one as precaution (opinions?)

What type of compression should he be looking at for this motor?

Any thoughts, tips? I went ahead and ordered a shop manual, but it wont be here until later this week.

Thanks
Melanie
Zelienople, PA

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

WHOA! That engine appears to be a short shaft (15"). If so, IT WILL NOT WORK on a pontoon.

If it IS a 20" (measure from the top of the transom to the mid line of the geracase +/- 1" of 20"), see below. The more I look at it, the more convinced I am that it IS a short shaft (15").

Several things.

1. Compression test. Should be over 100 psi and within 5-10 psi. of each other.

2. Gear lube. Any sign of water? Crack open the lower (drain) plug and see what comes out.

3. If the above are OK, a water pump-for sure.

That Engine WILL NOT be propped correctly for a pontoon. The engine needs to be able to turn 5500 RPM + at wide open throttle with an average load. I would guess you are going to need a propeller in the 11" to 12" pitch range.

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

Okay, we are going to check out the shaft length issue... our boat is older and we might be able to adjust where it sits on the transom to compensate (click here for picture)

I believe the pitch on the prop is 12 degrees currently, it was obviously an aftermarket prop (you can't see in the picture).. but I will check that out to be sure.

Kinda a bummer, but we might keep it for the $300 and try to trade it for a different motor, because, honestly the little trailer the boat came on it worth close to the $300. And we got a newer marine battery, brand new life vests etc..

Mel

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

That '50' in the picture is DEFINITELY a long shaft (20") engine. The short shaft (15") Stinger won't work....

The Stinger is a cool engine. The short shaft versions are quite rare. If it is is running condition, I would ebay it. There are plenty of folks out there with 70's little "hot boats" that would like to have it.

Good luck.

Stick around and Welcome Aboard!

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

We'll get it running, take compression readings and go from there.. it definetly won't work for us. We did a lot of measuring since your post this morning (thanks a lot DJ). If I think I can make some money on it, then I'll ebay it.. and then I'll have some extra money to put towards finding a different motor that WILL work. It really is too bad, it seems like it would be a nice size motor for us.

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

Mel85CJ said:

We'll get it running, take compression readings and go from there.. it definetly won't work for us. We did a lot of measuring since your post this morning (thanks a lot DJ). If I think I can make some money on it, then I'll ebay it.. and then I'll have some extra money to put towards finding a different motor that WILL work. It really is too bad, it seems like it would be a nice size motor for us.

Click to expand...

There you go. You could make a handsome profit off of that. Like I said-rare.

Look for something similar. They are out there. Just do your due diligence in checking them out.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

We are gonna give the guy a call on this one...

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/2303259395.html

Its a lot more $$$ but a lot newer... hoping maybe he might come down.

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

That's a very fair price for that motor ^^^

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

There you go!

That is a GREAT engine. Perfect for toons. IF and only IF it checks out: compression, gear lube, etc.

If all checks out, MAKE SURE you prop it for toon use. Low pitch, high rev prop. Probably in the 11-12" pitch range. Your target wide open throttle RPM is 5500 + with an average load.

For what it is worth, our families' first toon had an 88 Special. Same engine. we put over 1500 hours on it and it ran perfectly when traded.

Let us know if you jump on it. We'll guide you through making it a sweet runner.

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

We are going to go look at (and likely buy) the 88spl today after work. The guy can get it set up and do a compression test while we are there. Should it be +/- 100 also?

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

I see this is an old thread, but was wondering if you ended up selling this Stinger or if it is for sale?

Re: 1975 stinger2 75hp - new to us! (tips appreciated)

BigGull said:

I see this is an old thread, but was wondering if you ended up selling this Stinger or if it is for sale?

Click to expand...

It was sold long ago