Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

Hey Everyone. I was hoping I could get a little help with identifying my motor. I picked this motor up on the side of the road along with a gas tank for it. It just said Free and Works. So I took it home and was able to get it running. I had it running for just a short time, basically to make sure it worked. I didn't have a boat for it, but I figured, I was off to a good start. Subsequently, later on, I got a 14ft Aluminum boat from a guy at work...for free. So, I'm 2/3 of the way there. Now I just need a trailer. That's been harder to come by, as far as a free one goes...unless anyone knows of one in Northern Wisconsin...lol

Anyway, back to the motor. Coincidentally, a buddy of mine has seemingly the same motor. At least from the cowling and front controls it looked the same. He told me his was a '56 Johnson. I have been operating under the assumption that is what I had. I now live on a lake and am itching to get my boat project finished. So now I have the urge to get this running. I did some web searches looking for information on this motor. It seemed like there's a lot of info on that motor and it's a solid motor. I did also find the link to that article on Duckworks about restoring the '56 Johnson. Upon further examination, I was seeing some differences in my motor and all the pictures of a '56 Johnson 15hp. I pulled the cowling off again and started looking around for some kind of plate with information on it. One big thing I noticed is the block is painted blue instead of the red I was seeing all over the web. I know Johnson and Evinrude were basically the same company at this time, so I wasn't surprised to see that, but it didn't seem to match what I was finding on the net. The only identification I found on it was a small round plate, that almost looked like it could be a large welch plug. It was stamped Evinrude 15016 and 12156. I googled that and it appears I have a 1956 Evinrude. I'm confused because I poked around looking at Evinrude and I saw a lot of blue. My motor is predominetly red. So, I was hoping someone would know a little more about what I got and any tips, info, or resources to give it a tune up and get it running again. I took a bunch of pictures and put them up on Flickr. I'll post a link to them. Hopefully it won't get stripped from the post.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76323580@N07/

Thanks for the time.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

Model 15016 is a 1956 15hp Evinrude...... BUT that paint scheme and hood looks like a 1958 Johnson to me. Possibly someone stuck a 1956 Evinrude powerhead on that engine?

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

Now I'm more confused. When you said 58 Johnson color scheme, I went looking for pics of a 58 Johnson 15hp. What came up was another posting on iboats from a guy that was restoring what he called a '56 Johnson. Mine looks just like his except the colors on the cowling are reversed. It's tough for me to tell, but it appears that the midsection and lower unit could look the same. Ohther pictures I saw of a '56, the area just above the lower unit looked different. I also found a '56 Evinrude that looks just like mine except it's painted blue and the cowling is different. I've attached pics.

The full motor view is from the post of the '56 Johnson rebuild. The 2nd picture is from a post asking about the eye bolt. This mid\lower looks just like mine. It was said in that post that it was a '56 Johnson. The Evinrude is the picture I found mentioned above.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

the older johnsons of that era were painted a BRONZE-ish color and NOT red!!, they had a cream and bronze paint scheme...so id say someone painted your evinrude .......

in any case nice find.....

i had a 1954 evinrude 15 and the cover was slit down the top front to bacl,...so the side of the motor cover came up and over the top.

I also has a johnson 5 hp and the cover came up front to back

dont know if its an evinrude-johnson thing or a year of make thing


good luck

bob

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

You have a genuine JohnnyRude there. Sweet.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

Looks to me like a repainted 58 Johnson 18hp with a '56 15hp Evinrude Powerhead. The welsh plug on the block confirms the Evinrude powerhead. Look for a plate on the port side of the leg to get the model number for the Johnson half of it. I think it's pretty cool just the way it is in a Frankenstein sort of way.

Here's some links;

http://www.old-omc.de/e_1956/seite_12_13.jpg

http://www.old-omc.de/j_1958/seite_07.jpg

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

What is the number on the tag on the port side mounting bracket? I do NOT think it is a '58 shell, as the color is more copper/red, like that of the '56, AND it has the 15hp compass rose logo on the rear quarter of the cowling. Also, the '58s have a white tiller grip - this one has the black grip of the '56. So, it looks like someone repainted a '56 hood and installed a '56 Evinrude powerhead. Bottom line, it appears to be all 1956 model year, and all 15hp bits to do it.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

What ever she is, she's a survivor...

I kinda dig the intermixing of the blue and red (holiday bronze?) parts. If you stare at the pictures, kinda looks like a machine from a comic book.

In any case, you asked about getting her in tip-top shape to be a reliable runner, here's some reading for you;

"Awakening a sleeping outboard" Follow this, and pay particular attention to changing the water pump impeller if you haven't
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086

This thread is on the OMC universal ignition. It is a good idea to check your ignition out, especially your coils as the original pieces are 100% guaranteed to fail. All ignition parts are cheap, readily available, and easy to install.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=294072


All this and more found here;
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=299680

AKA the Evinrude/Johnson "Top Secret" file.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

oldybutagoody said:

You have a genuine JohnnyRude there. Sweet.

Click to expand...

I like that. Now I think you talked me into shining her up ontop of getting it running. I'll have to get someone to airbrush something like that on the cowling.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

That is a Johnny head on the Rude block. Clearly the block is Evinrude 15, but many other parts are clearly Johnson colors. I would agree with JohnnyRude 15.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

I believe many of the models leading up to the '58 were mostly red/" holiday bronze" with white trim rather than the reverse two-tone paint job like yours (my personal fav btw.) which appears to a '58 cowl. Either way, you got a sweet little motor. Johnson and Evinrude were both made by OMC and are essentially identical save for the paint schemes and cowls. That's why so many of us love them. Virtually all of the parts are interchangeable between models and many parts were used for many years on many different models which makes finding parts pretty easy. They're kind of like good 'ol GM motors. Lots of brands, but all the same under the hood. Here are some great links to get her all tune up and vroom-vrooming in no time. Best of all you can get virtually any routine parts you may need right here at iboats, and these old gems can usually be brought back to life for less than $150 all told. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/columns/max/index6.htm

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=167352

aomci.org

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

Chinewalker nailed it I believe, that is not a '58 cowl, just a 56 painted. Someone blew a powerhead and transplanted one instead of rebuilding. Happens all the time.

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

I think that would be really cool.

jhrudkaj said:

I like that. Now I think you talked me into shining her up ontop of getting it running. I'll have to get someone to airbrush something like that on the cowling.

Click to expand...

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

I concur. It's a '56 Evinrude power head. It's a '56 Johnson cowling painted differently. Wish I found one on the side of the road!

Re: Do I have a Johnson or an Evinrude??

I confirmed yesterday with the model plate on the mounting bracket. FD-10L. Thanks for all the help and I will definitely be back asking questions as I work on getting this running.