Howdy, folks. My name is Andy, and I have recently rejoined the ranks of outboard motor owners after a long, long hiatus (20+ years). Allow me to apologize in advance for the rambling nature of this post.
My kids (ages 7 and 9) and I are building a traditional wooden skiff (the Macomber 15, recently featured in Small Boats magazine) for use on the local lake. By the time I was my oldest kid's age, I had already sunk a 10-foot jon boat out in front of my grandfather's place on the San Bernard river in Brazoria, Texas (Granddad always told me it was because the 9.9 hanging off the back was too big, but I think I just turned her too sharply and drove the bow right under water - scared the crap out of me and a little buddy who happened to be sitting up there, but the nearly-empty gas can kept her afloat long enough for my dad and granddad to pull her back to shore).
But I digress. I've always intended to hang an antique-looking outboard off the transom of this new old boat because, frankly, a new four-stroke model would just look silly IMO. I watched Craigslist and eBay for months, and these things would sell almost immediately when they were listed. So when I found a guy selling this 1957 35HP unit, I jumped on the deal. She supposedly runs great, although due to some scheduling issues I had to pick the motor up without being able to see it run.
It's an electric-start model with a tiller. There are two long battery cables hanging off the motor, which I assume get connected to a 12v battery. I am by no means mechanically inclined, and I am looking for some gentle guidance on what to do next. I'd eventually like to "renovate" the motor, as opposed to "restore" it. I'm not looking to win any antique motor competitions, but I'd like it to look nice, run well, and perform reliably.
The throttle grip (the twisty bit at the end of the tiller) seems really hard to turn in either direction, and it doesn't turn very far at all. Upon closer inspection, the gears (at the motor-end of the tiller) have been painted and may be what's causing the resistance. Under the hood, everything - and I mean everything - has been painted by the previous owner to try to match the original maroon-ish color. I have no idea if this is proper, but it looks terrible and just doesn't seem right. There is literally zero "metal" color inside the motor cowling. Wondering if I can/should strip the paint off these parts when I have them off for service.
Another question: Which manuals should I look for? I have the one with the exploded parts views, found it somewhere online. I've also located a source for the service manual, but it's pretty pricey - about $60. Seems like a necessary expense though. What about the owner's manual - another $30 investment, is it worth it?
I guess my initial questions are:
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer. As I said, I'm not particularly mechanically inclined (I'm more of a woodworker than a mechanic), but I'm interested in learning. I always had my granddad and, to a lesser extent, my father around to help out when my little outboards acted up. Now that I'm the dad, I need to be able to diagnose, fix, and maintain this thing so my kids can enjoy their time on the water. I suspect I'm going to need all the help I can get.[
My kids (ages 7 and 9) and I are building a traditional wooden skiff (the Macomber 15, recently featured in Small Boats magazine) for use on the local lake. By the time I was my oldest kid's age, I had already sunk a 10-foot jon boat out in front of my grandfather's place on the San Bernard river in Brazoria, Texas (Granddad always told me it was because the 9.9 hanging off the back was too big, but I think I just turned her too sharply and drove the bow right under water - scared the crap out of me and a little buddy who happened to be sitting up there, but the nearly-empty gas can kept her afloat long enough for my dad and granddad to pull her back to shore).
But I digress. I've always intended to hang an antique-looking outboard off the transom of this new old boat because, frankly, a new four-stroke model would just look silly IMO. I watched Craigslist and eBay for months, and these things would sell almost immediately when they were listed. So when I found a guy selling this 1957 35HP unit, I jumped on the deal. She supposedly runs great, although due to some scheduling issues I had to pick the motor up without being able to see it run.
It's an electric-start model with a tiller. There are two long battery cables hanging off the motor, which I assume get connected to a 12v battery. I am by no means mechanically inclined, and I am looking for some gentle guidance on what to do next. I'd eventually like to "renovate" the motor, as opposed to "restore" it. I'm not looking to win any antique motor competitions, but I'd like it to look nice, run well, and perform reliably.
The throttle grip (the twisty bit at the end of the tiller) seems really hard to turn in either direction, and it doesn't turn very far at all. Upon closer inspection, the gears (at the motor-end of the tiller) have been painted and may be what's causing the resistance. Under the hood, everything - and I mean everything - has been painted by the previous owner to try to match the original maroon-ish color. I have no idea if this is proper, but it looks terrible and just doesn't seem right. There is literally zero "metal" color inside the motor cowling. Wondering if I can/should strip the paint off these parts when I have them off for service.
Another question: Which manuals should I look for? I have the one with the exploded parts views, found it somewhere online. I've also located a source for the service manual, but it's pretty pricey - about $60. Seems like a necessary expense though. What about the owner's manual - another $30 investment, is it worth it?
I guess my initial questions are:
- Should I do any maintenance first, or just fire it up and see how it runs before starting?
- If I should fire it up first, how should I do that? (I.e. battery cables, fuel lines, tank or water muffs, etc.)
- If I should do maintenance first, what are the general "sub-projects" I should tackle?
- Should I (can I) remove the paint from the interior components?
- Which reference materials should I purchase?
- Anything else to get me moving in the right direction?
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer. As I said, I'm not particularly mechanically inclined (I'm more of a woodworker than a mechanic), but I'm interested in learning. I always had my granddad and, to a lesser extent, my father around to help out when my little outboards acted up. Now that I'm the dad, I need to be able to diagnose, fix, and maintain this thing so my kids can enjoy their time on the water. I suspect I'm going to need all the help I can get.[
