should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

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Jul 26, 2012
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Hey guys, there is a a boat for sale right now that im looking at and i am debating if i should buy it or not it has a 1959 johnson 35 super sea horse on it right now but in his exact words he says"""The motor ran good last year, but then suddenly wouldn't run at wide open throttle. Still ran fine up to a high idle and was able to idle all the way back to the landing. """ im thinking it is the high speed needle but i dont know it seems like it is the same as this thread on here http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=561450 but i dont know if it is worth my time to look at it. plus how long would it take for me to do this Im good working on carbs and stuff but i dont know if i should drive 3hrs and waist my money on something that will never run.
 

F_R

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

If you read that thread carefully, the guy was told right up front that it probably was running on one cylinder. He was bull-headed and wouldn't believe it, but as luck would have it he was right. In his case it was the carburetor needle turned way too far out. PLUS it was flooding out the vent, something that should have been obvious.

Now lets get around to your case. Again, your motor-to-be was running fine, and SUDDENLY wouldn't run at high speed. Did the high speed needle SUDDENLY open up way too far? Well, I suppose that is possible if it was loose, but it is way more likely that it SUDDENLY stopped firing on one cylinder. That is NOT a carburetor problem. It is an ignition problem and could be anything from a spark plug to points and/or condensers to cracked coils---or all of the above.

You need to know that ALL 1959 twin cylinder Johnsons have bad (cracked) coils unless they have already been replaced. Have they been??

Should you buy it? Only you can make that decision. But don't think for a minute you are going to merely tweak the needle and it will run fine. If it turns out that is all it needs, well you got lucky. Some people win the lottery too.
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

The 59 Super Sea Horse 35's are good motors. If the compression reads good, then a good tune up would be worth the effort. What kind of price is on this boat?
 

tx1961whaler

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

It really depends on how mechanically handy and patient you are. That is a 50+ year old motor in unknown condition. For me, that means I am going to automatically drop about 150-300 bucks on it and spend some time replacing all of the "consumables" on it so I get a reliable runner that I don't have to constantly screw with. So I go in and replace:
Check compression first. If it is not off too much then continue. Head gasket sometimes get changed.
All new Fuel lines and clamps
(Maybe) fuel pump
Carb kit and float if possible. Re-coat float if not. Add a fuel filter.
Entire ignition system, including wires, boots and plugs
Water pump impeller and maybe the housing.
Re-seal the gearcase with new seals.
De-carb

Some don't do this, but they run a good chance of having something they are not real happy with.
 
Joined
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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

it does have new coils condensers and fuel lines
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

Sure, you could easily drop $150 - $300 in this motor and make it reliable, but do you know how much a newer motor of that size costs??? For the price of a new motor, you can buy about four of these and tune them up to make them reliable. I've messed with lots of these motors around this vintage and it's been prooven to me over and over again, that these motors are tougher than shoe leather and are very forgiving. Most boaters out there think that they can run these into the ground year after year and not do anything to them, then they down grade them, because they're old. What a joke. Most of these guys shouldn't even be on the water. :D:D:D

If that motor has new coils on it already, then you're about $60 ahead of the game. So, in reality, you can go with the bottom figure on tuning this thing up right. A new carb kit, fuel pump kit, impeller, and lower unit seal kit will finish tuning this motor up and make it reliable enough for the next 25+ years. Oh, and don't worry, there are tons of cheap parts available for these too. These motors are easy to work on and parts are cheap. If you do a search on ebay, you'll have enough pages of parts, to blow a whole afternoon reading.
 

F_R

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

Impossible to sit here and diagnose the power problem. "Suddenly" lost power could mean a blown piston too. Or many other possibilities, from $ to $$$$$$.
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

Good used powerheads......$50 - $100 :D:D
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

it does have a part motor with it that has every thing on it except starter
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: should i buy a boat with a 59 johnson 35 super sea horse???

Excellent. This deal is sounding better all the time. :D
 
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