1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

I have a small lake boat that I recently put a newly rebuilt 1960 Fastwin 18hp (15032-03650) motor on. Unfortunately my nephew grabbed the wrong can of gas and damaged the engine.
I removed the cylinder head and found the top piston shattered and cylinder wall gouged. The lower piston did not appear damaged and moved when starter rope pulled.
Having several options, I decided to purchase another Fastwin 18hp...1968 (18803M-E03013) which appears to be in great condition. It has an electric starter with what appears to be a factory installed silonoid mounted inside cowling. However I can not seem to get the motor started. I changed out the fuel lines/filter/plugs... It has good compression at 125lbs both cylinders and spark.
I am thinking of taking the head and block off this engine and putting it on the other one but don't know what I'll be getting myself into.
I guess my question is should I sell both motors and save up and get a new one or attempt to convert the 1st one with parts from the 2nd.

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

If the '68 has good spark and compression, you are almost there. May just need a carb clean/rebuild.

If you spray premixed fuel into the cylinders and start it, will it fire momentarily? If so, fuel delivery issue.

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Hi shasta. The new powerhead has good compression (over 100 psi in each cylinder), so all the rest can be fixed with ease. The powerhead itself simply unbolts/bolts into place. I would do the conversion and keep the other as a parts motor. I have the same set up ('66 20 hp and parts motor) and it works great. Besides, you won't be able to find a newer/modern motor with as much power and so little weight without spending lots of $. Modern 4-strokes weigh quite a bit more and are much harder to repair yourself. They're also a lot more expensive. You can figure $100 per hp, easily. On the other hand, these old gems can usually get running for under $100 when the compression is good. You can get tune up kits, carb kits, lower unit seal kits, etc... right here at iboats for about $20 each. Give this link a read an holler back if you want to go any further and we'll get started bringing the old girl back to life.

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/johnson_E-FD_15_18hp.html

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Yeah I think the 60' is not rebuildable. But I try a carb rebuild on the 68' then don't forget to synchronize it.
Why would you want to put the 68' powerhead on the 60'? There seems no need.

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Yeah dont start swapping powerheads!

Even if you could, which you cannot, it would be much more work than simply solving the fuel delivery issue with the '68

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

I'm with HighTrim. Fix the '68 motor. The newer motor will run nice, once it's dialed in. The 18's in my book are among the top 2 best OMC's built. The Big Twin class are my number one choice.

Fix it up right and tune it up and that motor will last you for years.

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Thanks guys for all the insite. The only reason I wanted to switch powerheads is #1 the 1960 Fastwin is a short shaft and the 1968 is a long shaft. Could I change out lower ends without any difficulty??

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Bump

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Hi Shasta. It's actually pretty easy to convert a short shat to a long shaft, but you don't need to remove the power head. You simply get a longer driveshaft, longer water uptake tube and longer lower shift shaft rod as well as the exhaust housing extender itself. It may sound like a lot, but they all bolt right in place. Check ebay, aomci.org, or here in the forums for parts.

Re: 1960 Evinrude Fastwin 18...junk it or ???

Well, since you have both, you don't need to check Ebay. You have what is needed to convert the newer motor to a short shaft. Change out the water tube, drive shaft and shift rod coupler. If your motor is a factory long shaft, then it might have the small standard shift rod coupler and a longer lower shift rod. If this is the case, then you'll need to use the lower unit from the other motor, or just change out the lower shift rod.