Re: Javelin Thoughts
I would consider the old 35s to be one of the better motors they ever built. It and it's predecessor 25s and 30s are well built and the basic design was kept up into the late 1970s with the 40hp WorkTwins. There was a slight bump in the 1960 model year when they bumped the 35 to 40hp and started snapping crankshafts. They added a beefed up crank and got another 20 years out of the design. The design started as a 36 cuber with the 25s and 30s, bumped to 40 cubes for the 35, and up to 43 & change for the 40. There is some interchangeability between model years, closer years the better. Basic maintenance parts like impellers, coils, condensers, points, carb kits, fuel pump kits, lower unit seals, etc. are readily available and relatively inexpensive.<br /><br />If the motor is basically healthy - good compression, no cracked castings or missing pieces, etc., then there's no reason it can't be brought back to life and serve as a reliable motor. Typically my vintage motors serve a Sunday Cruise role, rather than in an everyday runner capacity. Not that they wouldn't work as everyday runners, but I simply don't want to wear them out. I like having something a little different, somthing that gets the old-timers remembering when. I enjoy tinkering with easy-to-work-on motors that don't require a huge investment in special tools, diagnostic equipment and need a hydraulic hoist to move around my shop. I like taking that motor the local marina deemed too far gone and bringing it back to life. I also want to be able to pass that along to my boy and running the tar out of them isn't the way to do it - but that's just my opinion.<br /><br />As for value, that's always a sketchy area, as one person will see a motor going for hundreds of dollars on eBay and think that his clunker has got to be worth the same amount, when in reality, there are literally millions of motors out there and relatively few people collecting/refurbishing/using vintage motors. I can almost guarantee that if someone pays the top dollar on eBay, they will later find the same motor at a garage sale for a tenth of the price. The Javelin is a nice motor to have, as it is somewhat unusual. They sold more of the basic 35s than they did the Javelins, so there is a certain amount of built-in rarity there. If it's in the condition you describe, I'd say it's worth what you want to pay for it. Is it worth what they're asking? I don't know. It's a buyer's market, you're the buyer, so you decide. If the seller thinks it's too low and you're way apart on the figures, let it go - there are others out there...<br />- Scott
