135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

64osby

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I picked up a Hurricane SD176 Deck boat, no motor. Looking for a good engine to power it.

There is a Mid 70's Evinrude 135hp Starfire available long shaft, saw it run on muffs. Can't put in the water because he pushed his transom in. Turns out his boat was only rated for 100hp and it was an old 60's boat. Seemed to run good a little rough on the cold start then warmed up seemed to run fine.

I will check the compression. Forward and reverse engaged.

My question - is this a good motor? How's the history on it? I saw some post that state this is only about 115hp at the lower end?

The boat I'm putting it on is a 17' Hurricane deck boat, weighs 1700lbs with out anything in or on it. Max HP rating is 140. The use is smaller inland lakes, skiing, tubing and cruising.

I have a 1967 Merc 500, 50HP, and have several 5-7hp outboards, but have not been around any bigger johnrudes

Any input on the motor would be great.
 

tashasdaddy

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

i loved my 77 140hp.
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Tashasdaddy, I have a Nephew that lives in Jacksonville. He's not into boats, at least not yet, banking and golf are his things.

The guy I bought this boat from had a 140 Yammy that he put on his bass boat. He said he could do 47mph with 8 people on board.

Would/should this 135hp rude get me to 40mph???
 

blimp

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

deck boats have a LOT more drag than your average bass boat. 40mph is FAST for a deck boat, I don't even know if you would want to go that fast...

I would guess around 20-25mph would be your top speed, but it all depends on the efficiency of the hull.
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Blimp
deck boats have a LOT more drag than your average bass boat. 40mph is FAST for a deck boat, I don't even know if you would want to go that fast...

I would guess around 20-25mph would be your top speed, but it all depends on the efficiency of the hull.

The guy said he would do 47 mph with the 140 Yammy mounted on the deck boat.

The boat is a 17" Hurricane Tri Hull. Mid to late 80's

I have a 1964 Crosby V hull 17' Fiberglass with Merc 500 50hp and I can get to 30mph with that. I would think a 135 hp would push better than 20-25mph
 

ezmobee

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

You should see 40MPH on an 18' deck boat with a 135 if the hull is not waterlogged. Make sure the 135 is newer than '72 as you probably don't want an electric shift model.
 

ezeke

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

The 1970's 135HP was rated differently than more recent motors; it is roughly the equivalent of a crossflow 115HP after 1984.
 

dazk14

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

You should see 40MPH on an 18' deck boat with a 135 if the hull is not waterlogged. Make sure the 135 is newer than '72 as you probably don't want an electric shift model.


+1 You should see 40MPH. 4 blade solas alum~$100., would be cheap and good for your purposes. The prop he "should" have been running will be too tall for your needs.

125HP max in '72, 135 started in '73, so you're good on the better lower unit.

With the crappy fuel, many were retro'd with lower compression head gaskets and lower Max. timing..

When you do your compression test, make sure the motor has warmed up and has stopped the startup smoking - all that oil/fuel can give false higher #'s.

Does it have PT&T which came stock on the Silver Starflight?

How much is he asking?
 

ezeke

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

+1 You should see 40MPH. 4 blade solas alum~$100., would be cheap and good for your purposes. The prop he "should" have been running will be too tall for your needs.

125HP max in '72, 135 started in '73, so you're good on the better lower unit.

With the crappy fuel, many were retro'd with lower compression head gaskets and lower Max. timing..

When you do your compression test, make sure the motor has warmed up and has stopped the startup smoking - all that oil/fuel can give false higher #'s.

Does it have PT&T which came stock on the Silver Starflight?

How much is he asking?

Actually the PT&T was not introduced until 1975 but it was available as a kit for the 1973 and 1974 models and many were added at that time.
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

ezmobee - I hope I'm not waterlogged but that's a subject for a different post. And No I don't ever want the electric shift

ezeke - at a rated 115hp actual it should still do what I want. I don't need to go 50MPH on the lake, even though my son may want to.

dazk14 - I'll have to look at the prop, I know it's a 3 blade don't know the pitch.

With the crappy fuel, many were retro'd with lower compression head gaskets and lower Max. timing..
This didn't look like it was ever opened, is there away to tell if it was retro'd.
Does this help or hurt the motor?

Thanks for the compression test advice

No Power trim on this one. It's a Starfire, not a Silver Starflight.

He's asking $600. It comes with a boat that needs a chain saw makeover (dump) and the trailer is very average, with new tires.

Keep the questions and advice coming, Thanks
 

ezmobee

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Granted it's a decent motor. But I'm not sure I'd pay $600 for that vintage motor with no TnT. (and trust me, as the former owned of a '73 85, you will not find a reasonably priced add-on unit for it unless you get really really lucky. I tried for years.)
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

ezmobee - I wasn't planning on $600 either, I'm thinking $350, chainsaw the boat and dump $50.00, sell the trailer $150-200 Net cost $200-250. Bonus if I can sell other salvage out of the boat

I also would prefer power trim. I may keep looking, but this one seems like a reasonable motor that would get me on the water.
 

ezmobee

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

That it would and your proposed deal sounds like a winner to me.
 

dazk14

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Actually the PT&T was not introduced until 1975 but it was available as a kit for the 1973 and 1974 models and many were added at that time.

Not sure what this had to do with my post? 1973-76 were the 135's. All good lower units which was his concern. Power Trim was a factory option on all 1973-76 50HP-135HP motors and the single year run of the Evinrude "Silver Starflite" was the only unit that was factory PT&T standard during that run- hence the different color.

Now, back to the grind...

+1 on the deal. You may want to double check the dumping fees and some dumps don't like fiberglass.
I've seen prices as low as free and as high as $1200.

When cutting, the fiberglass dust goes everywhere, so cover up your bod or you'll be itching for decades - goggles, respirator. Tarp below wouldn't hurt either, your dog's butt will appreciate it.

Not that it matters, but all 73-76 135 (The years they were made) were "Starflite".

Take a quick sample of the lower unit fluid - before starting it. Simply crack open the bottom drain and let a small amount out. Water or milky color we'll need to talk.

It would be nice to have the lower unit buried in a bucket or water, so it would be quiet enough to listen for engine rattles/tics.

Look for discoloration of the head/block paint, signs of overheating.
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

We set the deal at $400 pending compression test and final inspection. trying to go on Sat.

dazak14

Dump fees are $40-50 for a full 4x8 trailer load no matter what it is at the local transfer station, I might look at what the main station would charge for an boat shell.

Yes I'll look at the lower end fluids, the block had no discoloration. It would be nice to have Pt&t.

I am optimistic that this will be a good deal and I'll end up with a good motor.

I saw a different motor Johnson 115hp that had the Pt&t but no controls and the wiring on the motor was all messed up - the guy still wanted $200.00 I know the trim would be worth it. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Dump fees around here are 17' boat fiberglass whole boat $109.00 Cut apart $19.00/yard.

How long doae it take to cut a boat apart?
 

ezmobee

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

30 minutes with a sawsall if you work slow :D
 

64osby

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

I love tearing stuff apart, sawzall it is. I've been using one this week to remodel my daughters bedroom. My sister was over and said she tought it was one of the best tools ever. I have to agree.

That and the sawzall would make a lot less mess than a chain saw. Although that would be fun too;)
 

dazk14

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

-1 on the cut apart. No fuss, no muss, no coveralls,no respirator -gone; crack open a cold one and start workin' on the new rig. ;)

Either way, you can't go wrong. Start cuttin' and see how it goes, but definitely let us know how it went. I'm going to start an Iboats pool.:D

Your deal seems to be really shaping up well.
 

dazk14

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Re: 135hp Evin Starfire Mid 70's Opinion?

Oh ya, I forgot to mention...

If the choke solenoid (the thing that clicks when choke is applied) has 3 wires coming off it - Black and 2 purple - the somewhat rough cold start can likely be fixed in a minute.

Factory service bulletin that simply requires movement of a single wire.

I can give you the specifics when the time comes.
 
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