1960 40 hp evinrude lark

[shawnintheshed]

good morning everybody, this is my first posting in my first forum ever. I recently purchased a 1960 40hp evinrude lark with original owners manual that supposedly has been in storage for over thirty years. I paid $200 for the motor . I would consider myself a weekend mechanic. Anyway I got the motor home and did a compression test and each cylinder was exactly 135 psi, checked for spark and had spark, put the plugs in and mixed up some fresh gas. My local evinrude dealer told me I could use a 50:1 mix even though manual says 24:1, got a battery and jumper cables and jumped the stae crter and the motor started on the second try. I only let it run for about 20 seconds and choked it to shut it off. I guess I have alot of questions. First is can I use 50:1 or do I have to use 24:1? I was told the flywheels develop cracks and break which can cause severe engine damage so should I pull flywheel for inspection. From the info I have gathered on line these are old, good dependable simple motors but are gas hogs and polluters? I still need to rig up a start solenoid, start switch and kill switch and not sure how much money I want to tie up in a 52 year old motor. I dont have the remote controls but found the optional tiller handle for sale which is what i prefer. Any info on this motor would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JB]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

Those are great engines if they get good care, Shawn.

It is probably safe to use 50:1. Joe Reeves does. That is because of the "frictionless" bearings.

On the other hand, no maker has published recommendations for any mix leaner than 24:1. It is 100% safe to use 24:1. If I had your 52 year old treasure I would use 24:1.

"Gas hog" and "polluter" are relative terms. Compared to what?? They can call any outboard names that in the end mean nothing. Correct tuning and synthetic oil will minimize both.

Sounds like you started her up dry. If so, that was a very bad idea. Replace the impeller and never do that again. If she was wet it would be a good idea to change that anyway. NEVER wait until an impeller fails to replace it. Sort of like waiting for the fatal heart attack to quit smoking.

Good luck.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

+1. I always err on the side of caution and run 24:1 on all my '60s era motors with no ill effects. They smoke in the test tank, but hardly any on the water. Modern oils also burn a lot cleaner than they used to. While they don't get the greatest mileage per se, they are relatively light for the power they deliver, they're cheap and easy to work on and repair yourself without requiring any fancy electronic components and they're still running, which makes them some of the most efficient motor on the water. After all, the most efficient motor is the one you never have to build because the old iron keeps on chugging. Here's a great link that can walk you through an entire tune up from top to bottom. You can get virtually and parts you may need right here at iboats and/or aomci.org. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/columns/max/24/index.cfm

 

[shawnintheshed]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

Those are great engines if they get good care, Shawn.

It is probably safe to use 50:1. Joe Reeves does. That is because of the "frictionless" bearings.

On the other hand, no maker has published recommendations for any mix leaner than 24:1. It is 100% safe to use 24:1. If I had your 52 year old treasure I would use 24:1.

"Gas hog" and "polluter" are relative terms. Compared to what?? They can call any outboard names that in the end mean nothing. Correct tuning and synthetic oil will minimize both.

Sounds like you started her up dry. If so, that was a very bad idea. Replace the impeller and never do that again. If she was wet it would be a good idea to change that anyway. NEVER wait until an impeller fails to replace it. Sort of like waiting for the fatal heart attack to quit smoking.

Good luck.

Thanks for your quick response, actually I left out I started the engine in a garbage can of water. I dont understand why I need to replace the propeller.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

They said impeller---as in water pump impeller. Now about that oil mix. People just love to argue about that. I CAN show you factory literature that says 50:1 is ok. You also can find factory literature that says to the contrary. I say use whatever you are comfortable about and don't act like you are a lubrication engineer. But DON'T go leaner than 50:1.

About that flywheel: Only half true. Some flywheels made before 1958 had some cracking problems. But here was a design change and the problem was corrected with a different cast-in hub. There is a service bulletin on the subject. It points out that the new flywheels still show surface cracks in the aluminum between the puller bolts, but it is only cosmetic.

However----The 1960 and 1961 models DID break some crankshafts. So, in 1962 they made the shafts larger. But you can't change the 1960-61 without replacing the whole powerhead. Besides, it only lasted 52 years. Maybe it will last another 52. They didn't ALL break, obviously.

Polluters??? Depends on which generation you are from.

 

[shawnintheshed]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

Those are great engines if they get good care, Shawn.

It is probably safe to use 50:1. Joe Reeves does. That is because of the "frictionless" bearings.

On the other hand, no maker has published recommendations for any mix leaner than 24:1. It is 100% safe to use 24:1. If I had your 52 year old treasure I would use 24:1.

"Gas hog" and "polluter" are relative terms. Compared to what?? They can call any outboard names that in the end mean nothing. Correct tuning and synthetic oil will minimize both.

Sounds like you started her up dry. If so, that was a very bad idea. Replace the impeller and never do that again. If she was wet it would be a good idea to change that anyway. NEVER wait until an impeller fails to replace it. Sort of like waiting for the fatal heart attack to quit smoking.

Good luck.

Is it difficult to replace the impeller?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

Not at all. It's a routine job that you should do at the start of every season. You can get and impeller here at iboats for about $20 and it should only take about an hour to install on your first try, but you'll get it down to a 30 min job with practice. Here's a link that can walk you through the job.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/columns/max/25/index.cfm

btw...you'll hear the terms "impeller" and "water pump" used interchangeably, but they're the same thing. It draws/sucks water up into the motor to cool it. Not to be confused with the propeller, which pushes water and moves the boat forward.

 

[shawnintheshed]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

I guess I will order the parts and replace what you recommend. Once complete how much water should I see being discharged, a steady flow or squirts

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1960 40 hp evinrude lark

Here's a vid to give you some idea of what to expect. Again, it smokes quite a bit in the test tank, but nearly all of it will go away on the open water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SsFlHaQTYE