1960s Johnson rebuild

[RI Ron]

Hi All,

I have a 61/62 JW-17 3HP that needs a rebuild. While I've done lots of 350 chevys' in my youth, I've never rebuilt a outboard. The block is in good shape, the carb is shot. Can these blocks be bored out? If so is there a max or standard size(i.e. 0.030) with easily purchased pistons and rings?

Some outboards seem to use a larger carburetor to bump the horse power up. Are there larger carburetors or modifications that will work with this motor?

Many Thanks
Ron

 

[Daviet]

Re: 1960s Johnson rebuild

Why does it need a rebuild?
Why is the carb shot, broken?
I don't know of any type of larger carb for that engine, that only worked on a very few engines.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1960s Johnson rebuild

The blocks can be bored. The pistons are getting hard to come by, especially .030 over. You can forget about a larger carb or mod, and it would be a shame anyway, since those 3's were so well built and ran so nicely just like they were.
There is a fellow in Texas that has used powerheads, carbs, lowers, etc for a reasonable price----probably a lot cheaper than new pistons and rings.
I suggest you go to aomci.org and read up on these further, also checking the free classified section for the parts you need.
Good luck,
JBJ

 

[RI Ron]

Re: 1960s Johnson rebuild

Why does it need a rebuild?
Why is the carb shot, broken?
I don't know of any type of larger carb for that engine, that only worked on a very few engines.

The previous owner of the 61/62 removed the head to fix the spark plug thread and never completed the repair. The throttle on the carb is somewhat frozen and there is some intake pitting.

 

[RI Ron]

Re: 1960s Johnson rebuild

The blocks can be bored. The pistons are getting hard to come by, especially .030 over. You can forget about a larger carb or mod, and it would be a shame anyway, since those 3's were so well built and ran so nicely just like they were.
There is a fellow in Texas that has used powerheads, carbs, lowers, etc for a reasonable price----probably a lot cheaper than new pistons and rings.
I suggest you go to aomci.org and read up on these further, also checking the free classified section for the parts you need.
Good luck,
JBJ

thank you for the link, I agree with the quality, I have a 60 and it runs awesome. A used carb sounds like the way to go.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 1960s Johnson rebuild

Well, if you rebuilt chevy's and such, then you need to forget what you know about them, to fix an outboard. Pull the head on the outboard and you'll most likely find that the cylinder walls are near perfect. Right on!!
If this is the case, then you don't need to do much else to bring this motor back to life. A refurbished ignition sytem and carb rebuild will do wonders to this engine.