1964 Evinrude Sportfour 60hp

[Scott O.]

Attempting to restore a mid 60’s Starcraft Jupiter that came with a 1964 60hp Sportfour. This boat has been stored deep inside a barn for “about 10 years” according to the seller but I’m guessing it’s been a lot longer than that. No matter, it was cheap.

Everything is in surprisingly good shape including the motor. I am starting to replace all of the expected pieces...carb kits, impeller, fuel lines, fuel pump diaphragm and anything else in there made of rubber. I have a service manual on the way but was wondering if anyone else has restored this motor and can share some experience. Just chasing around online, I see that some of these components are going to be hard to find and if there’s something critical that is simply no longer available, it would be nice to know now before I start throwing money at this thing.

 

[boobie]

Make sure you can get parts for that vintage motor before you get to far into it .

 

[F_R]

Most commonly needed parts are readily available. The motor is the basic V-4 that came out in 1958 and evolved for many years. The 60hp version is very similar to the 75hp version, but with smaller bore.

 

[lindy46]

I had the same motor back in the day, on a 14' Glasspar. It replaced a 40hp Lark. The motor was much heavier than the Lark, was a gas-hog, and didn't really add that much to the performance of the boat. It was almost too heavy for that boat. Probably would have performed better on a larger boat. For hard to find parts, post a free want-ad at AOMCI.org.

 

[Scott O.]

I’ve heard the “gas hog” reference from enough people that I’m sure it’s true.

Ive ordered and received the carb kits (bought two), impellers (also bought two), fuel pump diaphragm and gasket, new plugs, that rubber choke solenoid diaphragm along with new fuel line. Still need to find belt replacements. The originals look ok but they’re rubber. Also bought a service manual. Waiting for my retired mechanic buddy to open it up and go to work.

more news as it develops

 

[TN-25]

The 60 V4 was based on the 70.7 c.i.d. powerhead that started as the original J/E 50-horse V4 that the Gale division of OMC kept alive after 1959 when Johnson & Evinrude went to the larger displacement 75-horse V4 for 1960. They appropriated the 60 back from Gale for 1964 when Gale was shut down. For 1968 they boosted the compression and switched the CDI ignition with surface-gap plugs, creating the 65 horse. It was eliminated the next year when for 1969 they overhauled the V4 line, plus the new generation looper 55 triple had a great future ahead of it and would step up to 60, 65, 70 and even 75 horsepower.

The 60 Sportfour would probably be a perfect motor for that old vintage Starcraft. By then they weren't quite as bad on fuel as the earlier motors because they were working towards eliminating overboard drains. The smaller displacement by then gave it a fuel economy advantage over the 75-100 motors, yet 70.7 cubes can deliver a lot of torque for just a 60. Parts have traditionally been a bit expensive on that generation V4.

I'd love to see pictures of that boat & motor.

 

[Scott O.]

[No message]

 

[racerone]

Looks to be in good " cosmetic " condition.------A great motor for occasional use.-----Run fuel out of carburetor when taking boat out of the water.----That keeps carburetor clean.

 

[Chris1956]

Looks just like my '58 Fat-Fifty. I guess not a lot of external changes...

I just hope is burns the fuel, rather than dump it overboard like my Fatty.

 

[Scott O.]

Looks to be in good " cosmetic " condition.------A great motor for occasional use.-----Run fuel out of carburetor when taking boat out of the water.----That keeps carburetor clean.

Idle down then pull the gas line and let it run out of gas?

 

[crahn83]

I have the exact same motor. This past summer I inherited by grandfather's 1964 Glastron, which has that motor. It ran pretty good this summer, but it was leaking gas and gear case oil. I just got it back from the shop today and I'm taking her out this week-end.