Lakester
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2007
- Messages
- 428
t'sdaddy said:
"...if you have good spark, compression, and it will run and idle on Muffs, (do not rev above 1500 rpms, on muffs, can do damage.) i would consider buying it."
------------------------------------------------------------------
hello,
an up date on my 1971 Evinrude 85HP Buy/Pass Inspection visit. went to see the boat n motor. i found all 3 conditions to exist and some other positive indicators, as well... so ah, heck!!,
i bought it! and so along with my "flights" into high performance rods N engines, aviation... guess i will also sojourn off for a lil 'boat ride!' ;-]
after about an hour of chit chat, looking, etc, my interest remained keen enuff, so i decided we might do a compression test. i pulled the plugs and grounded the leads. cleaned around the plug holes and put a bore light down in there and took a look-see. "not bad!", i thot seemed quite clean all things considered. so did the overall engine. everything was nicely in place... tucked in here and there, and rubber, hose and wire items all seemed very supple, too. especially the plug leads and boots. engine had been run for about 3-4 minutes prior to my arrival, so it hinted of being warm. this is an OE bone stock, unmodified 71 85HP Evinrude. basically, a one-owner machine. so with my compression guage in place we cranked over the engine.. top starboad bank, then bottom hole, then to port topside and then down to port deck. and here are the numbers:
1-108
3-104
2-105
4-105
"not bad", i thot. so i undid each batch of 2 grounded plug wires and let one go hot, inserted its plug, grounded plug on engine and cranked to see spark. 3 of the plugs fired nicely; fat, whiteish blue sparks. 1 hinted of a bit of orange on its side of a blue spark. i only tried each hole once. if i had thot more, i might have tried another plug to see if it fired the same or like other, white blue. but i was happy. "hey, not bad", i thot. i had a captive audience, as the seller was not a mechanic-type, yet very interested in what we were 'reading' as i explained what i was doing to his dad's old boat. so then we put on the Muffs, and once reassembled we started it up. it was interesting to note that when i started to get into the tests... i found one plug wire off, but there at plug's tip and all the plugs could not have had more than 4, maybe 5 ' lbs or torque on each one. i could have undone them all with an 8" crescent... Made in China, no less. i tweaked on some anti-seize as i reinstalled each plug. and then put about a 12-14' lb torque load on each plug. i held off from the 17-20 since it wasn't mine then. but of note, was the seller's and his bro's comments. oh, 20' #s is too much! and, u dont think they could have been tightened enuff by hand? i mean couldnt u get 5-10 by hand? i said, i doubt if you could get 40-50 inch lbs by hand, then i showed them the plug torque spec in the book.
so with a couple of cranks and a flip of the choke switch she lit off. she quickly came to idleing on the Muffs, responded to light throttle runs to 750-1000 or so crisply and so i shut it down. i did these runs with the engine hood off, and then also with it on. passing grades, A+... so we decided to make a run for the lake.
once in the water, she fired right up. let me brag some here, if i may and say... heck, i am no boater! but that aside i just dont know how this ol 71 85HP 'rude could have been any sweeter than a brand new tuned one. now or then in 1971. then as we prepared to get aboard and motor on up the lake... a big mega-buck 454 wake runner unloaded. wouldnt start, had to jump it, crank crank finally, ~varrom!, etc. what can i say... [blush]
so my wife sees them stalled over there. and so [bashfully] she calls out to them as they hooked it up... " HEY! that's no car, you know!!" silence, then the ramp crowd burst out in a laff... even the 3 on board and their 'jumper mechanic'...
so, after our waves to each other and the dog barking on shore... i gave the Lakester Special some throttle... and off 'shore' we went. off idle~ smooth, low range transition to mid range~ real smooth... then some more, and then some more and now we are on a stable plane. smooth, fun stuff! not at all unlike a floatplane ~ on step! sweet. no doubt both carbs sych'd to ignition correctly. and on tune! pleasant warm breeze in our faces, good water, and the ole 1971 Evinrude 85HP StarFlight... just a' humming like a Singer! i mean, just like a cat with a belly full of warm milk!! "gosh!!...not bad", i thot. so after motoring around for a while past all the $10MM homes snubbin' their noses up there on the shorelines... sun shining in the lake's glistening surface, heck, we get up to just this side of 30 mph, too. then turning around, we came back to the loading docks. used the control in F N R to inch up and position and the LS just did exactly what she was asked to do. after the run, and when at idle she was just as smooth as could be. sounded to me like she has all her ducks in a row. so ah heck, i went ahead and bought her. quite a nice lil package, imo. not bad for a first boat. a real lakester special! see for yourself and let know what u think? ~
http://flickr.com/photos/16885269@N05/sets/72157602788147878/show/
they say, the proof is in the puddin'! seller and his family has said the boat was/is a family heirloom and the engine/boat combo seems to bear it out. well taken care of, in fact babied. dad said rarely past 25-28 mph. i dont think i could ask for more in a used outboard motor. carburetion, ignition and all mechanicals, currently, seem to be in tip-top shape. so now i guess... i will try to keep it all that way.
and i could use some help, so some questions will follow in this thread.
THANKS t'sdaddy, for ur time and answers the other day. i sure appreciate all the good info you passed my way. maybe you or someone can help me answer some more?
regards
lakester
"...if you have good spark, compression, and it will run and idle on Muffs, (do not rev above 1500 rpms, on muffs, can do damage.) i would consider buying it."
------------------------------------------------------------------
hello,
an up date on my 1971 Evinrude 85HP Buy/Pass Inspection visit. went to see the boat n motor. i found all 3 conditions to exist and some other positive indicators, as well... so ah, heck!!,
i bought it! and so along with my "flights" into high performance rods N engines, aviation... guess i will also sojourn off for a lil 'boat ride!' ;-]after about an hour of chit chat, looking, etc, my interest remained keen enuff, so i decided we might do a compression test. i pulled the plugs and grounded the leads. cleaned around the plug holes and put a bore light down in there and took a look-see. "not bad!", i thot
seemed quite clean all things considered. so did the overall engine. everything was nicely in place... tucked in here and there, and rubber, hose and wire items all seemed very supple, too. especially the plug leads and boots. engine had been run for about 3-4 minutes prior to my arrival, so it hinted of being warm. this is an OE bone stock, unmodified 71 85HP Evinrude. basically, a one-owner machine. so with my compression guage in place we cranked over the engine.. top starboad bank, then bottom hole, then to port topside and then down to port deck. and here are the numbers:1-108
3-104
2-105
4-105
"not bad", i thot. so i undid each batch of 2 grounded plug wires and let one go hot, inserted its plug, grounded plug on engine and cranked to see spark. 3 of the plugs fired nicely; fat, whiteish blue sparks. 1 hinted of a bit of orange on its side of a blue spark. i only tried each hole once. if i had thot more, i might have tried another plug to see if it fired the same or like other, white blue. but i was happy. "hey, not bad", i thot. i had a captive audience, as the seller was not a mechanic-type, yet very interested in what we were 'reading' as i explained what i was doing to his dad's old boat. so then we put on the Muffs, and once reassembled we started it up. it was interesting to note that when i started to get into the tests... i found one plug wire off, but there at plug's tip and all the plugs could not have had more than 4, maybe 5 ' lbs or torque on each one. i could have undone them all with an 8" crescent... Made in China, no less.
i tweaked on some anti-seize as i reinstalled each plug. and then put about a 12-14' lb torque load on each plug. i held off from the 17-20 since it wasn't mine then. but of note, was the seller's and his bro's comments. oh, 20' #s is too much! and, u dont think they could have been tightened enuff by hand? i mean couldnt u get 5-10 by hand? i said, i doubt if you could get 40-50 inch lbs by hand, then i showed them the plug torque spec in the book.so with a couple of cranks and a flip of the choke switch she lit off. she quickly came to idleing on the Muffs, responded to light throttle runs to 750-1000 or so crisply and so i shut it down. i did these runs with the engine hood off, and then also with it on. passing grades, A+... so we decided to make a run for the lake.
once in the water, she fired right up. let me brag some here, if i may and say... heck, i am no boater! but that aside i just dont know how this ol 71 85HP 'rude could have been any sweeter than a brand new tuned one. now or then in 1971. then as we prepared to get aboard and motor on up the lake... a big mega-buck 454 wake runner unloaded. wouldnt start, had to jump it, crank crank finally, ~varrom!, etc. what can i say... [blush]
so my wife sees them stalled over there. and so [bashfully] she calls out to them as they hooked it up... " HEY! that's no car, you know!!" silence, then the ramp crowd burst out in a laff... even the 3 on board and their 'jumper mechanic'...
so, after our waves to each other and the dog barking on shore... i gave the Lakester Special some throttle... and off 'shore' we went. off idle~ smooth, low range transition to mid range~ real smooth... then some more, and then some more and now we are on a stable plane. smooth, fun stuff! not at all unlike a floatplane ~ on step! sweet. no doubt both carbs sych'd to ignition correctly. and on tune! pleasant warm breeze in our faces, good water, and the ole 1971 Evinrude 85HP StarFlight... just a' humming like a Singer! i mean, just like a cat with a belly full of warm milk!! "gosh!!...not bad", i thot.
so after motoring around for a while past all the $10MM homes snubbin' their noses up there on the shorelines... sun shining in the lake's glistening surface, heck, we get up to just this side of 30 mph, too. then turning around, we came back to the loading docks. used the control in F N R to inch up and position and the LS just did exactly what she was asked to do. after the run, and when at idle she was just as smooth as could be. sounded to me like she has all her ducks in a row. so ah heck, i went ahead and bought her. quite a nice lil package, imo. not bad for a first boat. a real lakester special! see for yourself and let know what u think? ~ http://flickr.com/photos/16885269@N05/sets/72157602788147878/show/
they say, the proof is in the puddin'! seller and his family has said the boat was/is a family heirloom and the engine/boat combo seems to bear it out. well taken care of, in fact babied. dad said rarely past 25-28 mph. i dont think i could ask for more in a used outboard motor. carburetion, ignition and all mechanicals, currently, seem to be in tip-top shape. so now i guess... i will try to keep it all that way.
and i could use some help, so some questions will follow in this thread.
THANKS t'sdaddy, for ur time and answers the other day. i sure appreciate all the good info you passed my way. maybe you or someone can help me answer some more?
regards
lakester
