Re: Just for fun - Ugliest production outboard you've seen?
It was a 1963 Homelite 55 4 stroke 55 horse. It was on the 1963 Pacific Mariner I rescued from a leaf filled slow death next to a barn for the last 15 years. I took the two carbs off and cleaned them. Made my own gaskets as I had no source of parts at the time. Put oil in it, and fresh plugs, cleaned and reset the points with guestimation, and it fired right up. Found a guy named Scott on the web who has a Homelite/Bearcat site, and he hooked me up with photo copied repair manuals.<br /><br />I ran the motor for a year and it ran great. Always started right up, idled sweet, and trolled all day. Also got fantastic fuel economy. Was everything the new 4 strokes are without the huge expense. I blew up the lower unit and got parts from a guy in LA, rebuilt the lower unit, put in new water pump and seals, and ran it another year until I ran across an 85 horse Merc inline 6 for $200. That thing just plain ran great, and almost doubled the speed of the boat over the Homelite. I sold the Homelite for $250, and that was that.