Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

[mooring]

I acquired a 1960 5.5 hp Fisherman in reasonably good physical condition. I purchased it on eBay over 10 years ago. When I picked it up, the lady said it was her fathers and hand not been run in a couple years. So a couple years plus 10 years is a long time it has not run. I can pull the starter cord, so I don't think the motor is frozen or seized.

My three questions....

1. Is it worth getting this thing running again? It has sentimental value to me as it is the same model my grandfather had when he took me fishing; so it's just nice to look at in the basement. I recall this motor could troll all day withough coughing.

2. If I decide to have it looked at; I'm assuming I looking at a substantial rebuild. How do I find a competant mechanic for an enginer this old?

3. And of course, what kind of $$$s am I looking to invest in this endeavor--even a range would be nice.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

HI mooring. Assuming the motor has good compression, say over 60 psi per cylinder with each cylinder being within 10% of each other, then you can fix all rest yourself for about $150 max. That's the beauty of these old motors. They're super simple, reliable, and easy to get parts for. You can get a carb kit, tune-up kit (points and condensers), lower unit seal kit, and impeller right here at iboats for about $20-$25 each. Here are some great links to get you started. Holler if you get stuck.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/07/columns/max/index1.htm

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...on 3 HP 1952-1967 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...hnson 5.5 HP 1954-1964 Carburetor Tune-UP.htm

 

[mooring]

Re: Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

HI mooring. ..., then you can fix all rest yourself for about $150 max. ...

Hi kfa4304 and thanks for your post.

I skimmed over the links and they appear to be very complete, but will require definate study before I would tackle such a job! Re-read my post for my favorite tool! I have perminate restraining orders that keep me a mimum of 1000 feet away from any Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards store; unless accomanpied by a qualified handy man!

If it is that simple, I guess I don't need to be too particular with my choice of mechanic!

Thanks again!

 

[bbstacker1]

Re: Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

Welcome Mooring. As kfa said these old motors are very easy to work on. I just really got started playing around with them last year myself when an older friend of mine gave me a couple of motors to tinker with. Once I got them going (both had been sitting in his garage for at least 20 years without being run) I took him out for a boat ride on his 90th birthday using one of the engines for power, a 1956, 7.5 Johnson, he loved it. The point being, read up, if you got the time and some very basic tools you can make them go yourself and it will not cost a lot of money to do it. Also if you get stuck just check in, there are many people on here, such as kfa4303, that will be more than willing to point you in the right direction. I will only give you one warning, they seem to be addicting, last summer I had zero, now there are seven of the "old things" hanging around in my garage (motors that is)

 

[mooring]

Re: Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

Welcome Mooring. As kfa said these old motors are very easy to work on.... I will only give you one warning, they seem to be addicting, last summer I had zero, now there are seven of the "old things" hanging around in my garage (motors that is)

Thanks, but a mechanic I aint. I owned a car for three years once, bought it new and sold it and never even saw the engine while I owned it!



Well, I will do some more reading and studying. I have a 78 Johnson 6 hp that I'm using on the fishing boat, so I don't have any dealine to finish this project.

In case any one is interested, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward WI has one of the most impressive collections of outboards I have ever seen. From their web site, "...about 1,000 vintage outboard motors, including Evinrude's first production outboard from 1909."

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: Rebuild 1960 Evinrude 5.5 hp Fisherman

Those old 5 1/2's are great old motors. I own two of them and a Fleetwin. If you do the entire ignition sytem and reseal the lower unit, that motor should run trouble free for at least 20 years. All you'll have to do is, change the gear oil every fall and clean and adjust your points in the spring when you start boating season. I have a beautiful '58 model that I'm bringing out from the ashes now and can't wait to get it on a boat.

Set the plugs (J6C) at .030, the points at .020 and the fuel mix at 16:1 (1/2 pint per gallon) You can get away with 24:1, but it's better to be safe than sorry and scorchin out your crank journals