Repowering a 1965 Slickcraft

[ChrisMD123]

The Grasshopper, our 1965 Slickcraft SS-180, is having itself an existential crisis and needs help!

The motor, a 1965 Johnson Seahorse 90 hp, which became a 100hp after a fire and carburetor replacement, which gained the lower unit of a completely different motor (note it's black in the photo), has finally decided to give up the ghost completely, so we're looking a repowering.

The trouble is, we can't seem to find any information on the maximum transom weight. All the literature says is that the transom can support up to 100hp, but with today's motors being so much heavier I'm not sure what we can put on it. We'd like to keep as close to 100hp as possible. Does anyone here have experience with these repowering these Slickcrafts?

 

[sphelps]

Are you looking to go back with a vintage motor or something newer ?
I don’t think the newer 2 stroke motors are really heavier than the old ones ..
Something like a 90 e-tec would be plenty ...

 

[Sea18Horse]

Nice boat! And a very good year! Love that color. Looks like Daphne blue. I have a guitar almost that color. Sonic blue, a little paler than Daphne.

Cheers..................Todd

 

[racerone]

A new E-TEC is around 320 lbs.-------That old motor is around 260 lbs.------Myself I would look for a cheap 1980's model Johnson or Evinrude 90 HP.----A simple motor.------Rebuild it and go for 30 years.------What exactly went wrong with the motor ?-----Your location ?----There seems to be more than 1 Fox Lake.

 

[ChrisMD123]

Thanks everyone! The current motor is about 230 lbs dry. Right now, it's got both an as-yet-undiagnosed fuel uptake problem and water got into the lower unit and lunched it.

We've had enough issues over the years and it's stolen enough weekends from us that we want to go with something modern, but all the new/newer engines around 100hp are about 100 lbs heavier, and without any information, we just aren't sure what the transom can take.

 

[matt167]

Does that take a short shaft motor? You may be stuck with something 1990ish or earlier if so.

 

[ChrisMD123]

Does that take a short shaft motor? You may be stuck with something 1990ish or earlier if so.

I don't think so, the transom's about 24" tall from the mount point.

 

[matt167]

Find an Evinrude 88 SPL. 90hp at the prop, not the crank so like an old 100hp. It will be the lightest more modern motor you can get as its void of any of the luxuries you might expect.