What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

[Laker99]

I'm looking around for a 65/70/75 HP Johnson to put on my 1969 Glastron. I have heard that these 3 cylinder motors are very reliable and there seems to be a lot of them around. I also noticed they are pretty light (under 200 pounds) for their horsepower delivery. Does anyone know what years they had the electric shift which I guess they called "Hydromatic?" I also want one with factory tilt and trim. I will paint the motor white and probably get new Stinger decals for it since I think that would look neat on my boat. Any guidance on what years I should look for in terms of the shift and TNT? I'm thinking early 80's motors when they went to prop rated HP will have the latest generation parts.

 

[racerone]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

The hydro-electric was produced from 1968 to 1972 on the 3 cylinder motors.----Nothing wrong with the concept of electric shift!--------If you want trim you need to look for 79 and later.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

Keep in mind the early 3 cyl engines were only 49 cubic inches. Those 75 blocks had high porting which further hurt the low end grunt. About the 86 model year, OMC increased the displacement to 56 cubes. Those later engines had more torque. Stick with the 70 hp versions if you want to do any skiing. They became prop rated somewhere around 1986.

 

[boobie]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

Stay away from the hydro-electrics as parts are getting hard to find for them and are big $$$$.

 

[JimS123]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

Neat concept. I bought one in '68 because of all of the advertising hype. That was a disaster! The dealer talked me into a new one in '70, saying they fixed the problems. They didn't.....LOL. Today it will be worse - lack of parts, and all the mechanics that could fix them are retired or dead!

In 60 years of boating I've only been stranded twice - both electric shifts.

Its funny too - the 3 cyl loopers are some of the best outboards ever made, Look for any OMC made after 1977.

 

[racerone]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

As far as I am concerned you need to understand how these electric shifts work.----Then they can be said to be well engineered and elegantly simple !!

 

[boobie]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

They were simple when you could find the parts for a reasonable price but not now !!! Besides that most of the wiring is now rotted away.

 

[JimS123]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

As far as I am concerned you need to understand how these electric shifts work.----Then they can be said to be well engineered and elegantly simple !!

That's absolutely true. The shortcoming of their design was that the heat of the exhaust eventually melted all the wiring. Since the shifting was.....er...electrical....you need wires to make it work. Their "fix" was to have it default to forward when the wires failed. If they redesigned it to shield the wires they probably would still be making them today.

 

[racerone]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

The default to forward was there in the first ones in 1968.----If cooling system is properly maintained then the wires did not melt.

 

[boobie]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

And how many cooling systems are properly maintained ??? If you overheat one with a manual shift you don't have the wire problem.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

I'm looking around for a 65/70/75 HP Johnson to put on my 1969 Glastron.
Does anyone know what years they had the electric shift which I guess they called "Hydromatic?"

Of the 3-cylinder engines you mentioned, only a 1972 65hp has electro-hydraulic shifting. The 1973 and later motors are all mechanical shifted. The 70 came out in 1974 and the 75 after that in 1975.

 

[Laker99]

Re: What years did Johnsons have the electric shifts?

Thanks for all of the good info here. It looks like if I want trim I need to stay with a 79 or later. Don