My Grandfathers 1966 Johnson 9.5 hand me down-hand me down.

My mothers father bought this Johnson new in 1966 (MQ-12A) and used it around local lakes with my great uncle. My grandfather passed away probably 25 years ago or so when I was probably 7 or 8, but my Great Uncle is still around.

Sometime in the 80's, my parents had a little trailer at a campground a few towns over for a weekend getaway and my father and his friends put a beating on this motor for about 7 years until it was put away until a few years ago when it was pulled out by my father to try it out. He says it ran, but rough, and brought it to an engine shop. They told him it needed a new carburetor and quoted him $300 or so but they had a 15hp kicking around the shop for $300, so my father bought that instead, so back to the basement the Johnson went. Recently, he mentioned he was going to scrap it. I jumped on it because I've wanted it for years and always thought I'd like to get it running again, but never mentioned it.

My daughter will be 5 in the spring and I think it would be really cool to take her out on one of our tins. When my grandfather bought it new in 1966, I'm sure he never imagined the day when his great-granddaughter would be able to use it.

The first thing I need to figure out is the control arm. My brother took it off for some reason a while back, who knows why, so I need to get that back on, and then I can grab a gas tank and start from there on seeing how it runs? Any advice on what I should do before trying to start it? Or what to look for? I'm green to outboards, so I don't want to do more damage than good here, so anything that I SHOULD as well as SHOULDN'T do is very welcome.

Thanks

SuDZ

You are probably going to have to clean, and/or rebuild the carburetor. I would install a new water pump impeller and change the gear lube. Check if the old lube was milky. If it was you may have to change seals. Pull the spark plugs and put a little 2-stroke oil in and turn the motor over by hand. Do not use starter fluid when you try and start it. Use gas and 2-stroke oil in a spray bottle if required. I'm sure someone will pipe in about something I forgot :LOL2: .

Be sure to use 50:1 fuel oil mix with TCW3 2 stroke oil.

What both of these guys said will get you started for sure. I had a 1965 Johnson 5hp of my grandfathers that I ran on my 1648 for about a year before I did all my modification. It was in great condition though with no issues and ran great. These are really solid and strong motors. I still changed plugs, impeller, lower unit oil and seals on mine. This guy has a lot of hard to find parts for these older outboards. IIRC, I got my impeller and seals from him.

https://www.maxrules.com/

I see those tiller handles on ebay all the time.

Well, I got a little time to play with it last night. I got most of the tiller handle back on and in place, but there are a couple of bolts missing. I'll have to pick up a few so that I can tighten it up and figure out the linkage.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep you posted.

Hope all works out with this motor

Thanks. I'm new to outboards, so I'm just taking it slow and stepping through each process. I have a tendency to go "Let's go full speed on this and tear it apart in a whirlwind and figure it out later!" Since I want this to work out in the end, I'm forgoing that and think it will be cooler to run it "as is" since it's how my father and grandfather "wore it in" but in a fully reliable state where I have it tuned up.

I have the tiller put back together and mounted. I used one of the motor part sites (I forget offhand, but a popular one) and used it as a guide. I was missing a few bolts. so I had to do a little replacement and guesswork, but it should work.

Any suggestions on what weight gear lube I should go with for the lower end? I figure I'll give that a quick change and probably the spark plugs too.

SuDZ said:

Any suggestions on what weight gear lube I should go with for the lower end? I figure I'll give that a quick change and probably the spark plugs too.

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Just go your Johnson dealer and get Johnson gear lube and pick up a water pump impeller while you are there. They are pretty easy to change.

I'll have to find a draler around me, but I did pick up some lube and a pump last night at a marine store on my way home as well as some new plugs.

I just tried it now to see if it woukd turn over but no go. When I pump the ball on the tank, it squirts out the front of the fuel pump. Pulling the line that goes from the pump to the carb was dry on the carb side...

SuDZ

It probably needs a fuel pump. Here's a link. Looks like they quit making the original pump so you have to replace it with a newer model. Dont forget the mounting gasket.

If one of the Johnson guys wants to jump in here I won't be offended :LOL2: You still want to locate a Johnson dealer near you and give them some business.

https://www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_details.php?pnum=OMC0388685

https://www.leeroysramblings.com/OMC_9.5.htm

Your right about needing a fuel pump. Not only was it shooting gas out from the front, but the plastic nipple that is supposed to head towards the carb was broken. I'll look into ordering one shortly.

Looking at the picture online, mine was missing the metal gasket and screw in the front. Not sure where it went with time, but that explains the gas flying out.

Steve A W said:

Sudz
While Your changing the fuel pump You ought to change the fuel lines also.
The current fuel might melt the old lines making a mess of the pump and carb.
Good Luck with Your motor.

Steve A W

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I agree. There was no ethanol in the gas back in 1966.

Man I'm excited to give my motor a once over but can of worms????? Not too fond of that... that's great that it was her great grand dads motor maybe you'll make an angler our of her and she can have it...good luck with the rebuild.

I currently ruin a 1966 Evinrude 9.5 which is the same thing as you're Johnson just with a different paint his and stickers. The web site for Leroys ramblings that was posted for you by someone else will tell you almost anything you need to know about repairs to the motor. If in good shape and taken care of that motor will do you well.

KMixson said:

Steve A W said:

Sudz
While Your changing the fuel pump You ought to change the fuel lines also.
The current fuel might melt the old lines making a mess of the pump and carb.
Good Luck with Your motor.

Steve A W

Click to expand...

I agree. There was no ethanol in the gas back in 1966.

Click to expand...

Absolutely good advice; change those lines, too!

A roll of fuel line is very inexpensive; time wasted once they break/crack/melt is NOT.

SUDZ, I have that exact same motor, and the darn thing looked so good when I bought it, I seriously thought it was a 1990's or early 2000's model!

Bought it locally on Craigslist for $400 bucks. I did all the "right" things for an old motor, including having my local mechanic (works on anything) put in a full carburetor kit. This thing purrs like a lion now. I have not taken it on the water yet as I am finishing a new paint job on the 1963 Lone Star 14' V that I also found.

Can't wait to get this on the water. Let me know if you need any pics of anything specific. These are excellent motors. You're lucky to have one.


CMOS

CRN, you're right, Leroy's really helped me out. In fact, there are 2 or 3 pics on his site for this motor that are from me. Least I could do.

CMOS

CountryRN said:

I currently ruin a 1966 Evinrude 9.5 which is the same thing as you're Johnson just with a different paint his and stickers. The web site for Leroys ramblings that was posted for you by someone else will tell you almost anything you need to know about repairs to the motor. If in good shape and taken care of that motor will do you well.

Click to expand...