Have Outboard motors inproved in the last 50 years?

Just thinking....

I see people running old motors from the 50's, 60's, and 70's all the time. They seem to run quite well. This begs the question: other than electronic ignitions, have 2-stroke outboards "improved" over the last 50 years?

I'm currently running a 1966 Johnson 9.5 on my 14' tinner until I get the 1982 15 HP running. The 66 runs like a champ. Never has let me down, even when 15 miles down-river in the middle of nowhere. It ALWAYS starts, whether its 30 degrees outside or 95.

So, have they improved? If so, what are your thoughts on how?

CMOS

They may have improved but my 71 9.5 evinrude is one great little motor.

timsmcm said:

They may have improved but my 71 9.5 evinrude is one great little motor.

Click to expand...

Almost every time I take out my boat with that 1966 9.5 HP some old timer comments on it. They grin from ear to ear when I tell them that the darn thing just won't quit. Runs like a champ.

I am hoping pappy will reply to this thread. . . .


CMOS :mrgreen:

Something I have noticed is that the small outboards hold value better than the large ones plus they seem to last longer and are more reliable.
Tim

As I saw on a site before, these old motors don't die, thier owners kill them.

They are well made, robust and have a character you cannot get with new motors, or many other products.

New ones are like trucks and autos, you can't work on em anymore. I once had a Ford with a straight six and I could stand in between the motor and the fender well. Today you'd have to take a six month course at a community college before you could do anything.

One time as I was launching my boat this guy showed up with a 14 fiberglass runabout with a small green 2 cylinder outboard missing the cowl.After I parked the truck I saw the guy and his buddy in his runabout getting ready to depart and I looked closely at the small motor it looked ancient single carb not one bit of plastic on it.When he went to start it I expected a huge puff of smoke or a backfire but it started instantly very little smoke and idled quietly.I saw him putt out of the harbour and into the channel I followed him as we were both going in the same direction.I soon realized I could not keep up with the guy despite the fact I was alone in a lightweight aluminum boat with a 2000's model 25hp that does 30mph.A few weeks later I saw the same guy at the ramp and asked him what kind of motor he had he said it was a 40hp evinrude that his dad had bought used in the 1970's and was not sure when it was made but said it ran flawlessly for 40 years.This motor looked tiny smaller than an OMC 25hp and probably didnt weigh much more.Is anyone familiar with particular model outboard?

If you see him again, look at the metal plate on the front of the motor
under the carry handle . . . photos will help the gallery help you.

you could run the generic google search for 1950s Evinrude Johnson 40hp
and see if you find something similar. It may also be a Johnson ??
The 1955-56-57 Johnson 35s were also green.

I have no opinion of the mechanics from modern back to vintage as
I have stated many times - I am NOT a mechanic !!

BUT !!! I have reverted to having only pre-1960 motors simply for nostalgic reasons . . .

Define new.

I can work on anything, and ultimately complete the repair or maintenance. Now, it might take me a minute or two, but IMO some of the newer stuff is easier to work with than some of the older stuff. Just my opinion of course. Had a gentleman bring me an older 10hp 'Rude recently for carb cleaning. 1 1/2 hours later and many invented new words, I was done-and it ran well. Noisy, smoky, and a little rough running, but it was done properly. Friday (2 days ago) another guy brought me a 25hp twin carb 2 stroke yamaha, 05 model, been sitting about a year. Had the carbs off, clean, re-gasketed and back on and running (including new impeller) in under an hour. Easier to work with, IMO.

I haven't had to do much to mine, but once I had an issue on a local river, would run but would not take throttle. 'Course I was way downstream, in a 7 mph current, so idle wasn't going to get it. I limped to a back water with no current, pulled the carb, cleaned a dog tick out of the main jet, reassembled and off I went, without ever leaving the boat. On the water, maybe 20 minutes total. 2000 model 4 stroke 25hp. Ain't touched it since.

I suspect trucks and cars are the same. Although I'm not the least bit familiar with the "newer" stuff (2010-), the older stuff...2005 and older....I don't have any problem with, mainly because I've owned and had to repair them. Familiarity if you will. My old diesel, so long as I don't have to go into the engine, I can do everything else because I'm familiar with it-which is exactly why I bought it instead of a new one. It's got less than 1/2 the power of a new one but I could care less at this point because it ain't got half of the complexity-and therefore stuff to go wrong.