58 or 59 Johnson

It's been a cold and rainy fall.... starting to get bored already and it's only December.... I've been staring at an old 59 parts motor that I got to keep my 58 Super Seahorse going for a long time.... The hood was in really rough condition but the lines are nice... So I decided to make a second hat for the 58...









It's interesting how much the style changed from one year to the next....

I bet it still runs as good as it looks.

Yes you can't beat the old big twin for ease of maintenance and longevity.... They built them to last for lifetimes back then..... and with so many years of interchangeable parts laying around you can keep it running for a couple more lifetimes...

I'm not nearly bored enough to work in the 59 Evinrude hood though..... maybe by February......

Shaugh said:

Yes you can't beat the old big twin for ease of maintenance and longevity.... They built them to last for lifetimes back then..... and with so many years of interchangeable parts laying around you can keep it running for a couple more lifetimes...

I'm not nearly bored enough to work in the 59 Evinrude hood though..... maybe by February......

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I have one as well I was going to rebuild/restore this winter. My hood looks worse though lol.

Restoring the hood is always the biggest payoff.... I might start just doing that as a hobby. After 58 they went to fiberglass.... you have to like cleaning up spider web cracks but it's not hard to do once you get going...

I was thinking if I can ever afford to retire :roll: , I might just open a classic hood shop .....

These are fantastic. Something about an old outboard brought back to life.

"I might just open a classic hood shop ....."

Hmmm, and offer classic style hoods for modern era outboards.

Thanks, it's been a good hobby. A little nostalgia... a little archeology.... and it's such a small footprint... Anybody whose ever worked on a car or boat knows that your patience usually runs out long before you run out of square footage that needs prepping.... Or garage space in the winter... The beauty of a motor is that it's such a small surface area to work on.... it's easy to find the time and energy to do it right...

My problem now is that I have more motors than I have boats to put them on..... doing another motor seems like overkill..... but old hoods are easy to find and ship..... Might start restoring and putting them on Ebay...

Very nice! How long does it take you to do one?

A few hours over several days. Depends on what it needs. I try to do things up to a level of “looks perfect from 3 ft away”. I’ve never done one that’s actually perfect. That ain’t no fun...

Well.....I have a 57 18hp that I sold to a fellow who then wanted it converted to electric start. I did that and never got paid.
I haven't seen or heard from the fellow for a few years now so I am probably going to re-sell the engine. He kept the hood as he was painting it while I worked on the engine. The paint work he did on the engine sux!
If I fix the paint on the engine I will need a nice hood.

I've done one before.... but unfortunately I don't have an extra laying around...











If we can find one I'm happy to do it for cost of materials and shipping.... That will be a nice project to keep me busy...

Expensive... but that front emblem in decent condition is impossible to get anymore...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-JOHNSON-FD-11-18HP-HOOD-COWL-TOP-SHROUD-ENGINE-COVER-376964-OUTBOARD-MOTOR/372524142568?hash=item56bc2b4fe8:g:A~AAAOSwujJcBtho:rk:32f:0

Cheaper.... I think the lichens will just scrape off .... front emblem is whole but looks like it might be rotten ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Johnson-18HP-HOOD-COWLING-FD-11/123538673980?hash=item1cc37a913c

another reason to consider the first one is the decals are near intact... I can mask those and paint.... a set of new decals is $50...

Shaugh said:

Expensive... but that front emblem in decent condition is impossible to get anymore...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-JOHNSON-FD-11-18HP-HOOD-COWL-TOP-SHROUD-ENGINE-COVER-376964-OUTBOARD-MOTOR/372524142568?hash=item56bc2b4fe8:g:A~AAAOSwujJcBtho:rk:32f:0

Cheaper.... I think the lichens will just scrape off .... front emblem is whole but looks like it might be rotten ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Johnson-18HP-HOOD-COWLING-FD-11/123538673980?hash=item1cc37a913c

another reason to consider the first one is the decals are near intact... I can mask those and paint.... a set of new decals is $50...

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Restoring anything is expensive these days. If places mix colors wrong they sell the cans at deep discounts. I just did my rear shop door and frame with a $2 quart from Home Depot. I got 2 gallons of Barney Purple for a kids room the same way once. Big mistake because the ***** and her kids were gone soon after and I was stuck with a purple room.
What really kills me is stuff like the Norton sanding belts I bought. All that holds the belt together at the seam is a line of celephane tape! They last 5 minutes plus I gotta run the 18 mile round trip to buy more today. Lowes or Home depot?.Who sells better belt sander belts?

Those brittle front emblems on 57 -58 Johnsons are all gone.... there was somebody selling old stock for about $100 each but I guess those are long gone too...

I've repaired a few broken ones:










A little patience and plenty of buffing usually works...

If it doesn't have an emblem they do sell a decal on ebay. If you mount it under a piece of Plexiglas it looks close enough...

It might be a good reference for someone to see how I mask the decals from an old motor.

The decals on this hood were in pretty good shape. So instead of replacing them I just masked them before painting.



To mask them you need to carefully paint them with Elmers white glue and an artist paintbrush:




Brush it on right to the edge of the color. The glue turns clear almost immediately around the outside, but be sure you cover everything exactly. Don't overrun the edges. The thicker the better. Sometimes 2 coats of glue helps.




Let the glue dry and then paint right over the top of it when you shoot the rest.

Once the paint is dry to the touch, take a long needle to pick the glue up and it will come right off:




Once you get all the glue picked off, carefully rub the edges with a damp rag with paint thinner (cheap oil paint thinner... not lacquer thinner). This will feather the edges down.



Touch up any damaged decal or issues with a fine brush, then put a couple coats of clear on top of that and you can barely tell what you did:

Shaugh---GREAT work!

I always imagined masking tape and a big mess. Your technique is slick and looks great.

Thanks