We had the Evinrude version of this outboard in the 70s pulled 2 skiers out water like it was nothing. We did have to get pulled in on a couple of occasions ran out of gas.
@@bobfrievalt6392 we have a couple of 58 Starflites as well! We actually mounted one up originally before firing these. The styling of the johnson just fit much better with this boat. The Evinrude has more of a 1960s look to it. Fuel consumption seems to be a big issue 😅
Get a manual and a water pump rebuild kit (they are available) and change it out, chances are the impeller is hardened into the position it sat in for the last few decades, you should get a better spray of water out of the exhaust. clean the carbs and lubricate all the moving linkages with lithium grease. Change the gear oil in the lower unit and put it on the boat.
Oh, I've got a manual if needed and have done several water pumps. I'm sure it'll get changed out before it hits the water, maybe even lower unit seals while it's off. It's possible the last guy who owned it changed it out, as he's an outboard enthusiast...but even then, that's like 6 or 7 years. And they're so easy on the larger motors typically because of the split design shift shaft which can be disconnected at the side (versus the smaller ones that require power head removal). I guess I'm not sure why we made such a deal of it pumping water....other than primarily to make sure we could continue running it for a couple minutes on the stand. I thought the spray was pretty weak, but I've also run very few older engines that have thermostats on them. On the OMC stuff, I've oddly enough seen very few impellers that are rotted, broken, failed....it's typically as you said, with the vanes pre-set into position, worn, and creating a weaker stream. Seems fine until you throw a new one in and then it's evident. We'll probably throw an impeller in it, change the lower unit oil out, throw it on the boat, and try it before doing much else (points adjustment, carb service, etc). We're pretty sure we'll end up keeping it on there but it is a large motor so there is a VERY slight possibilty we may switch to a 35 instead.
You won't see much of a spray coming from that exhaust relief, just a little watery mist when the thermostat opens. Probably gonna need the carb cleaned, don't forget to check/change the gear lube
Yeah, I've seen some tell me also there should be more. But, they may also be basing that on engines that don't have a thermostat. Either way, we'll likely change the impeller out to be safe. It may need carb service, we'll see. We may likely try it out first on the water to see how it runs. Gear lube definitely.
@@retro_grade Well, you are surely not getting the same amount of water supply from the hose you would get from being submerged in water. In either case, you won't see much water discharge from the exhaust relief hole, except some mist spray when the thermostat opens, which we did see in your video. Unfortunately, there were no water pump indicator sprays on these older engines. Seeing a constant flow of water from the exhaust relief at idle usually means the thermostat is bad or has been removed. Don't know if your engine has a "hot light", but check its operation if it is equipped with this feature.
Nice!!! Yeah, they really were beautiful motors during their time. I also really like the Johnson Meteor version of the motor you had also! Super cool.
@@belowfray5251 I ended up cannibalizing several motors for a starter and coil, and bolted on a Force steering tube to upgrade to cable steering, also never had reverse because whoever put the lower unit together last pinched the wire on the reverse shift solenoid. We called it Frankenmotor and it pushed my 14 foot Riviera bowrider to over 55 mph lol
Need an engine hoist with an eyehook. Piece of cake. Also, is it better to have a new motor? Well, I don't know how much you paid for this, but it is clearly a very low hour motor; if you ensure the lower unit gears, bearings and shifter dog are in good shape, install a seal kit (because it WILL leak after 66 years) and replace all the electronics with OMC original replacements, put a new belt on, rebuild the intake/carb, and do something about the wiring harness (they are NOT available), the $6000 or so you'll save over a new 50 hp engine will buy a a few thousand gallons of gas. I think the better deal is to find a 35 hp of the same vintage/quality and use that. It's way better on gas if that matters, and it is far lighter. Still a very cool motor. Another Fat Fifty lives on!
See, the thing about an engine hoist is it's always one of those things that you don't want to store, and when you need to borrow one you either can't find one or don't want to go get it / haul it back either. In the spot that an engine hoist could go, I could store a few more non-running outboards that I don't need 😂. You'll get to see the ridiculousness of how we manage to get it on without one at some point. She should be fine to try with water pump replacement and gear oil change to try. If the shift dogs are worn out, that'll be evident pretty quick once it's in gear and under power. Going completely through it to make it perfect isn't going to happen until we decide that we don't want to swap it out to a 35 HP engine, as you mentioned. That's really the other option. Getting a new motor for an old boat is NEVER the option that anyone should go with. Ruins the entire look and experience of owning and operating a beautiful classic like this one.
Seems like all youtubers have trouble with the gopros. Is there no other options for camera's out there? Just found your channel and love the old boats !!!
@scottporter6201 there are, but the problem is that you don't know any better initially and get too far invested to go back. GoPro has that name, but they're slowly losing it the last couple of years. DJI or Insta 360 is the way to go and will be what we use next. But with the channels staggeringly slow growth, I'm reluctant to drop another dime into it for quite some time. It'll be years before I make up the several grand that I'm already in the hole on 😅
They'll do good in a drum when completely submerged. Ours just wasn't large enough. I have seen them pump fairly strong as well when hooked to a hose, but I'm also used to motors without a thermostat. The biggest different is that motors don't run the same on muffs / hose hookup as they do when actually submerged, with the exhaust under water. Which is why we didn't bother tuning on the carburetor or anyting else once it ran, as it's fairly pointless. If we don't get a barrel large enough we'll save that activity for the lake.
My dad had a 62 Johnson 10hp ran great we had a 14 ft aluminum v bottom the moved up to a 64 28 hp ran great for years until it started having problems and my dad got rid of it then a 74 25 never used it
Well, in all fairness, while the "$400 motor" portion of the title was defintely added so that TH-cam would actually promote it to more than 100 people (missing accomplished there), this was definitely not a motor that we picked up off the street because it was a "good deal" and we couldn't afford anything else. This was the EXACT motor that we wanted to re-motor this boat with, and one of us drove nearly 4 hours one evening to pick it up, along with another one exactly like it. They're becoming fairly rare, and it's the first one either of us have seen in person. Now, personally....we would have titled the video "BEAUTIFUL 1958 Johnson Super Seahorse Fat Fifty First Start". But, we've unfortunately had to start wising up on our thumbnails and titles to make them more reachable to the "general public" :)
The main one is, but water also comes in through the side as well. It was pulling in water fine using the earmuffs (probably could use a new water pump at minimum though). I have an old Perko adapter that fits over the tube you're referring to, and oddly enough it doesn't work that great....the ear muffs or adapters that fit on the side of the motor work better. Also, even if that tube is under the water (which this one was), it won't necessarily pump. The pump inside needs to be submerged completely. Running the engines in buckets/barrels is mainly more due to have correct jetting and hearing how they sound. Engines run on muffs don't run quite how they will when actually sitting in the water.
@@frogcassady same here! Everything goes slow when you have too many project though, LOL. What area are you located in? Yeah....Kentucky, and much of the south in general, is DRY of classic boats and motors. It's really sad....
Anyone can run into a boat shop and buy a bland, boring, plastic covered new engine. Not everyone has the skill and class to run the oldies! - Official Retro_Grade Response
The reasons that you mention here are the EXACT reasons that I choose to run old outboards (fuel consumption I'll give to you, I guess.....on the larger engines is likely better, I could care less on the smaller ones). Sure, if you're out fishing, for instance, fine - yeah, a 4-stroke is nice. Starts right up (at least when they're new....give them some years and see how that pans out), runs quiet. But, if I'm out boating, I hate them.....there's no sound, no smell, nothing. They're boring, they have no soul. They look cheap, bloated, and hideous. Why anyone would mount one on an old boat is beyond me. Any time I see a beatiful hull like this and my eyes follow the lines, once they reach a new motor on the back I either vomit, cry, or both....then promptly walk away in disgust. I've had a couple of newer 4 cycle motors I've purchased in my life when I lost my way as a classic boat/motor enthusiast, and I was instantly reminded why I hate them so much the moment I took them out on the water. Sold each one a week after purchase/use, every time....and it real restraint on my part to not just unscrew the transom clamps and drop them overboard 😂 -Brock
Yeah, I wondered on that one. I always default to 16:1 when testing, as many of smaller Johnsons of this era with solid bronze bushings require it. So my pressure cans are always 16:1, and I simply transferred a bit of that fuel into the single line can.
Our Camera Man #2 / Technician was supposed to turn the water back on once we started cranking again hard and got the engine to fire. They did not perform to task, and have since been terminated from the company.
Which models, and in what way? The older twin cylinders seem to do fine with them, if needed (versus running them in my "test sock"). At least in terms of how much water comes out of the exhaust comparatively. I have a vintage Tempo flush adaptor that fits over the main intake tube near the exhaust (which I figured would work better than muffs), but oddly enough it doesn't. I spent a long time trying to find one as well, as they're fairly rare and was pretty disappointed when I tried it. Looks like a taco shell with a hose adaptor on it. Do they run the same? Absolutely not. Which is why I don't bother tuning on them until the exhaust is submerged.
@@retro_grade all i know is they need the impeller to be fully submarged to push water as they are not tight fitting (not self priming) and sometimes the muffs dont provide enough pressure.
@romanlahage5144 yeah it probably would. Getting it out from under the motor when full though is the pain. I normally use cheap dry bags and fill with water that work great. But the lower unit is too wide on that motor to fit into one.
@scottporter6201 oddly enough, I don't have a big barrel to run in. I got so sick of storing one and dumping it out every time. For smaller motors, I actually use a cheap Walmart dry bag, pull it up around the lower unit and tie to the motor, and fill it with water. When I'm done, push in on the clip and let it drop. It works great. However, the larger motors won't even fit in the larger 20l ones, too wide. At some point I'd like to custom stitch one up. And most times with the larger engines if I get them started on muffs, I just take the boat to the lake anyways :) Thanks for the comments!
I’m sure your dog and the kids will love the oil soaked toys next time they go to play with them 😂
The bucket broke as well after dumping it out......my wife asked me how it happened and I just blamed it on "kids".
We had the Evinrude version of this outboard in the 70s pulled 2 skiers out water like it was nothing. We did have to get pulled in on a couple of occasions ran out of gas.
@@bobfrievalt6392 we have a couple of 58 Starflites as well! We actually mounted one up originally before firing these. The styling of the johnson just fit much better with this boat. The Evinrude has more of a 1960s look to it.
Fuel consumption seems to be a big issue 😅
Nice motor from the age of Flash Gordon 👍🏻
Yes it is, thanks! Funny how much of that stuff back then is styled in that way also!
Thankyou 😊
@@robertlemoine3500 sure thing!
Get a manual and a water pump rebuild kit (they are available) and change it out, chances are the impeller is hardened into the position it sat in for the last few decades, you should get a better spray of water out of the exhaust. clean the carbs and lubricate all the moving linkages with lithium grease. Change the gear oil in the lower unit and put it on the boat.
Oh, I've got a manual if needed and have done several water pumps. I'm sure it'll get changed out before it hits the water, maybe even lower unit seals while it's off. It's possible the last guy who owned it changed it out, as he's an outboard enthusiast...but even then, that's like 6 or 7 years. And they're so easy on the larger motors typically because of the split design shift shaft which can be disconnected at the side (versus the smaller ones that require power head removal). I guess I'm not sure why we made such a deal of it pumping water....other than primarily to make sure we could continue running it for a couple minutes on the stand.
I thought the spray was pretty weak, but I've also run very few older engines that have thermostats on them. On the OMC stuff, I've oddly enough seen very few impellers that are rotted, broken, failed....it's typically as you said, with the vanes pre-set into position, worn, and creating a weaker stream. Seems fine until you throw a new one in and then it's evident.
We'll probably throw an impeller in it, change the lower unit oil out, throw it on the boat, and try it before doing much else (points adjustment, carb service, etc). We're pretty sure we'll end up keeping it on there but it is a large motor so there is a VERY slight possibilty we may switch to a 35 instead.
I purchased a custom flay boat with a 40hp Johnson VRO got great service from it freshwater saltwater and rabbit hunting in the Louisiana marshes
Nice!!!
You won't see much of a spray coming from that exhaust relief, just a little watery mist when the thermostat opens. Probably gonna need the carb cleaned, don't forget to check/change the gear lube
Yeah, I've seen some tell me also there should be more. But, they may also be basing that on engines that don't have a thermostat. Either way, we'll likely change the impeller out to be safe. It may need carb service, we'll see. We may likely try it out first on the water to see how it runs.
Gear lube definitely.
@@retro_grade Well, you are surely not getting the same amount of water supply from the hose you would get from being submerged in water. In either case, you won't see much water discharge from the exhaust relief hole, except some mist spray when the thermostat opens, which we did see in your video. Unfortunately, there were no water pump indicator sprays on these older engines. Seeing a constant flow of water from the exhaust relief at idle usually means the thermostat is bad or has been removed. Don't know if your engine has a "hot light", but check its operation if it is equipped with this feature.
Had a Starflite 100 Evinrude..true styling genius! n
Nice!!! Yeah, they really were beautiful motors during their time.
I also really like the Johnson Meteor version of the motor you had also! Super cool.
I just ended up with a starflite III
New to me. Will see how it goes. Gonna need a generator.
I hope we could talk someday.
@@belowfray5251 I ended up cannibalizing several motors for a starter and coil, and bolted on a Force steering tube to upgrade to cable steering, also never had reverse because whoever put the lower unit together last pinched the wire on the reverse shift solenoid. We called it Frankenmotor and it pushed my 14 foot Riviera bowrider to over 55 mph lol
Need an engine hoist with an eyehook. Piece of cake. Also, is it better to have a new motor? Well, I don't know how much you paid for this, but it is clearly a very low hour motor; if you ensure the lower unit gears, bearings and shifter dog are in good shape, install a seal kit (because it WILL leak after 66 years) and replace all the electronics with OMC original replacements, put a new belt on, rebuild the intake/carb, and do something about the wiring harness (they are NOT available), the $6000 or so you'll save over a new 50 hp engine will buy a a few thousand gallons of gas. I think the better deal is to find a 35 hp of the same vintage/quality and use that. It's way better on gas if that matters, and it is far lighter. Still a very cool motor. Another Fat Fifty lives on!
See, the thing about an engine hoist is it's always one of those things that you don't want to store, and when you need to borrow one you either can't find one or don't want to go get it / haul it back either. In the spot that an engine hoist could go, I could store a few more non-running outboards that I don't need 😂. You'll get to see the ridiculousness of how we manage to get it on without one at some point.
She should be fine to try with water pump replacement and gear oil change to try. If the shift dogs are worn out, that'll be evident pretty quick once it's in gear and under power. Going completely through it to make it perfect isn't going to happen until we decide that we don't want to swap it out to a 35 HP engine, as you mentioned. That's really the other option.
Getting a new motor for an old boat is NEVER the option that anyone should go with. Ruins the entire look and experience of owning and operating a beautiful classic like this one.
Seems like all youtubers have trouble with the gopros. Is there no other options for camera's out there? Just found your channel and love the old boats !!!
@scottporter6201 there are, but the problem is that you don't know any better initially and get too far invested to go back. GoPro has that name, but they're slowly losing it the last couple of years.
DJI or Insta 360 is the way to go and will be what we use next.
But with the channels staggeringly slow growth, I'm reluctant to drop another dime into it for quite some time.
It'll be years before I make up the several grand that I'm already in the hole on 😅
The old engines like that run better in a drum have to have positive water pressure nice old 2 stroke
They'll do good in a drum when completely submerged. Ours just wasn't large enough. I have seen them pump fairly strong as well when hooked to a hose, but I'm also used to motors without a thermostat.
The biggest different is that motors don't run the same on muffs / hose hookup as they do when actually submerged, with the exhaust under water. Which is why we didn't bother tuning on the carburetor or anyting else once it ran, as it's fairly pointless. If we don't get a barrel large enough we'll save that activity for the lake.
My dad had a 62 Johnson 10hp ran great we had a 14 ft aluminum v bottom the moved up to a 64 28 hp ran great for years until it started having problems and my dad got rid of it then a 74 25 never used it
Ha! Why'd he never use the 74 model? I have a couple 1974 Johnson 50 HP engines
Been there picking up motors
Well, in all fairness, while the "$400 motor" portion of the title was defintely added so that TH-cam would actually promote it to more than 100 people (missing accomplished there), this was definitely not a motor that we picked up off the street because it was a "good deal" and we couldn't afford anything else.
This was the EXACT motor that we wanted to re-motor this boat with, and one of us drove nearly 4 hours one evening to pick it up, along with another one exactly like it. They're becoming fairly rare, and it's the first one either of us have seen in person.
Now, personally....we would have titled the video "BEAUTIFUL 1958 Johnson Super Seahorse Fat Fifty First Start". But, we've unfortunately had to start wising up on our thumbnails and titles to make them more reachable to the "general public" :)
You better bring 3 6gal gas tanks
You will need it
That's good to know 🤣
The guy I bought them from told me that at wide open, it could burn through a can in a half an hour....
I had the 1962 forty. It pushed a a lot more water than that.
That's good to know. Sounds like it may be a good idea to swap out the impeller!
I believe the water intake is on the back of the exhaust outlet below the cavitation plate.
The main one is, but water also comes in through the side as well. It was pulling in water fine using the earmuffs (probably could use a new water pump at minimum though).
I have an old Perko adapter that fits over the tube you're referring to, and oddly enough it doesn't work that great....the ear muffs or adapters that fit on the side of the motor work better.
Also, even if that tube is under the water (which this one was), it won't necessarily pump. The pump inside needs to be submerged completely.
Running the engines in buckets/barrels is mainly more due to have correct jetting and hearing how they sound. Engines run on muffs don't run quite how they will when actually sitting in the water.
@@retro_grade can’t wait to see this project finished. I think you’re located close to me. There aren’t enough classic boats here.
@@frogcassady same here! Everything goes slow when you have too many project though, LOL.
What area are you located in? Yeah....Kentucky, and much of the south in general, is DRY of classic boats and motors. It's really sad....
@@retro_grade Cincinnati area. Grew up boating in Maine and still do a lot of boating up there. Classic boat heaven.
Great but nothing beats my Yamaha four stroke quiet and uses no gas
I agree, and not having to worry about mixing gas too! Although, I do love a good smell of two stroke smoke from time to time.
@WilcoxGarageRecovery If you can't handle mixing gas, you can't handle boating!!! Probably a pontoon boat owner......
Anyone can run into a boat shop and buy a bland, boring, plastic covered new engine. Not everyone has the skill and class to run the oldies! - Official Retro_Grade Response
The reasons that you mention here are the EXACT reasons that I choose to run old outboards (fuel consumption I'll give to you, I guess.....on the larger engines is likely better, I could care less on the smaller ones).
Sure, if you're out fishing, for instance, fine - yeah, a 4-stroke is nice. Starts right up (at least when they're new....give them some years and see how that pans out), runs quiet.
But, if I'm out boating, I hate them.....there's no sound, no smell, nothing. They're boring, they have no soul. They look cheap, bloated, and hideous. Why anyone would mount one on an old boat is beyond me. Any time I see a beatiful hull like this and my eyes follow the lines, once they reach a new motor on the back I either vomit, cry, or both....then promptly walk away in disgust.
I've had a couple of newer 4 cycle motors I've purchased in my life when I lost my way as a classic boat/motor enthusiast, and I was instantly reminded why I hate them so much the moment I took them out on the water. Sold each one a week after purchase/use, every time....and it real restraint on my part to not just unscrew the transom clamps and drop them overboard 😂
-Brock
The fuel oil mix for this motor is 24 to 1. I have one just like yours.
Yeah, I wondered on that one.
I always default to 16:1 when testing, as many of smaller Johnsons of this era with solid bronze bushings require it. So my pressure cans are always 16:1, and I simply transferred a bit of that fuel into the single line can.
The absolute worst thing you can do to an outboard is start it without the water on.😮
Our Camera Man #2 / Technician was supposed to turn the water back on once we started cranking again hard and got the engine to fire. They did not perform to task, and have since been terminated from the company.
these motors dont like muffs fyi
Which models, and in what way? The older twin cylinders seem to do fine with them, if needed (versus running them in my "test sock"). At least in terms of how much water comes out of the exhaust comparatively.
I have a vintage Tempo flush adaptor that fits over the main intake tube near the exhaust (which I figured would work better than muffs), but oddly enough it doesn't. I spent a long time trying to find one as well, as they're fairly rare and was pretty disappointed when I tried it. Looks like a taco shell with a hose adaptor on it.
Do they run the same? Absolutely not. Which is why I don't bother tuning on them until the exhaust is submerged.
@@retro_grade all i know is they need the impeller to be fully submarged to push water as they are not tight fitting (not self priming) and sometimes the muffs dont provide enough pressure.
A trash can might work if you fill it with water.
@romanlahage5144 yeah it probably would. Getting it out from under the motor when full though is the pain.
I normally use cheap dry bags and fill with water that work great. But the lower unit is too wide on that motor to fit into one.
Get a bigger bucket.
@scottporter6201 oddly enough, I don't have a big barrel to run in. I got so sick of storing one and dumping it out every time.
For smaller motors, I actually use a cheap Walmart dry bag, pull it up around the lower unit and tie to the motor, and fill it with water. When I'm done, push in on the clip and let it drop. It works great.
However, the larger motors won't even fit in the larger 20l ones, too wide. At some point I'd like to custom stitch one up.
And most times with the larger engines if I get them started on muffs, I just take the boat to the lake anyways :)
Thanks for the comments!