1950's Fleetwin....

[Solomon_Man]

All,
Went to my local salvage marina for some parts for my big twin conversion... and ran into this 1950's (?) fleetwin.

All first time to a salvage marina so it was like a boy in a candy shop!

I am looking for something for my little 14ft boat for the inland lakes in Ohio that have horsepower rules (<9.9HP). Also been considering a jon boat for duck hunting for a while.

I want to stay in the 1950's...my other outboards are all that era.

Anyways the outboard is very clean other then someone took off the knobs. The needles/choke appear to be intact but no knobs. The outboars is a nice tan color and appears maybe to be original paint (I thought they were red) if not a really nicely done repaint. It did have Forward/Neutral/Reverse selection. Its was also in the "Good" Pile . Pirc e was reasonable...compared to others on craiglist/online marinas/ebay.

So my question any one got a guess in year? I should have grabbed the serial but I was after parts to convert the big twin to electric start and tiller conversion. Will be back as I need some more parts for the big twin.

If someone has already the a list of serial numbers and years for a fleetwin I will confirm once I go back Monday.

Also I am completelt unfamiliar with sub 10Hp 1950's outboards. If its a fleetwin is it always 7.5 HP?

I am looks for a 7.5-9.9HP outboard thats a Johnson/Evinrude.....Looking for suggestions....

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Steve A W]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Solomon-Man
Here's a couple sites to check model/age of motors;

http://www.discount-marine-parts.com/ob_evinrude.html

http://www.skoterskroten.com/img/arsmodellstabell.pdf

Evinrude named their motors;
Fisherman-5.5 & 6hp
Fleetwin 7.5hp
Sportwin 2.5, 3.3, 10 and 9.5
Fastwin 14, 15 & 18hp
I'm not real familiar with Evinrudes but this is what i have found.
Good Luck.
Steve A W

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Steve,
Thanks for the information!

Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

All,
Was looking at the fleetwins to stay in the same era as what I currently have (fuel tanks etc) and I noticed that many of the Fleetwins have parts readily available.

Parts Years readily available - Sierra catalog

impellor (1954-1958)
points/condensor (1956-1958)
coils (1954-1958)
carb kit (1955-1958)
lower unit seal kit (1955-1958)

What's up with the 1950-1953 (Early Fleetwins)...What are the big differences with the early fleetwins compared to the later fleetwins.

The 1955 model year looks like everyhing is available except for the points/condesor kit....Is there a easy work around/available somewhere?

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Sierra catalog is wrong - should be back as far as '53 on the Fleetwins on the points & condensers...

The '50 to '53 Fleetwins are quite different. Powerheads share some similarities, but they stop there. They have a neutral clutch ('54 was first year of full gearshift), full 360 spin around for reverse maneuvering, built-in tank, a Tillotson carb, and until '53, a unique ignition system.

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Sierra catalog is wrong - should be back as far as '53 on the Fleetwins on the points & condensers...

The '50 to '53 Fleetwins are quite different. Powerheads share some similarities, but they stop there. They have a neutral clutch ('54 was first year of full gearshift), full 360 spin around for reverse maneuvering, built-in tank, a Tillotson carb, and until '53, a unique ignition system.

From a quick look I know it has FNR shift arm on the side....So I sounds like its at least a 54....Is the carb the same from 1954-58 and the sierra catalog is in error there as well?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Yep. Basically the same carb from '54 to '58...

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Yep. Basically the same carb from '54 to '58...

Again thanks for the information!...

I will do the normal compression/make sure everything is there and hopefully we can work out something with the marina on the fleetwin today.

I will keep you all posted.

Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Again thanks for the information!...

I will do the normal compression/make sure everything is there and hopefully we can work out something with the marina on the fleetwin today.

I will keep you all posted.

Chris

All,
I am a happy owner now of a 1954 Fleetwin.

The compression is good, Lower unit seems to work as it should (did not try to start but may tomorrow).

The only thing I could find was a missing knob....found another in the yard.....still has eye appeal.

I came back with a load of stuff so I got a little more of a brake on the outboard.

I will order my normal maintenance stuff for it the week after next.....will try and post pics tomorrow.

Thanks for the help,
Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

All,
Sorry for not getting the pics up but been stuck on the Big Twin Conversion.

Anyways I did take a look at the Fleetwin more closely.

Got a few questions;
When trying to pull start its almost impossible to accomplish. Feels like it may be binding up somewhere. My other outboards are a 18+ HP and they are no where near that hard to pull start. ( I of course fogged the cylinders with oil before attempting to pull.

I removed the plugs and its much easier but still challenging...but closer to whats its like to pull start my 25 hp outboard. I see the pistons travel.

When the lower unit is engage (F or R) the lower unit responds when I pull start (slowly pulling) as it should.

Any quick ways to pinpoint the problem...

My first thought is pull lower unit and try to pull engine then and turn driveshaft manually to locate which half is of issue.

I have not tried to start with gas/oil due to this hard to pull feeling. Is this normal for Fleetwins its my first one.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Could be many things, but my money is on the driveshaft spring clutch being broken - they expand and bind up, fairly common issue.

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Could be many things, but my money is on the driveshaft spring clutch being broken - they expand and bind up, fairly common issue.

Where is this located on the outboard (vicinity)?

Having issue finding it on my diagrams...

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Chris,
The spring is located directly under the waterpump base/bearing plate. The driveshaft is 2-pieces. The upper shaft pulls out of the lower shaft, with the lower being the spring clutch part. It is supposed to slip if you hit something, but with 50+ years of age on them, they have been known to break. When they do break, the length of the lower shaft increases, thus causing the binding. If your motor spins over easily with the unit off, then it's more than likely what your issue is...
- Scott

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Chris,
The spring is located directly under the waterpump base/bearing plate. The driveshaft is 2-pieces. The upper shaft pulls out of the lower shaft, with the lower being the spring clutch part. It is supposed to slip if you hit something, but with 50+ years of age on them, they have been known to break. When they do break, the length of the lower shaft increases, thus causing the binding. If your motor spins over easily with the unit off, then it's more than likely what your issue is...
- Scott

Thanks for the help!

So basically I take the lower unit out, try engine and if that is good, take lower unit water pump housing out and the clutch\spring sits on top of the pinion shaft. I think I see what your saying after looking at the diagram again.

Is that spring clutch part available new, its a salvage yard part, or can it be found somewhere common like a good hardware\farm fleet store?

Also to take the lower unit does the powerhead need to be removed or is it like my other larger outboards and there is a connector that seperates the top part of the outboard from the lower unit?

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Powerhead has to come off to get to the shift rod disconnect.

The lower driveshaft/spring clutch is a single assembly. No real fix for it outside of a salvage yard replacement. Some guys have had success having the shaft welded into one piece, compressing the spring to make it fit in the space provided. Never done it myself, though, as I haven't had any problem finding replacement lower shafts...

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Chinewalker,
Thanks for the help!

I will try and tear it down over next week....want to finish up the Big Twin Conversion first.

Again Thanks,
Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

All,
I am going to take the lower unit off hopefully early this week maybe tomorrow night.

Is there any gotchas on taking the power head off?

Looks to be two nuts and and bunch of screws/hoses.....Is there anything special I need to worry about before disassembly of the power head from the rest of outboard?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

All,
Took the lower unit from the outboard apart....Found the following;

Powerhead spins as would be expected ...no binding.

Lower unit with driveshaft in ... there is binding.

Took the driveshaft out and spun the pinion shaft (not connected to driveshaft) and things spun as expected....so lower pinion gears etc are ok....pinion shaft?

Added the driveshaft only to the lower unit, no water pump, and things still spin fine.

Add the water pump tightened down and there is binding....

It appears that as I tighten the waterpump more the binding.....It appears the binding is occurring on the bottom of water pump and the top of the pinion shaft.

So is the pinion shaft to blame....trying to understand the cause...so can replace defective part.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Yep, I own a '54 Fleetwin, myself. It's a cool little motor and runs great. The 53 and earlier model was nice, but less parts availability.
I just recently picked up a 1951 Lone Star aluminum boat that will likely be a nice match for it.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1950's Fleetwin....

Yes, when the lower shaft's internal spring is sprung, it expands, effectively lengthening the shaft. This results in it pushing upwards against the bottom of the waterpump plate, which is where you get the binding...