1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

[dkonrai]

i was given this motor, and just wanted to share this. it sat for 25 - 30 years in a shed. brought her home, pulled the plugs and shot a little 2 stroke oil. sprayed some seafoam down the carb. gave it a few turns rolling her around for a couple of days.
finally had some time to give it a run. couldnt get it started, so i used the drill method . (i know its not good, but it works when your old).
i am amazed that a motor can sit for so long and still run pretty well. compression before i ran the motor was 72/72. will run some sea foam for a decarb. also some points/cond/coils/impeller will be installed as well
here she is

dont know if the video will come out

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Awesome, love it.

A little tune up and she will likely pull over with ease.

Let us know how itgoes!

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Awesome, love it.

A little tune up and she will likely pull over with ease.

Let us know how itgoes!

thanks. this is the first pressure motor i have owned. i had quite a few 3's top tank type. they always ran really well. always wanted to tinker with a larger motor. i think i can get this thing dialed in.

will keep everyone updated. cant wait to try this on the 14 footer

dino

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

That is a beauty. Had a very similar 56 in my youth also on a 14 footer.
Pretty sure your running on one cylinder.Not surprising at that age as the coils are the weak point on that motor.
Very likely you will need to replace both.If you want to check ;unhook one plug wire at a time and see if it runs.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Agree with above. Ill go even further in saying if it has been sitting 30 years Ill almost guarantee both coils are shot and are original, but from you original post you already know that.

A QD15 is probably one of the only QDS from the 50s that Im missing.

It is in great original condition too, I would leave that be if I were you.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

thank you for the replies. i just wanted to see if the motor would run, amazing it does. they really built them old motors well. i have ordered a pair of coils, bought a tune up kit from my local dealer. now its time to stalk the mailman.

it seems there is quite a following on these older 50's motors. now i see why. simple to work on, and i am hoping to see if they run like little swiss watches!

dino

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Hopefully you can get that flywheel off now that she is torqued down to about a million ft/lbs with that impact driver!

I have seen the flywheel taper spread by overtightening like that, then the flywheel is junk. Just so you know.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

These should help as well

http://forums.iboats.com/johnson-evinrude-outboards/1972-6hp-evinrude-has-no-spark-531940.html
http://forums.iboats.com/engine-fre...-change-coils-set-points-old-omcs-294072.html

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Hopefully you can get that flywheel off now that she is torqued down to about a million ft/lbs with that impact driver!

I have seen the flywheel taper spread by overtightening like that, then the flywheel is junk. Just so you know.

Yes, thank you for the warning!

yes i understand not to use a impact. i use a drill not an impact, and mid setting with the clutch adjusted just enough to spin the motor, if it meets resistance the clutch will engage. i agree that a impact would NOT be a good idea. i have seen one motor that was torqued down so tight that the stator plate cracked. my guess is that was wayyyy over the 45-55 ft/lb that is required.

good catch on my vid.

dino

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

update,
finally got around to working on the motor.

replaced the coils, got a used pair off a auction site 22.00 delivered

replaced the condensers and points.

new spark plug wires and plugs.

cleaned the carb ( i think i need to do a little more carb work, maybe new needle, seat and float)

replaced the orings on the fuel connector.the gas can had some old gas, prob 5 or 6 years old but it seems to be fine. gas is nice and clear.

but now she runs pretty good, almost purring. cant wait to give her a run on the water. think she will troll down nicely. this is the first vintage motor ever. im pretty happy at the results. seems they really built these solid. really a nice runner.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Looks great. Enjoy it on the water!

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Have you replaced the waterpump impeller?

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Have you replaced the waterpump impeller?

yes new impeller and water tube seal. old housing.

dino

 

[Crosbyman]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

A friend gave me his dad's (deceased) QD15 which annoyed them to no end because of erratic performance.

took it apart...both coils cracked up

changed coils, points, condenser, impeller and did a pump conversion

it now works great .

I tried to get a local Fish & Game magazine to run an article on "cheap outboards" ..... they were not interested


their loss...... it will leave more "cheap" outboards for us guys to work on

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Well, shucks. Looks like you're doing great on getting her dialed in. That is a real beauty of a motor. I have the next model year QD and the old green Johnsons are some of the best out there. But yes, your old motor is a nice unrestored classic and the paint on the lower unit, indicates it's a low hours motor. You should get a lot of good years of service, once it's tuned right.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

Well, shucks. Looks like you're doing great on getting her dialed in. That is a real beauty of a motor. I have the next model year QD and the old green Johnsons are some of the best out there. But yes, your old motor is a nice unrestored classic and the paint on the lower unit, indicates it's a low hours motor. You should get a lot of good years of service, once it's tuned right.

thank you 46zephyr.

is the next year (55) the same color? or did it change to the metallic root beer? my 56 5.5 has that rb color. so cool would love to paint that one, but...that will be another thread. are you still running the pressure tank on your motors?

humbly have to say, this is one of the nicest running motors i have owned in awhile. a little more carb work? i didnt get to the carb yet. just a simple tear down, adjusted the float, and blew the orifices. i will correct the carb at a later time and date.
i just want to get this on the water for a test spin.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

A friend gave me his dad's (deceased) QD15 which annoyed them to no end because of erratic performance.

took it apart...both coils cracked up

changed coils, points, condenser, impeller and did a pump conversion

it now works great .

I tried to get a local Fish & Game magazine to run an article on "cheap outboards" ..... they were not interested


their loss...... it will leave more "cheap" outboards for us guys to work on

crosbyman,

is that as in syd crosby? yes i would say cheap to free. i think i will be stock piling coils when i can score them. i have scored some great used brp coils once you replace the ignitions on these older motors i think they run better than some of the newer models.

 

[Crosbyman]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

crosbyman comes from owing a Crosby Cruisette .Fell in love with this old fiberglass mini cabin cruiser made by Crosby boats in the early 60's (bunks, indor toilet, wash basin it had it all. The folks at Fiberglassics.com were great providing info.

stupid me eventually sold it after spending spare time on it. gel coat was mint (always stored in a boathouse after use for 40+ years

It was rated for a 90 hp but planed great with a merc Classic 45.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

crosbyman comes from owing a Crosby Cruisette .Fell in love with this old fiberglass mini cabin cruiser made by Crosby boats in the early 60's (bunks, indor toilet, wash basin it had it all. The folks at Fiberglassics.com were great providing info.

stupid me eventually sold it after spending spare time on it. gel coat was mint (always stored in a boathouse after use for 40+ years

It was rated for a 90 hp but planed great with a merc Classic 45.

love the merc, i have a 87 classic 50/45. very smooth lots of torque one of the best merc made..

 

[Crosbyman]

Re: 1954 johnson qd15 10 hp after 25 or 30 years its awake!

if you have that oiler box.... carefull mine ended up with condensation water in it and caused a lot of grief. Better to pre-mix

I had a 50(66-67) and a 45 Merc (1986) Fantastic motors extra smooth for trolling all day but... 5Gal/hr wot

My new 75 ETEC is almost 50% cheaper on gas starts on a dime but...

I'll never be able to fix-it fuel/carb wise becasue of fancy complex injectors, computers etc.... so I just pamper it and cross my fingers Keep your 45!

When my switch box failed I replaced it on the 45 I kept it

I have yet to find a way to melt/chip away that black goo to do some reverse engineering and hopefully find a way to repair switch boxes for a few $$ ...

I just bet those switch boxes have max $ 50-of parts and $350 of black goo in them to seal their casings

Annoyed me to no end to pay $400 for a couple of SCR triggers and capacitors sold at Radio Shack.

Just think, instead of using expensive rectifiers a lot of folks now use $3.00 "4way bridge rectifiers" from RS to replace defective ones in outboards.