1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

toshibabd

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Looking for a 1st gen v4 75 horse from 1960-68. prefer the look of the evinrudes over johnson.I figure to buy three- 2 for parts.75hp or up to 1968 100 hp. what are the advantages of the electric shift versions. what year was this feature cancelled.Ive found a few of these in my area but dont know too much about them,are they rebuildable aftermarket rings and pistons in oversize,etc? Also heard something about after 62 they switched to roller bearings, going on newly aquired1959 15 ft glastron fireflite i will be restoring. Any advice or info on these is greatly appreciated I need the short shaft version. does any one have the specs and shaft length sizes these came with.
 

Shane7

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Advantages to electric shift ha ha you make me laugh actually they shift like silk but water intrusion is deadly and type c now called premium blend is the only kind of oil you can use in the lower units pricey stuff I personally run lots of circa 50s-60s omc engines and love them but they aren't electric shift stay away from them not to mention the controls cost a fortune if you can get them Pre roller bearings you had to run 24:1 after 50:1 and don't run 30weight the motor may say to but modern two stroke oil is much better
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Those older V-4's are decent motors. I like the early '60's Evinrude Statflites, myself. Yea, I second the idea about staying away from the electric shift models. Parts are quite spendy, should something go bad.
 

jimmbo

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Advantages of electric shift. No Clutch dog to wear and slip. No shift linkage adjustment to misadjust. Cool looking control boxes, especially Evinrude with the push buttoms. As mentioned beautiful smooth shift.

Disadvantages. Parts costly and hard to find. Most mechanics have no clue as to how it actually works. and therefore are at a loss when it comes to troubleshooting it.

Discontinued after 1968 in the v4s, 3 yrs later in the 40hp.

The V4s always were built with roller and needle bearings in the powerhead.

Specs: 75hp 89.5 cubic inches. rated @ 4500rpm rpm range 4000 - 5000
80hp 89.5 cubic inches rated @ 4500rpm rpm range 4000 - 5000
85hp 89.5 cubic inches rated @ 5000rpm rpm range 4500 - 5500
90hp 89.5 cubic inches. rated @ 4500rpm rpm range 4000 - 5000
100hp 89.5 cubic inches rated @ 5000rpm rpm range 4500 - 5500

15 inch and 20 inch shaft lenths
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

And don't forget the Faty Fifty. 1958 - 59
 

Shane7

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Yeah the fat fifty is not bad if you own a gas station and like lifting weights but you can get them pretty cheap also
 

jimmbo

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

And don't forget the Faty Fifty. 1958 - 59

I didn't forget them, i just didn't include them because the OP, in the body of the post was refering to the 75hp 89.5 block. Well that's how I saw it.

50hp 70.7 cubic inches 4000 rpm range 3500 - 4500
60hp 70.7 cubic inches 4500 rpm range 4000 - 5000
65hp 70.7 cubic inches 5000 rpm range 4500 - 5500
 

toshibabd

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Does anyone know if the pistons and rings will interchange-what years?
 

toshibabd

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Those older V-4's are decent motors. I like the early '60's Evinrude Statflites, myself. Yea, I second the idea about staying away from the electric shift models. Parts are quite spendy, should something go bad.

As I sort this stuff out
Evinrude from about 62 v4 75 horse, the Starflites (followed by a roman numeral) used the electric shift,the Speedifour version did not. Johnson motors had same features.
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

I didn't forget them, i just didn't include them because the OP, in the body of the post was refering to the 75hp 89.5 block. Well that's how I saw it.

50hp 70.7 cubic inches 4000 rpm range 3500 - 4500
60hp 70.7 cubic inches 4500 rpm range 4000 - 5000
65hp 70.7 cubic inches 5000 rpm range 4500 - 5500


Hahaha...No s h i t LOL Yea Shane7, all of those V-4's will drink gas like it's goin out of style. If you don't like to spend money on gas, I would stay away from them. Myself, if I'm going to run anything bigger than 40 horses, I'll go with an I/O unit. So much better on gas and you don't have to worry about mixing oil in the gas.
 

Chris1956

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

If you are powering a 15 footer, a V4 may be a bit heavy for it. Normally those came with a 40HP Big Twin, back in the day. I had a Fat-Fifty on my 14' Crestliner(5' beam). I had to build a larger splashwell due the the weight of that fatty. I still used to take waves over the transom....
 

Shane7

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Myself, if I'm going to run anything bigger than 40 horses, I'll go with an I/O unit. So much better on gas and you don't have to worry about mixing oil in the gas.

Same here Zephyr the biggest I run is a 50 but toshibabd if your restoring a classic boat may I recommend a classic merc like the mark 78 the horsepower is underrated and the direct drive is a interesting feature
 

jimmbo

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Same here Zephyr the biggest I run is a 50 but toshibabd if your restoring a classic boat may I recommend a classic merc like the mark 78 the horsepower is underrated and the direct drive is a interesting feature

The Old Dock Buster. Mercury called it Silent Neutral. If the motor wasn't in perfect tune or the battery was weak, it often became, Silent Forward and Silent Reverse too! Stupid design, a case where Mercury dropped the ball
 

1946Zephyr

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

Yea, an interesting concept. In inline 6 Merc direct drive?? What machine. I only had the pleasure of owning one of those. I never got it running. I took it in on trade, for a 1959 Evinrude Lark I sold one time many years ago. After seeing what it needed to run, I sold it to get it out of here. LOL Mercs never did build a decent full shift, untill the early '60's. The Merc 500 is my favorite Merc.
 

jimmbo

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Re: 1st generation evinrude johnson v-4s

The 44 inch 50 is about the most Bulletproof engine made.
 
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