5 1/2 HP 1956 Johnson Seahorse Good Buy?

[racerone]

The 2 clips on the point return springs are installed wrong on that magneto picture.

 

[Crosbyman]

jimmbo.... dont they make non detergent plain old sae 30 oil anymore ??? we use to burn that stuff in old mercs in the 60's 1 quart and 5 gal on gas

 

[jimmbo]

I'm sure if you look hard enough you could find some 30 weight mineral oil. But why use that when the modern oils are much superior, especially in regard to mixing, detergents, and lubrication?

40 oz of oil to 5 gals of gas 5X160oz of gas equals 800oz of gas @ 20:1 ratio. That's what mercs prior to the mid60s required

 

[Squirrel42]

That picture of the magneto is my lark.. I fudged and uploaded it on this thread and I can't find out how to delete it.

I'm letting this guy sit until I finish my lark project because I'm getting my *** handed to me. I'm no mechanic I'm learning.

 

[Crosbyman]

jimmbo... i meant to use 30 grade oil for the bugs.....more than the motor :lol:

 

[racerone]

These motors were very popular in 1956 and becoming more popular today.-------Johnson folks are looking at reviving them for a " special " 60 th anniversary production run of 100,000 of them.------ Price yet to be determined.

 

[Squirrel42]

It's a beautiful engine, thats awesome news racerone!

 

[jimmbo]

jimmbo... i meant to use 30 grade oil for the bugs.....more than the motor :lol:

Most TCW-3 oils when mixed at 16:1 will still do pretty good at Mosquito Control

 

[1946Zephyr]

No, 16:1 is pretty strict on that. There are no bearings in that motor. I don't know where you saw 24:1. It's calls for a 1/2 pint per gallon. The later 5.5's will take 24:1 because they added needles in them after 1960.

Oil is the cheapest thing you'll ever put in an outboard. I wouldn't ever skimp on it.

 

[Squirrel42]

No Title

So i am finally getting my Carb Float in the mail today, the last piece of the puzzle. I got the new Impeller installed and everything is back together.

I'm a newbie at fuel pumps and I need to know if I'm correct on my fuel connection, I uploaded a picture of my pump for your viewing pleasure.

The first nozzle is my Fuel in, below it is my fuel out nipple and the nipple by itself is my pulse nipple correct? I'm getting excited to start this baby up this afternoon.

I also don't have two gas tanks and my tank is full of 50/1 mix, is this OK for a test run and maybe a test cruise on the water.
Should I not take the risk?

 

[jbcurt00]

No 50:1 isnt ok to test and definitely not ok to test cruise unless you want to convert it to a boat anchor....

 

[lindy46]

What's going on with the head? Looks like a repair?

 

[Squirrel42]

I pulled it to replace the impeller, the impeller was in great condition but replaced anyway.

I got everything hooked up but i cant get the fuel to pump into carb or much less get it to turn over.

Can someone help verify if i got my fuel lines going to the correct place?

 

[Squirrel42]

Well i was getting great spark when i first brought it home, and I'm pushing 75psi both cylinders hand pulling.
Now I'm not getting any spark, first a little, now none. I check under the hood and the ran a card through the point gaps and it came out oily black.
Dirty points i presume, back to square one.

 

[Squirrel42]

No Title

This condensers looks like it's growing mold, is this a sign it has failed? The coils look brand new and are dark blue. Haven't seen those before.

 

[Weirdboymike]

Sweet motor. I love the 50's vintage. I own 3 (3, 7.5, and 15) They'll go forever with care. I would keep it at 25:1 even with today's oil. Better to be safe than sorry and running a little more oil on these is probably better. Might fowl up plugs a little eventually but you always have spares and a wrench with anyway right? I would replace the impeller no matter what it looks like. I also would leave it as a two line but others might disagree. The tanks are easy to re-seal if leaking/not holding pressure (just a gasket and you can make one). That motor is worth more than $150 especially with the tank. If you search CL just the fuel line connectors are going for $70. If that ever leaks the o-rings are only a few bucks and fairly simple to change. Also do a carb job and she should be good to go if you have spark already. Be sure to set your float correctly too. I attached a link to my youtube of the 15 hp. more to come. Taking it out on the lake this weekend. I will try to get video of all three on the water. I have video of the 3 hp too. These videos are prior to the fine tuning though. Again you got a great buy IMHO.

 

[Squirrel42]

No Title

I just can't get the engine to turn over and crank..


Compression good
points cleaned and gapped
Great spark
Carb rebuilt
New Impeller
Installed fuel pump

Now I'm not sure i ran the correct lines and can't get fuel to pump into engine. Is there a trick to this? does the fuel bowl under the carb need to have fuel in it?

 

[Crosbyman]

well better make sure the pulse port of the pump is connected to the pulse nipple

the IN port to the fuel source

and the OUT port connected to the carb bowl which should have gas in it........ but not necessarily full to the top to work properly.

​

 

[ddwilson]

I always run my 59 5.5 at 24:1 great running motor survived my cousin's abuse when he was a kid easy to fix and always starts easy., Pressure tank is no problem to use gasket has been replaced maybe twice in last 35 years.

 

[Squirrel42]

This engine is in great condition, and after the tune up she's looking good.

I switched a fuel line, I had the fuel pumping into the pulse manifold, whoops. fuel sprayed out of the carb. I possible flooded it which could explain that it would start but only run for a few seconds and die. Than i had to go to work!

Amazing hearing a 1956 engine starting up, the other issue was the low speed needle wont stop vibrating out of position. I'm headed out to the shop to keep working on her.

Should have her on the water by this weekend depending on weather.

Whoop whoop