58 and 61 larks

[thefairlaneman]

I have a 61 lark 111 and today I saw for sale a 58 35 lark. Are these engines very much alike as far as swaping alot of parts?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

No, I don't believe they are similar in most respects.

The 1958 is the older design and is basically a 35hp Bigtwin painted in gray, with a "fancier" hood. The 1961 Lark III is of the "Super Quiet" design and is a 40hp motor. This motor has a different lower unit, water pump (dual tube), midsection, lower & upper cowl, fuel pump (it has one and the '58 doesn't), fuel tank, and powerhead. I don't believe that it has the air silencer on the front of the carb and the carb will be somewhat different. The Lark III probably doesn't have the compression release mechanism (for easier manual starting), that is found on the earlier Evinrude, either.

There will be a few parts that will work on either engine. Off the top of my head, I would say those parts would be the available props, starter, generator, recoil start assembly, points/condensors/coils, and vacuum cutout switch. There may be a few more that I am forgetting.

 

[F_R]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

Pretty good advice by jay, but I'm afraid you are off by one year, jay. The '58 Lark was the first year for the super quiet design. Unlike the '59 and up, it had a metal hood that lifted off like the later fiberglass ones. Of course it is 35 horsepower instead of 40, so there will be a lot of changes there, for instance a 35 cylinder head won't fit a 40. http://www.old-omc.de/e_1958/seite_09.jpg

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

My bad - I think you are right. Easy mistake to make because the Lark II is a 1960, the Lark III is a 1961, etc. I had also forgotten about the one year that the motors had the very rectangular looking hood with the flip down door in the front and aluminum piece in the back.

PS: Just looked at your pic ... yup, that's the one.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

Thanks for the info. The guy only wants 100 bucks for it and it has a gas tank with it(I need a tank) For that price and he says it ran before he parked it I figure theres no way I would regret this small price if only I used it for parts. Motor is 50 miles away and I plan to go get it tommorow.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

Watch out. They ALL say they ran when they parked it. And some did. And some did not! But that's a good price with a tank as long as the compression is good.

BTW, those '58 Larks are UGLY! The '58 Johnson 35's are a WAY better looking engine. One of the best

 

[rolmops]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

Watch out. They ALL say they ran when they parked it. And some did. And some did not! But that's a good price with a tank as long as the compression is good.

BTW, those '58 Larks are UGLY! The '58 Johnson 35's are a WAY better looking engine. One of the best

The 57 Johnsons beat them any day of the week

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

I kind of like the '57 Larks - cool looking motor. I wouldn't mind putting a pair on an antique boat!

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 58 and 61 larks

As far as Larks go the 57 is way better looking than the 58. And as far as Johnsons go, the 58's look better than the 57's... But of course everyone differs...

Speaking of a 57 Lark, here one for sale

fortmyers.craigslist.org/boa/556033083.html