Re: does any one know about the evinrude 1968 40 hp
I just bought it and was wondering if it was a good engine ..any headaches i should look for . It runs good but i was wondering if i were to take it to a mechanic how many hours would i be looking at for a complete rebuild? Does anyone know where i can find pictures of a restored / original one. My shell has seen better days and the cowl has been painted non original colours. Also is it an expensive proposition to have the cowl professionally painted to original? Thanks.
I'm pretty sure it's electric shift. I owned one. It's a good motor, but don't even consider having a mechanic rebuild it for you---you don't want to know what it would cost, but let's just say that you would rather buy a much newer motor instead.
Keep the right kind of lower unit oil in it and change it/check it regularly. If electric shift, it uses TYPE C or I believe now it's called johnson premium lower unit oil.
You might consider changing the fuel lines and tank out, changing the lower unit oil with the correct kind, changing the water pump impeller (don't do it yourself if it's electric shift) and keeping good clean fuel/oil in your tanks. Other than that, if it's running good there is no point at all in rebuilding it. 2-stroke outboard motors are constantly receiving clean oil from the fuel and therefore it's really hard to wear them out unless you overheat them or use too little oil in your fuel. It may last you a really long time and provide many hours of enjoyment.
It shouldn't be a hard paint job for the do-it-yourselfer. Just don't sand through the paint. It's much easier to get new paint to stick to old paint, rather than trying to get it to stick to aluminum. Btw, mine was a nice, quiet motor. How is yours on the noise???
I hope you got a good one,
JBJ
