Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

[TN-25]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

A virgin! That thing has to be the nicest preserved 6 in the world. You hardly ever find a literally brand new motor. Low hours, yes, but new and unused? It looks great if you are into that sort of thing (I am). I think the most intriguing thing is that it is brand new and unprepped. If you run it and use it then the motor is just a clean (very) used motor. If they are very good they go for some money, but not big bucks.

I was watching that one on e-Bay. The auction ended on May 25th. I saw the winning bid but I will let YOU share it if you wish. You got a fair deal, considering what it might cost to restore one. I just got my 1950 5-horse Johnson back after a 15-month restoration. It is a thing of beauty to me, but I could only ever get a fraction of what I put into it back. I routinely watch the auctions for restored motors. There seems to be a gap between what is asked versus what people are willing to pay.

My dad inherited a low hours 1971 Evinrude 4 from a good friend (original owner) back in 1985. Dad had only used it a couple of times since, but in those few times he managed to gouge the cowling and destroy some decals. Jeez! It has sat indoors unused for at least the last 18 or so years. Fortunately I have it now and was lucky enough to recently score a brand-new genuine decal set for it. Dad somehow gave the tank away to a duck-hunting buddy so I had to find another little tank for it. New decals from a dealer in New Jersey are in the mail right now, another lucky find.

As was said, there are still a lot of 6s out there. They are great little motors. Buy a cheapie to run and maintain. You won?t have to fret when you get a paint chip or drag a skeg through the sand . Keep that museum piece in museum quality, that is what makes it different from any other 6 out there.

Anyway, thank you for sharing. Hold onto all the packing and everything else to do with it.

 

[i386]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Incredible. I'm foaming at the mouth. No way I would run it!

 

[Vert1go]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

I was watching that one on e-Bay. The auction ended on May 25th. I saw the winning bid but I will let YOU share it if you wish. You got a fair deal, considering what it might cost to restore one.

If I recall, I think I paid around $850 for it. A tad pricey, but I thought it was worth it - especially since it's a rare find. I figured even if I wasn't interested in its collector value its still worth the $850 as a new motor that's likely built better than anything new.

Here are a few more photos:

 

[sffar]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

WOW! Thanks for the photos?they're inspiring. I'm just starting my first real repair project on the same motor, though mine is a '70 Johnson. I'll have no qualms about using mine, though, which almost makes up for its being a whole lot less pretty. Maybe.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Ebay can be an interesting place at times - this is not the first time that I've seen NOS motors there. Some years ago, there was a listing for a pair of never used Johnson 28hp motors. Like yours, they were still in the crate. The story on them was that a dealer had them, and never sold them for some reason. He retired and went out of business, so the motors became available as a result of selling off his inventory.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

There was a new-in-box outboard here in the Twin Cities last year. I don't remember what it was, exactly, but the guy said that his father had won it in some sort of contest, but never had a boat, so it just stayed in the box in the basement. It was a small one of some brand, but I just can't remember.

The guy wanted way too much for it, though. I remember that.

Best NOS thing I ever heard of was a 1950s BSA Gold Star motorcycle, still in its shipping crate. That got sold at auction for an obscene amount of money a couple of years ago.

Such things are cool and all, but a 1973 Evinrude 6 hp would go right on my boat. $850 isn't a bad price for a new 6hp outboard, either. I'd just pick up a 12' aluminum boat on a trailer that had no engine and put my 1992 6hp Johnson on it and sell the outfit. That'd more than cover the cost of the new 1973.

I guess I'm not a nostalgic sort of guy when it comes to boats and motors.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Well,
I think 850 was a good deal; like you said, a new one would be a lot more and yours is a better motor, in my opinion. Also, you got one nobody else has, for sure!
One thing I have to ask....
What kind of camera are you using to take the pics? They are REALLLLLY nice photos.

 

[TN-25]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

It sure is a treat to see one with literally no wear. Once you start using it it won't look untouched under the cowling.

Great pics!

 

[Vert1go]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Thanks again everyone. Does anyone know where I can get a nice looking display stand for this engine?

I used my little Canon Powershot SD1000 for the photos - great pocket camera.

Thanks!
Greg

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Isn't that an original stand for it in your photos? If it is, then that's the ideal stand...the one that came with the outboard. That's the ideal that all collectors are looking for...originality.

 

[Rowroy]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Best NOS thing I ever heard of was a 1950s BSA Gold Star motorcycle, still in its shipping crate. That got sold at auction for an obscene amount of money a couple of years ago.

FYI -
The crate was never opened, but was x-ray-ed to verify it's contents. It sold for $46,000 in 1998.

 

[Vert1go]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Isn't that an original stand for it in your photos? If it is, then that's the ideal stand...the one that came with the outboard. That's the ideal that all collectors are looking for...originality.

No, that's just a generic motor stand I had. The motor didn't ship with any stand - it was just clamped to a piece of wood between cardboard.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Ah, I get it. Too bad. Check with www.aomci.org, and maybe put an ad on their site looking for an original stand from the period. I know that stands were available from OMC for the smaller engines. A lot of guys kept them on stands when they weren't on their cartop boats or at the cabin when the boat was turned upside down during the off-season.

I've seen stands in that site's free classified section.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

FYI -
The crate was never opened, but was x-ray-ed to verify it's contents. It sold for $46,000 in 1998.

Wow! Was it that long ago? Thanks for the updated information. I suppose it's still in its crate, even now. I'll never understand collectors, I guess.

 

[d.boat]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Wow! Was it that long ago? Thanks for the updated information. I suppose it's still in its crate, even now. I'll never understand collectors, I guess.

You mean you don't understand adults collecting mass produced children's toys, refusing the kids to play with them, and spending more money to protect the labels with little plastic protectors? Sometimes I wonder if John Q. Public understands the time value of money and normal returns for other mid and long term investments (yes, I know what the stock market is doing today , but I'm talking long term averages!)

But I've never had more money than I needed for expenses and "normal" hobbies and vacations. (I feel I have plenty of money and live comfortably, thank you). I do understand there are people for whom $48K is strictly fun money, and that buying such a motorcyle for that amount isn't a big deal.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Well, I suppose I understand some collecting. I used to be in the business of selling mineral specimens to collectors, so I sort of depended on the collector instinct for my livelihood. But, I was in the lower end of that marketplace, and most of my collectors were interested in the specimens as scientific curiosities. Some, of course, went overboard, and there's an elite class of collectors who pay obscene amounts of money for unique specimens.

Still, those specimens are on display and can be studied. A BSA in a crate doesn't meet my definition of a motorcycle, somehow. I'm an old British bike fan, but I like them because they're a kick in the butt to ride. First thing I'd do with a Gold Star in a crate would be to get my crowbar and my Whitworth wrenches and spend a day getting it set up and running. Then I'd ride the heck out of it. My satisfaction would be that I was the first person in 40 or 50 years to ride a brand new Goldie. If I could afford the $48,000, I could afford to ride the thing.

That's just me, though. I suppose that there's some sort of value in keeping that motorcycle in its crate until it perishes from deterioration. I guess I just can't see it. It's a motorcycle, for pete's sake. Of what use is a motorcycle in a box.

Now, a 1973 6hp Johnnyrude is a far cry from a BSA Gold Star. I'd run it in a second, and consider myself lucky to have gotten a new outboard for $850.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Another thought:

I like to go to AOMCI meets and look at all the old outboards. I especially like hearing them run in some barrel.

What I don't understand at all is the phenomenon of guys who take, say, a 1923 outboard motor and shine it up until it looks nothing like the original condition of the outboard when new. Worse, if you ask one of these guys if it runs, they tell you "I don't know. I've never tried to start it. It should run, though."

Sure is pretty, though. That gleaming brass tank was painted black when it was new. The aluminum castings were "as cast," but now they've been ground and sanded and polished until they look like silverware. Pretty, but if it won't run, it's not really an outboard motor, as near as I can tell. It's just another non-running pile of parts.

It's their deal, though, I suppose. Different strokes, and all that...but I feel sure that Ole Evinrude would go, "What the heck" if he could see what's been done with some of his rowboat motors.

 

[wbeaton]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

...but I feel sure that Ole Evinrude would go, "What the heck" if he could see what's been done with some of his rowboat motors.

I hear that!

Coolest NOS thing I've ever heard of were the two WWII era Harley Davidson military model motorcycles still in their boxes that the Canadian army discovered in their stores during a thorough inventory in Petawawa, ON about 10 years ago. I didn't see it first hand, but my brother was working in stores at the time. First thing I thought was "Wow...how cool is that?" Then I thought "What a waste of tax dollars"!

 

[Vert1go]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

Here's another pic

 

[Vert1go]

Re: Have a look - NEVER USED 1973 Evinrude 6!

I just wanted to give you all a quick update:

The engine was never run, and it won't be. I decided to keep it as a nice display in my office. It sits on a mahogany stand with a nice little roped-off area that makes it look very cool. I'll post some photos soon. The little engine surprises me with how many of my clients find an interest in it, and have a story to tell of having a similar engine and their experiences.