Is this 78, 25 hp worth the effort

[longdeckmike]

I have a 1978 25 hp. evinrude. It appears to have spent her last few years out in the yard. It does turn over (not locked up) but the wiring inside is brittle and breaking apart. Here is the question. Is this worth looking into? The way I see it if I can confirm compression and spark than I will go for it. I can handle the fuel delivery. It has an electric starter that is fried so i removed it and the selinoid. Can I just pull it for a compression test? Same thing for confirming spark? What wiring needs to be operable to confirm spark? How do i proceed? drained the lower unit and all feels fine, no sign of metal shavings or water so....

Mike

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: Is this 78, 25 hp worth the effort

Yes, you can do a compression test by using the manual rope starter. The numbers may not be exactly accurate though, but should be close enough for basic testing. The spark plug wires are the only wires you need for an ignition test. Use an "air gap" tester set for about 7/16".

 

[nphilbro]

Re: Is this 78, 25 hp worth the effort

If you are looking to dig in and get a good understanding of how these motors tick then it's a great one for that! Parts are easy to find on CL (parts motors, anyway).

I've brought a bunch of these little 2 cylinders back to life in the past year. It's easy to get them running, takes some finesse to get them running well, but you'll quickly know this motor extremely well.