New project - Old question

[nightingalemoon]

Hi, nice to meet you. Im N-M (its short), and I have 2 small boats, an aluminum 14' john with a 5Hp evinrude thats doin' fine, and a recent purchase Im having trouble with....

But let me digress for a minute! Lemme tell ya...

I got this for $250: A mostly-rust-free trailer with bad lights, flat rotten tires, good rims, bearings, rails, hitch, and crank. A square-stern or flatback canoe (gheenoe?) solid but oxidized with a cracked stern plug tube, 13 Ft by about 40 inches, with 2 cushioned seats and a livewell in the center with a rotten ply-wood lid. And of course this outboard I cant identify. Did I get a good deal?

The outboards old for sure, at least thirty years, probably older judging by the way it is manufactured. And Ugly as home-made sin with a dazzling flat latex brown brush-stroke-ridden paint job! I wonder what I should use to strip the paint from the metal?
I'd rate it at around 5Hp I guess, by looking its hard to tell, my other motor is a 5 horse and it weighs about 100 Lbs, this one is way smaller, about 50 Lbs. I have disassembled this motor almost completely, except for the head plate, crank, rod, and the foot gears/bearings. In-other-words I have taken it apart as much as I can without having to buy new parts to put it back together. I figure if the rings are good, the piston skirt isnt worn (looking through the 3 exhaust ports the piston looks great), and the bearings arent wobbly anywhere then I dont have to replace them. I plan to replace all the rubber and paper gaskets, but finding new internals like main and rod bearings, or foot gear assembly bearings might be hard.
I know it has a Tecumseh powerhead, single piston, a carb by Austin Power Products, its air cooled, but it has a water-pump with inlet holes on both sides of the foot that leads up a tube and terminates at the base of the block - I assume it spills water back down the exaust which fills the shaft column or leg (correct term?), this seems like it would be better if it spilled out over the block first, but what do I know
Anyway, the impeller is bad and I dont want to run it without replacing it - even if it does serve the same purpose as an appendix. The impeller is about 2 inches by one inch, black rubber on a metal sleeve, it slides down the drive shaft to the base where it is covered by a black tube with a flange held by two screws at the base and an outlet at the top that fits directly around the aluminum tube that feeds into the plate at the base of the powerhead.
The prop is bent from age I think, the tips curve against the direction of flow... Is this supposed to be that way, or should I get a new prop? Or a hammer
The shroud is the gas can type, with what looks like about 1-2 gallons capacity. If there were ever any markings on it I assume they fell off or were removed or painted over (with a brush and the aforementioned flat-brown latex house paint.) It is decidedly square. In the center of the tank is a recoil starter. Under the front edge of the tank is a lever for speed control and under that is the carb, which has a mounting plate on the front of it with a choke pull knob and a spring style knob that turns what must be the idle screw on the carb. Theres nothing like an air filter, and Im sure there probably never was. The only damage I can find on the entire motor excluding a few small dents and the bent prop, is the carb fuel inlet fitting, which falls out of its hole. Since the fitting is a double male I'll probably just J-B weld it back in place - unless someone can explain to me the proper way?
The crankshaft has a little spot of condensation rust, flaking in the shape of bubbles. I dont think it got anything vital wet, but I'd like to do something about whats there if anyone has any suggestions?

Thats what I got to work with. If theres any interest Ill post pics of the entire project and update as I go. Butr for now I need to figure out what kind of motor this is.

The numbers I have off it are as follows:

tag on block - T 643 15A and below that - 8458974
flywheel - 610 751
foot - 26069
carbeurator - 395 8G1
mounting clamp and swivel bracket - 151178


Without knowing what I have I cant really research parts, manuals (though it really dosent need one), fuel mix, gear oil, etc. I cant even ask for advice without knowing a brand and general year...

I havent got a flywheel puller, and know better than to use a hammer, so I'll have to wait untill monday afternoon to look at the ignition system.

If anyone knows what I have here, or has any general advice for a rebuild please, do tell!

 

[F_R]

Re: New project - Old question

You have an Eska, or an Eska-built store brand like for Sears or a hundred others. There are a zillion of them out there. You might want to consider that before investing a bunch of time and money in it. Some people consider them throw-away motors.....literally.

Google Certified Parts Corp

 

[nightingalemoon]

Re: New project - Old question

Youre right on the make F_R its an Eska, made for Sears in Janurary of 71. Thanks for the name, with that I found specs for everything else, and can order my impeller, and maybe a propeller too.
As far as this motor being throw away... Well, they stopped making them in the 80's, and there are still a zillion of them around so they are not being thrown away that fast - maybe thats cause they are too ugly or too noisy to actually use, and they get put in the garage to gather dust. Personally I look at anything by merit - if it runs without incident and isnt too noisy and dosent vibrate off the back of the boat I figure its doing the same thing as any other outboard, regardless of monetary or social value its pushing the boat. Besides, I dont have 500-1500 dollars for a better one.
Another reason I like this motor is the fact that it weighs half as much compared to my evinrude of the same HP.
Also, it's simple as it can be. I tore it down in 2 hours, the only problems are the impeller and a lot of gas varnish, once I have the part it will take about 4 hours to clean, repair and rebuild. As long as I do the work correctly and maintain it, it will last for years. I can get out cheap because I only have to buy a rubber impeller, some gasket material (cardboard), RTV, gear oil, and some spray-paint.
If the powerhead, gears, or anything else expensive to replace goes out I will definetly consider throwing it away, but that will depend more on previous performance and part availability than anything.

 

[F_R]

Re: New project - Old question

Please don't misread what I said. I was merely trying to indicate that the Eskas are plentiful and cheap, and not valued highly as collector items. It doesn't make sense to sink a pile of money into it when there so many of them around at low cost. But if it gives you pleasure to restore it and use it, then go for it. I have also sunk too much money into old motors and sold them at a loss. That is the name of the game in this hobby. Anybody wanna buy a 2 1/2hp Elgin for 1/2 the $ I have invested in it?

 

[nightingalemoon]

Re: New project - Old question

Didnt mean to sound offended there, I may be a little defensive because everybody (not people on this site, but people I associate with) keeps telling me that theres no way this motor could ever run again. I honestly think its just the brown paint and dented gas tank.

Youre sure right about the value F_R, theres not a bit of resale value there. Even when this motor was new it was ugly, and probably noisy -I havent started it yet so cant swear to the noise, but the thin leg and lack of any kind of shroud make it pretty obvious.

I figure Im in it for about $50, and after buying an impeller, gasket material, and spray paint Ill be at about $100. Thats probably about what it will be worth when Im done. Of course I'll probably get a propeller and a new plug... that'll push me past what its worth without ever including time spent.

And when you say cheap, I understand that any sense of the word applies, from the price to the materials to the wonky engineering. Maybe thats the draw for me, I can fiddle with it till it really breaks good! -and then use the Evinrude like I could have done in the first place.

Then again maybe itll outlast me!

Well, thanks again F_R for identifying my motor.