school me on outboard swaps.

[matt167]

My 1961 Custom Craft has always had a Mercury outboard on it. My grandfather bought it new with a 35hp on it, and switched to a brand new 650 in 1964 when the 35hp got damaged. The boat is actually rated for 50hp according to the original documentation I have come across.

I want to keep the Mercury but for reliability/ Cost of fixing and wanting to get on the water, Johnnyrudes are cheap near me. I was thinking that I could get a good 40-70hp Johnson/ Evinrude and run it while I repair the Mercury and get a spare parts stock going and then switch it over.

I know I need to swap controls, but is there any down side to converting to the OMC motor, and then switching back? The boat needs restored and is currently being pulled apart for resto.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Outboards of this size and vintage are super easy to swap and besides routing the cables and bolting down the motor and control box, the motor and controls aren't really "integrated" into the boat at all. I see no problem with your plan.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Cool. Would going to a 70hp johnson be a bad idea? I know it's only rated for 50hp according to original documentation ( brochures ) but it has had 65hp on it since it was just a few years old.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

It would be a terrible idea.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.



Just slapping on a bigger engine and overpowering a boat is foolish, and illegal in many states. there are also those on the forum who believe that if you have an accident you will be charged with negligence and your insurance will not protect you

Having said that, here is a hull (specially modified though) which when made was probably rated for about 40 HP. I have a sticker rating it for 85 and I have a 125 mounted on it.

If you behave responsibly, you may never be stopped by local water police BUT--there is always the possibility of a chance inspection. The choice is yours.

 

[82rude]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

theres a good possibility you will have to make new mounting holes for the motor also as the older ones were not the same.in other words if you have merc and switch to johnny you might have to plug the mounting holes and drill new ones.also going from old to newer merc may also have the same issue.the manufactures did not standardize mounting holes till much later than the 60,s.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I was curious on the mounting holes because I thought they may have been different. As for the HP, the boat has had 65hp since 1964, I was not considering anything over 70hp and going to 70hp because 65hp Evinrude/Johnson's seem to be harder to find than 70hp. There is also no USCG tag on the hull. I even considered getting a Thunderbolt 500 and dressing it up with the old 650 cowling/ clip cover till I can get the 650 to 100%, but Mercury's go for about double what a Johnnyrude goes for.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Mercury's go for about double what a Johnnyrude goes for.

That's odd since their parts support is not near as good.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I know, it doesent make sense, but Mercs are in the $5-800 range sometimes needing work and I can pick up a running Johnnyrude for $3-400 or so. I haven't looked hard yet, but I'll take what I can find, Merc or Johnson/ Evinrude. The Johnson/ Evinrudes are far more common it seems. I know where a 1959 Whitehouse runabout is with a 50hp Lark electric shift on it for $350 but the control box was in pieces and a boat like that would be begging for a restore anyway, not what I should be dragging home. It's bad enough that the Custom Craft was obtained because of MBS when my 8' rowboat I'm building just wasn't big enough, and it's not even finished yet.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Worthy donor? I wouldn't consider this boat if it was farther but it's not very far at all. Don't care about the boat itself, but it's pretty cheap for a motor.. However, something tells me it is an electric shift and it looks like a long shaft. I don't care about the electric shift as the parts can be had off Ebay pretty easy, but how about a short shaft conversion? Not even sure about the HP

http://oneonta.craigslist.org/boa/3656878139.html

 

[ezmobee]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I wouldn't mess with that one. It's an electric shift and a gas hog.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

That's what I thought, but the boat is only a ~45 min drive, so it was worth a thought.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

How about this? Is it also electric shift? I know it has the 19" shaft, but I'v heard that Johnnyrude's are not hard to swap from long to short.. The guy also has a running Merc 500 short shaft that needs some tinkering ( miss at mid range ) but he want's $1k + shipping for it, and I'm considering that because I can't find Merc 500's in my area in decent shape for near that, and it would be a direct swap from the 650 that I have now, and could even dress the 500 up as a 650 using the 650 cowling and front clip cover, then swap everything back to the 650 and sell the 500 when the 650 is running/ reliable

Johnson 40 HP Outboard 1960 Long Shaft 19" Electric Start | eBay

 

[ezmobee]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Those prices are RIDICULOUS.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I knew they were on the upper end of the price range. Figuring in gas/ travel it would be what I would expect to pay if I bought something of CL or whatever.

This is what I would like to get, but figuring the gas/ time to go get it, I would be in $2k for that 650, even if I got the person down a few hundred, it's still a near 4hr drive, and still more expensive than the $1,300 ( with shipping ) 500 off Ebay

1964 mfg 14, foot 65hp mercury 1.600

I probably should just dump $6-800 in my 650 because I have time and that will still end up cheaper.

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

Man, there must a shortage of used outboards in your area. Those prices are insane!

If you are paying above 1k, I would hold out for a mid-nineties, running, good condition 50-70 hp johnson / evinrude.

Also, remember that your merc 650 was rated at the crank not the prop like newer outboards. That means the 650 is putting out about 55-60HP equivalent to a 1984 or later outboard.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I knew about the crank/ prop HP ratings, and honestly a newer outboard is something I would jump on, but 15" shafts on motors past the 1980's are hard to find or expensive.

My area is DRY, being that the closest ( small ) lake is 1hr away. I do have launches on the hudson river with a 30 min drive, but there isn't a large boating community in that area. My father lives in the fingerlakes where deals do exist ( and where most of my boating is done ), but even if I found the $600 or less boat/ motor, I'v got another $2-300 in gas/ travel+ more if it's a wasted trip

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I'm going to ask the guy with the Merc 500 for a video running, or extending his 14 day guarantee to include return shipping, not unreasonable being I would be dropping a grand on a chance otherwise. He did say he serviced it, but I don't spend $1k without asking questions

I just checked and Oldmercs no longer has the distributor cap or points for my '64 650, and I know my cap is crap.

 

[matt167]

Re: school me on outboard swaps.

I think the guy with the Merc 500 is a bit sketch now. Originally I asked shipping cost and if the motor had been used in the salt. He replied very quickly but in broken sentences that it was $297, which seemed reasonable, but he never did answer me on the salt question. I asked him later, simply if I could get a video of it running which I didn't think was unreasonable and I have yet to get a response.

However, in my search for parts for the 650 I have, I found this. Mercury Outboard Magneto Racing Pleasure | eBay. Lots cheaper than the cheapest outboard I could ever find, and realisticly, I could buy a spare and still be ahead.

I was thinking Thunderbolt ignition conversion for the 650 but I keep hearing the Mag is just as good