thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

[dkonrai]

just picked up a 72 johnson 20hp. seems pretty clean i have yet to fire it up. compression is at 120/120 has spark. any advice? i am used to 15hp, and saw this on cl for 300. did i pay too much? will post some pict later.
most of the 20/25 are going for 500-900. this one was way less.
dino

 

[kfa4303]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

Hi dkonrai. I have a '66 20hp myself, and I love it. It's virtually identical to the much loved (FD/E model) 18hp that Johnson/Evinrude made for years. They are some of the best pound-for-pound motors ever made. It sounds like the motor has great compression, which is the most important thing. All the rest can be fixed with ease. The price all comes down to location and condition. $300 is pretty good for my neck of the woods in FL, but vintage motors seem to be more plentiful and therefore cheaper in the North and Midwest, where the seasons are shorter and limited to freshwater. While old 2-strokes doe use more fuel than there modern counterparts, the fact that it is still on the water means no new motor ever had to be made to replace it. Best of all, you can fix virtually everything on these old gems your self. On a lightly rigged 12'-14' boat, you can expect speeds of +/- 20mph. You can get most routine parts right here at iboats. Here are some great links to familiarize yourself with your new toy.

Maintaining Johnson E & FD Serie

Duckworks Magazine

1972 Johnson 20R72R 20 hp Outboard Motor Parts

Wakulla Beach, FL movie.wmv - YouTube (here's a vid of me on the water with my old 20hp the day after Thanksgiving)

 

[steelespike]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

A great motor, really light, reasonably powerful yet fairly economical.
Easy to work on.
When I was a kid we had the 18hp version in 61 on a big 15ft Kit runabout.
The motor was rated for about 27 on a light reasonably fast boat.
It pushed or boat routinely to an indicated 23-24 mph.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

as promised here are some picts. i got it running, had a bad lower coil. still need to take the carb apart and replace the impeller. the motor has 110/110 i double checked today carb was missing the gasket for the idle needle. she runs a little rough. replaced the fuel pump, and a couple of fuel hoses.

dino

 

[dkonrai]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

here is a vid. starts really easy.
1972 johnson 20 hp short shaft first start up! runs! - YouTube

 

[mark1961]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

I dont think you paid too much......it looks to be in really good shape and probably has low hours......thats worth a little extra.

 

[kodibass]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

Nice motor, & if you wish you can bolt a electric start right on as you have the toothed flywheel, it won't charge but these start so easy you can get hundreds of starts from a deep cycle battery, That's what I did to mine & I run all summer long on the same battery, I give it a few hours with a battery charger once in the middle of the summer, All you need is a starter, bracket, solenoid, and push button switch. all can be bought used on ebay, it all fits nicely under the hood, I mounted my switch on the carry handle.

 

[TN-25]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

Nice score on that motor! It look to be really clean, and a 50th Anniversary Series as well. Besides the obligatory maintenance items, give it a bath then wax it. 20 easy horses and only about 81 lbs. for the 1972 model. If you maintain it and don't abuse it, that motor will be around for a long time. If you don't maintain it, well, we will expect a post in the future about some running problems or a rebuilt question.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

thanks guys! the motor isnt that clean... some corrosion here and there, but overall really clean the insides are almost unused. pulled the carb and its clean inside the intake.
i am in the process of drilling out the old clamp bolts. seems it was sitting so long the bolts actually seized on the mounting bracket.
so far, it needed a coil even though the coils looked brand new (original??) lower coil had intermitted fire.
plugs look ok, outside they look bad, but when i pulled them they are pretty clean.
points and condenser seems to work as i have a good 3/8" of spark.
will need the carb cleaned, and its missing the needle valve bushing (prob why it wont idle so good)
need to drain and pull the lower unit to take a look see.

as for hanging a starte, good thoughts. but it starts so easy... is it worth the weight of a battery and starter?? i have a small motorcycle battery, might be big enough for the ff and the starter.

im hoping this is gonna make my 14 footer faster than the 15 i have. curious if it will troll down to a low idle?

dino

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

what a beauty. Good score!

 

[dkonrai]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

well pulled the lower unit today. question, why dont all johnnyrudes have a little door on the side to access the shift linkage. wow too easy. everything looked good and came out rather too easy. there is light corrosion on the outside of the case and figured the inside would be the same, i looked so forward to snapping bolts. well she came apart nice and smooth. pump housing looks good, as well as the wear plate. heck even the impeller looked in great shape.
will change the oils when i get some parts.
dino

 

[jbjennings]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

Nice engine. Just as good as any modern 20hp except for the lack of modern style shallow drive which I find handy in all the shallow lakes I fish. Well, also the drive pin prop is not as nice to me as the modern slip-clutch props.
Anyway, it looks like it was taken care of and has nice even compression. I'll bet you really like it. According to how old your 15hp is, it will probably be a wee bit faster. If it's tuned properly, it should idle pretty nicely and troll just fine at a slow idle.
$300 is not too much if the lower unit has a good clutch dog and gear set. I think you did really good.
JMO,
JBJ

 

[dkonrai]

Re: thoughts on 72 johnson 20hp. need some of your 2 cents

unsure of the lu gears, but it appears that the grandfather didnt use this much, and the fact it was in a shed for 30 years. waiting for my order of parts to come in hoping the needle valve bearing will resolve the idle issue.
dino