V4SL-11 50 hp Johnson

[slipper]

just bought one for 75 bucks,
anyone tell me about it?
I got controls with it and what looks line a power box has 3 wires coming out my guess would be ignition?
how much gas this thing eat up?
and the age old question was it worth it, (was told it runs but for 75 bucks I havent checked yet...

 

[Chris1956]

Re: V4SL-11 50 hp Johnson

The Fat-Fifty was only made for two years, 1958 and 1959. It was the prototype of all the V4 Johnnyrude motors going forward. It was, IMHO, overbuilt, which is why there are still a bunch of them around today.

It has a magneto ignition with two magnets, one coil, two sets of points and one condenser. The ign system is reliable and powerful.

The two issues that had were a transmission that can wear out and large amount of fuel useage. However, they had excellent low end power. You can strap that motor to a barge and it will push it quite well.

 

[steelespike]

Re: V4SL-11 50 hp Johnson

The fat 50 is often refered to as heavy.It actually is fairly light at about 200 lbs.Present day Etec 40-60 hp are about 240lbs. 50 hp at 4,000 from 70cu.in.
old technology when McCulloch was getting 40 @4,800 from 42 cubes,and 60 @ 4,800 from 63 cubes. By 61 they were getting 75@5,200 from 63 cubes.
They did have a number of development issues.
The fat 50 does waste a lot of fuel (crankcase drainage)I believe you could collect this and recycle. I think it was discussed here some time ago.
Also is kinder to the enviroment.
Note the plug wires are screwed into the didtributor cap.
Some used the old style 2 piece gearcase a little simpler to work on than the
more modern streamlined gearcase.They are noted for their low end power
and have a great sound. A friend had one when they were new and you could watch gauge move on a 6 gallon tank.

 

[slipper]

Re: V4SL-11 50 hp Johnson

the gas thing is scarry, I made another post about the box that comes with the motor, and the ignition wiring, but hell sounds like most of the gass usage is unburnt so ya if there was a way to recycle it might not be to bad of a motor, Im unsure if I will keep this so dont wana spend the cash on a manual but I will look into the fuel recycling for this "Fat Fiffty", thanks for the info all my searches on the net give me links to part manuals...

 

[steelespike]

Re: V4SL-11 50 hp Johnson

You might check at the library for a service manual.Sometimes have after market manuals covering many brands.