Restoring vintage outboard motors

[Payman]

A month ago I picked up this 1927 Johnson A-35 outboard for $50 at a junk sale. Here it is about 60 hours of teardown, rebuild and reassembly later...









I've since bought 4 other outboards for restoration... a 1924 and a 1925 Johnson A-25, another '27 A-35, and a 1946 Mercury KD4 Rocket Twin (really cool).

Loving the new hobby.

[Payman]

The Merc is on the right. Going with a top to bottom polish, and new decals. 

[Soup DeVille]

 Nice. Need to find a vintage fiberglass runabout to hang one of those off of now.

I've been working on restoring a 1962 Simplicity Lawn Tractor myself (full car project is just too much right now)

[Payman]

Nice. Need to find a vintage fiberglass runabout to hang one of those off of now.

I've been working on restoring a 1962 Simplicity Lawn Tractor myself (full car project is just too much right now)

That's the thing... the economy of scale is so much easier with old outboards, tractors and the like. I still want to do an old car, but the cost and time isn't there right now.

[Payman]

Here's a restored Mercury KD4. Unfortunately mine is missing the carb cover and the cylinder head "bullets", which are impossible to find.

[shp4man]

Cool! 

[CaminoRacer]

How much are they worth once you finish them?

[Payman]

How much are they worth once you finish them?

For the A-35, anywhere from $800 - $1500 US. I figure mine around the lower end of that... it's my first restore and it's not perfect. I'm anal.

[FoMoJo]

Great hobby.  I imagine that there's a bit of internal wear and tear.  Do you restore them to running condition? 

[Payman]

Great hobby.  I imagine that there's a bit of internal wear and tear.  Do you restore them to running condition? 

You'd be surprised... these old outboards are pretty robust, and this one had negligible wear and has great compression. I haven't tested it and don't intend to, but with new plugs (it has the original Champions!) I don't see why it wouldn't run.

[Soup DeVille]

Here's a restored Mercury KD4. Unfortunately mine is missing the carb cover and the cylinder head "bullets", which are impossible to find.

If it's a display, and not intended to run, those might be printable.

[Payman]

If it's a display, and not intended to run, those might be printable.

That's a thought, if I can get the measurements.

[Soup DeVille]

That's a thought, if I can get the measurements.

Or an original that can be scanned.

[RomanChariot]

If it's a display, and not intended to run, those might be printable.

They could be 3D printed in wax and investment cast if he wanted something more durable. If there is enough demand he might even be able to make a couple of bucks selling them. Of course getting someone to loan him a nice set of bullets to scan might be a challenge.

[Morris Minor]

A month ago I picked up this 1927 Johnson A-35 outboard for $50 at a junk sale. Here it is about 60 hours of teardown, rebuild and reassembly later...
I've since bought 4 other outboards for restoration... a 1924 and a 1925 Johnson A-25, another '27 A-35, and a 1946 Mercury KD4 Rocket Twin (really cool).

Loving the new hobby.

This is awesome. Congratulations on a great job. (It reminds me a little of the Seagull outboard I had as a kid: 2-cycle, very simple, and completely reliable.)

[shp4man]

Always thought the vintage Mercurys were the coolest looking outboards.

[Payman]

Sold the Johnson, tidy $900 profit.

[giant_mtb]

Maybe I should try this business.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/484807558564974

[FoMoJo]

Maybe I should try this business.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/484807558564974

Being a very 'detail' guy with mechanical inclinations, it might be a good business for you.  Buy broken stuff, fix it better than new and sell it for a huge profit.

[Soup DeVille]

He's gotta do something in the winter.

Personally I liked his YouTube channel idea.

[giant_mtb]

He's gotta do something in the winter.

Personally I liked his YouTube channel idea.

Yes. This would be a good candidate.

Still don't have a rig suitable for editing, though.

[Payman]

Just bought a '40s Viking for $125.



I'll tackle this one after the Merc is done. I already have an interested buyer lined up, and should pocket about $800 profit. I haven't even done anything with the motors since June, but I'm gathering up a few more to do over the winter.

[FoMoJo]

Just bought a '40s Viking for $125.



I'll tackle this one after the Merc is done. I already have an interested buyer lined up, and should pocket about $800 profit. I haven't even done anything with the motors since June, but I'm gathering up a few more to do over the winter.

Viking, that was an Eaton's product, wasn't it?

[MexicoCityM3]

Just bought a '40s Viking for $125.



I'll tackle this one after the Merc is done. I already have an interested buyer lined up, and should pocket about $800 profit. I haven't even done anything with the motors since June, but I'm gathering up a few more to do over the winter.

Outboard motor enthusiast score: at least 9. Nice.

[Soup DeVille]

Just bought a '40s Viking for $125.



I'll tackle this one after the Merc is done. I already have an interested buyer lined up, and should pocket about $800 profit. I haven't even done anything with the motors since June, but I'm gathering up a few more to do over the winter.

That looks very close to the motor that was on my first boat; a hand me down from my grandfather.

It ran about 15 minutes at a time.