Author Topic: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness  (Read 997 times)

Kingcreek

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1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« on: July 25, 2022, 11:54:07 AM »
It’s a 6hp and I am happy and a little bit proud.
My father bought it new. We used to haul it in the back of a big Chrysler when we rented a cabin in Minnesota that came with a boat but no motor or paid extra for one with an old junk outboard.
50 years old and still looks almost new.
I have kept it in good order and used it every year since he died in 1996.
2 weeks ago I was fishing around some submerged trees and motored out under low throttle when I felt a jolt. Thought I hit a tree or stump but didn’t see anything. A few seconds later started spinning like it was in neutral. I stopped, shifted into reverse, back into forward and motored across the lake just fine. Docked it and got the Jeep and trailer and motored right onto the trailer.
Obviously a shifting or gear issue.
Last week took my son in law fishing. Drifted off the trailer and reverse was fine. No forward, none.
Crap. Fished for 6 hours with bow mount trolling motor only. (Caught a nice batch of ‘gills.)Loaded up with hand winch and some difficulty.
Gear and pinion $288 if parts are even available. New 10hp Honda $2700. Yikes!
Yesterday I put it on a stand in the shop to find a prop shear pin in 3 pieces! Apparently it sheared and left enough of a burr to catch in reverse but not forward. 50 years and this is the first time I ever sheared a prop pin.
2 years ago I cleaned out my dads old tackle box and came across a spare pin. Eventually found where I put it and replaced. Changed lower unit lube and cleaned everything up and new plugs. A little spray paint on the hood and it will look and run like new again. Also glued the 50th anniversary emblem back on that I found in the tackle box 2 years ago.
Probably silly of me but I am giddy at the thought of using dads little outboard for a few more years.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2022, 04:20:00 PM by Kingcreek »
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Brad Johnson

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2022, 12:09:37 PM »
Nice!

Brad
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French G.

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2022, 12:21:49 PM »
That’s incredible. Keep running it. Find some gas with lead in it if you can and maybe a little top lube, the motor will probably outlast you. My dad has a 1930-40ish Johnson seahorse stashed, it was running when he pickled it and put it in storage.
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2022, 01:31:56 PM »
That's cool. Love to see the old stuff still in use.

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Kingcreek

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2022, 01:58:07 PM »
It’s never burned ethanol gas. I always seafoam it or use fuel with stabil and run it out in the fall and then store it in the barn on a stand.
Typically, it starts on the second pull and runs like a top.
It’s on my 14” semi V Jon boat. Perfect for the kind of fishing I do around here, usually reclaimed strip mine lakes.
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grampster

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2022, 03:00:57 PM »
2 stroke Johnson's and Evinrudes are the bomb.  I had a 6hp Johnson that I bought in '77.  I think my oldest son still has it.
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Hawkmoon

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2022, 03:41:58 PM »
Very nice.

As the saying goes, "They don't make 'em like that any more."
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charby

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2022, 07:30:41 PM »
That’s incredible. Keep running it. Find some gas with lead in it if you can and maybe a little top lube, the motor will probably outlast you. My dad has a 1930-40ish Johnson seahorse stashed, it was running when he pickled it and put it in storage.

It's a 50:1 2 stroke, don't need lead  or top end lube.

I used to have a 76 6hp Evinrude and a 75 25hp Johnson. .
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French G.

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2022, 10:02:26 PM »
It's a 50:1 2 stroke, don't need lead  or top end lube.

I used to have a 76 6hp Evinrude and a 75 25hp Johnson. .

50:1 at that age? wow. My dad's kart motors from the late 50s I thing he ran as much as 8:1 in really long races just because the ones that ran light usually blew up. Of course he ran an ungodly amount of nitro and I think fooled with other stuff the EPA won't let us have. Of course it was castor oil I imagine mosquitos weren't a problem.
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Nick1911

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2022, 11:10:15 PM »
Not silly at all to find joy in that.  Good on you, and thank you for sharing  =)

bedlamite

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2022, 11:48:56 PM »
50:1 at that age? wow. My dad's kart motors from the late 50s I thing he ran as much as 8:1 in really long races just because the ones that ran light usually blew up. Of course he ran an ungodly amount of nitro and I think fooled with other stuff the EPA won't let us have. Of course it was castor oil I imagine mosquitos weren't a problem.

50:1 is a recent EPA emissions mandate, it's not actually good for the engines. With modern oils, most 2 strokes can survive on 32:1, but more oil is still better for the engine. My dad still has manuals from the 60's that say to use 24:1, more oil will likely foul the plug too much and less will reduce the life of the engine.
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charby

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Re: 1972 Johnson boat motor happiness
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2022, 07:33:18 AM »
50:1 at that age? wow. My dad's kart motors from the late 50s I thing he ran as much as 8:1 in really long races just because the ones that ran light usually blew up. Of course he ran an ungodly amount of nitro and I think fooled with other stuff the EPA won't let us have. Of course it was castor oil I imagine mosquitos weren't a problem.

It's a outboard boat engine that exhausts into the water. Marine engine manufacturers thinned out their mixes starting in the 60s before the EPA, to reduce the oil slick and plug fouling.
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