TOPIC: Golden Javelin...

The Johnson Golden Javelin has always been my favorite motor... The design is just beautiful. It's got everything that a motor from the 50's needs!! This family obviously agrees with me, too-


I finally found one that I could afford, that was in pretty good shape. I've run across a few of them from time to time, but usually they are in sad shape, missing a lot of their parts, OR the owner knows that they have something of value, and jacks the price WAY up. Anyone who's ever attempted to do much business on Craigslist knows the type- "I saw this same motor in E-Bay for $2000".... or, "the chrome alone off of this goes for $700"....

This one came out of a garage in Northern Indiana, where it had 'lived' for 10-12 or more years, under a tarp. It doesn't appear to have had much use prior to that...

I repainted the hood this week... This is how it started-



Not TOO bad, but there was a lot of missing/worn paint, scratches, etc. The black on top was badly faded in places, and missing in places, too. There were paint drips, and other damage from storage. It needed a repaint!

These things have a LOT of chrome trim on them- And, Luckily, all of mine is intact. Most of it is in fairly good shape, too.



so I stripped it down & sanded it-



Primed it-



Got some Metallic Gold on-



Then some black & white-



The hood latches were painted, but when I sanded them down, I found out that they were brass and stainless, so rather than repainting them, I decided to polish them-





They look pretty nice when they're all shiny!

The paint hasn't fully cured, BUT I had to put the bling back on there to see how it looked-





She's looking pretty good!

The rest of the motor appears to be in pretty good shape- I'll know more when I get it home (hopefully next week). I might try to fire it up!

Now, I don't have a boat to put this on, but that's a minor issue. This thing is so pretty, I might just put it in the living room! Of course, the wife might object to that.

I did weld up a nice stand for it, which I painted gold to match...

-Andrew

Beautiful work Andrew. I can't wait to see the boat you put it on.

Frank

Beautiful.
I agree that these are among the best designed motors - along with the '58 V-4.

Yeah- that '58 v-4 is hot stuff... I love the one in the Glassifieds- But not at that price. Of course, If I had a boat that 'needed' it, that would be a different story.

Andrew,
Great job that looks awesome. I think I know what add your talking about with the $700 Chrome, Hi Liner in Annapolis?

Bob

Waterwings wrote:

I think I know what add your talking about with the $700 Chrome, Hi Liner in Annapolis?

No- But I think we've all run across the same situation.

Someone has an old boat, or motor- and they decide to sell it. The go online, and find one that is in great shape, or worse yet one that 'looks' like the one they've got. The only problem is, The one on the web has been in a garage since 1962.... Taken out a few weeks a year, gently used, cleaned, then put back. Theirs has been in the weeds behind the barn, full of water, with no cover for a decade.

'It only needs a little work, then it'll be a GREAT boat'.

Sure.

I ran across a neat old wood racing sailboat at a marina near me when I lived in Ohio. It was abandoned there- Storage unpaid for 10+ years. I was able to do a little research on it, and found out what it was- A 'Northern Michigan'- www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc63594.php

Beautiful boat. I even, by researching the name (it was GABOONEY), determined that it had once been owned by D.L. Gamble, of Proctor and Gamble. I guess he used to summer in Harbor Springs, MI- Where this boat used to 'live'.

I went to the marina, And inquired. They wanted $6k- It was OLD, RARE, and VALUABLE. Probably worth 6 figures when restored! They wouldn't take a penny less, and that was leaving ME to deal with the paperwork on an abandoned vessel (although by this time I had found the true owner, and he still had the PW to sign over). I offered some money, but they refused it. They were sure that someone would come along and offer more.

Last time I was near there, I drove by. The boat was gone- Chainsaw & bonfire. I guess it wasn't worth quite what they thought. It's a shame- She was GORGEOUS.

-Andrew

You're a spray-can master Andrew. I got some script from a guy that had about 35 of them. I just need a couple hoods (with all the chrome)

Wow! What a find! What a beauty! Yes, 57 Javelin is also my fav outboard! Very nice and detailed restoration! You do nice work!

Hope to see it in person some day!

Tim

Great find & great restoration, Andrew.
I too was lucky a couple weeks ago and found a outstanding Golden Javelin in Southern California for $500. It will need a little cosmetic
work ie; chrome plating, but it runs.

Larry
Vintage Boatworks
Bakerfield, California

Beautiful sail boat. Looks very similar to a 5.5 square meter or 22 square meter.

Nice Golden Javelin too! Yup, I think they are brilliant looking motors.

Andreas

Thanks.

There MUST still be a lot of them lurking in garages and barns- I guess it's just a matter FINDING them. Of course, we always hope for a great deal, too- I USUALLY don't pay much for my motors, but was willing to make a slight exception in this case, since I loved the design so much!

I still did very well price wise- It was missing it's recoil cover (which is easy to replace, since there is a guy making repros for about $30, but I didn't mention THAT!), and the cowl gasket is bad (also an easy fix), but otherwise it was just dirty... I've run across these from sellers who wanted in excess of $1000 for examples with missing chrome, broken emblems, etc... After all, they are SOUGHT AFTER!

Andreas, If you think that sailboat is pretty in the photo, you should have seen it in person! I thought at the time I found it that it was a 'meter' boat of some kind. ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, it looked like sculpture. It needed a lot of work, but at the time I was looking at her, she was still salvageable, with relatively minor work, since the structure and most planking was still intact and sound. It still brings a tear to my eye to think what happened to her.

The owner had fallen on hard times- He bought it on a vacation trip, and got it home, intending to restore it. He stripped all the hardware off (which he still had), and brought it home- But lost his job, wife left.... and so on. Restoring this boat, and the others that he had acquired, became back burner, and he moved on. Of course, he neglected to pay his storage bill, and at this point had more or less forgotten that he even owned it! He had fallen in love with the boat's lines, too- and wanted to see it saved. He was going to give me the paperwork, including title, all the original builders info, including the plans, all the hardware, sails, and rigging for a couple hundred dollars- as long as it was going back on the boat... But, when I couldn't make a deal with the marina, it all fell through.

-Andrew

That's a cryin shame about that boat. Beautiful lines. I'm not much for sail boats (too much work) I'm the, turn the key, hit the throttle and blast, kind of guy.

roger that on the ad. Seemed funny that you just happened to pick the asking price.

Bob

fantastic resto andrew,it seems everything you touch turns to gold,very impressive work,as usual,john

That's a beautiful job Andgott

Where did you get the repro recoil cover?

Thank you,

Randy

I listed the '58 Super Seahorse(belongs to my buddy) and pictures don't even begin to show how cool that motor is...looks perfect on the Aero-Glas which really needs a "bling" motor to compliment its styling.I am also a big fan of the Golden Javelin.Got a '58 Lyman 15ft. runabout on its original TeeNee trailer myself with a big,ugly (painted black)but good running(we use the boat a lot!!) '69 Evinrude 55hp.Hope buddy can find a motor that's a better looking match before boat show season. Any ideas???