TOPIC: 1959 Fleetform Commodore

Hello boaters, New here and just purchased a 1959 ?? Fleetform Commodore. Fell in love with the lines of this boat and had to have it. Pretty much complete except for seats, with a 40 hp Wizard. Needs complete restoration, should keep me out of trouble for the summer. I do have a couple of questions---first, the gelcoat is in very rough shape, los of major cracks and peeling. My plan is to level it off somewhat and fill with a fiberglass reinforced filler such as Marglass and paint. Looking for some feedback on this idea. Second, the serial number is 2144, anyone know the year from that number??? Also, How does the Wizard 40 hp hold up? Good motor or problematic? Thank you very much !! Kaptain

Very nice find. Before painting, all the gelcoat "cracks" or "crazing" will have to be filled and faired. Local body shops with fiberglass experience are good folks to know.

About the motor- "Wizard" outboard motors were sold through Western Auto Stores as a store brand. Over the years, Western Auto sold Mercury, Oliver, West Bend, and also Scott-Atwater outboard motors with "Wizard" logos. They may have even offered a "Wizard" boat package built by some vendor but this is uncertain for now. Your motor is most likely a Scott motor and should be mechanically identical to the equivalent Scott models. If your motor is a 1959, the model number is likely MLM-6940 or MLM-6941 (Wizard model numbers were different than the Scott model #s).

Scott-Atwater were purchased by the McCulloch Corporation, eventually renamed Scott-McCulloch, and finally just McCulloch outboard motors. These motors are well-liked the few who take interest in them which includes some folks on the forum here and over at the Antique Outboard Motor Club: AOMCI.org.

If you are mechanically inclined and like to do your own tinkering, a service manual is foremost among your needs. "The Scott Guy", Don Webb, does a fair job of supplying most parts for these motors: www.scottatwaterinfo.com/

A good strategy to follow when bringing an outboard back to life is Art DeKalb's Five Point Plan (LINK)

go to the Fiberglassics home page, on the left side will be the Glassic Concepts menu, look at Past Articles/Research. Jamil has some excellent articles on what you'll need to do to "Prepare The Surface". I, being an ambitious amateur, really, really, really could not have done the work without these excellent articles. Have fun, and wear a mask.

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it. Starting to think maybe mine is a 1957 or 58. Looks like the 59's had fins. Just got it, haven't dug into the motor yet. Everything looks good on the surface, time will tell. Found an original Wizard 40 hp service manual online. Should have it in a couple of days.

Thanks for the info. Is that a Fleetform in the pic? What year? I'm starting to think mine is a 1957 or 58. I think maybe the 1959's had fins.

Mine is a 1960 Su-Preme Spitfire. A knockoff of Fleetform made in Minneapolis.

Nice looking boat !!!! Do you have any other pics avail? Maybe interior? I'm looking for some ideas on seating set-up. I'm thinking 2 folding swivel up front and 2 folding in the rear with maybe a cooler in between. Not looking to restore the interior to original. Thank you !!!

My interior was...inferior. I trashed it and am having a slat bench made for up front,with a small cooler in the middle, and a curved slat bench for the rear, custom cushions to complement the wood, paint and carpet. Looks great in my head, hope it turns out as I expect.

Sounds nice !!! I've seen some teak outdoor furniture similiar to you idea. Having the cushions removable is a plus for cleaning and off season storage. Looks like we are on the same page with a built in cooler. Easy access and not in the way. The small interior of these boats requires some planning ahead. Please send some pics when you get done. Kaptain

kaptain, i have a 1961 fleeteorm, looks just like yours. iam going to redo it to black on white. this boat was in a garage that a car burned up in and the gel coat on the deck got heat damaged, so iam removing all the gel coat. see my earler post titled i think i got it, there is a picture of my boat. i have the original interior (seats) and the 2 floor pans, kind of like a sub floor. they set in front of both seats. i do'nt think iam going to run a windshield on mine. and have the seat color changed to black and white as were the original. keep the pictures of your progress coming, as we all like looking at pic's . frog

Black and white, no windshield and a Tower hung on her would make that one good looking ride.

mr.88, wished i had a white merc tower short shaft, fgs, but iam planing on a 35 rd-19 that i have, unless i find a johnson javelin. frog

From the looks of it kaptian your boat is a 1960 model and later. The 50's model fleetforms used very small windshields. Later on they started using those bigger ones in the 60's.

here is one I did for someone years ago