TOPIC: Good first motor?

Hey there, new member here. I'm working on restoring a P-14 right now, and thought I'd better get started on the motor as well while I'm waiting for warmer weather.

I have access to a bunch of outboards as my father in law has a huge stash of them in varying states of disrepair. There is an Evinrude Lark 2 that is really clean looking and I bet wouldn't take much at all. And a cool green Mark 55, a beat up Mark 58a and numerous smaller mercs.. Anyway I'm pretty fixated on the three and wonder which one is the simplest in mechanical terms. I have done some outboard work, routine maintenance as well as adjusting the valves on my last 60 hp four stroke. I'm pretty good at following directions and figuring stuff out on my own with a little help.

The OMC is by far, the easier motor to work on. They built over a million of them, and many tune - up parts can still be purchased at an auto supply chain like NAPA. Tune up parts for old Mercs usually need to be specially ordered for a specialty supplier.
The Mercury engines as beautifully engineered and attractive as they were, present many challenges to the weekend mechanic. The Mercury engines were not designed and built with an emphasis toward ease of servicing. A specially designed tool is required for servicing the water pump. On the OMC, you will need a screw driver, plires, some open end wrenches, and little else. But remember, the condition of the engines just as they are right now, is a very important factor on which one is the right one.

I tried posting some pics but they are too big. I'll retake some this weekend at a lower res. The Lark is super clean. I was surprised how clean when I took the cowling off, must be pretty low hours. I asked my father in law and he has never tried to run it. It came on a 14 foot runabout and he said he thinks he remembers the guys telling him he always pulled it off and stored it in the garage. Now it's in a lean to shed laying in some gravel, so I am going to save it this weekend I hope, guess I'll take on the evinrude first. The Mercs and there are at least 8 or 9 in this one shed, are pretty rough except two, the Mark 55 looks the best and complete. Thanks for the tip, I thought I had read they didn't require any special tools and that is a plus.

I have a great Mark 58 in classifieds.

Cutty-Sark,

WELCOME ABOARD!

I vote for not only an OMC but a SeaKing or Gale Buccaneer, as oddly enough the "off brand" OMCs are often CHEAPER TO BUY & have the "newest updates" (like the fuel pump!) over the Evinrude or Johnson.

Leave the Mercs to the experts, as (in my experience) they are complicated, require a LOT of expensive tools & are hard to work on.
(with a handful of wrenches, screwdrivers & a copy of CHEAP OUTBOARDS, even I can repair most anything on an OMC.= Engines don't come any less complicated than an old Johhnyrudes.)

just my opinion, satx

I run both Merc and OMC, but Long Island is OMC terriory, folks are intimidated by mercs. Im partiial to the Mark 55. True, the water pump has a special tool, but that is the only special tool you will need (might not even need it). The parts are a bit more expensive, but very much available.

The Mark 55 is a great merc to start with. So simple and easy to dial in. What a great little motor. A belt driven magneto with easy access to the points, linkages and all adjustments. Carbs are simple and easy to sync, and literally can be rebuilt in minutes. Fuel pump is a piece of cake too. If its green its probably a 1955.

I would go for both, but if you can only do one. Make it the Merc. You wont regret it.

Before pic

After Pic

Wow, nice Merc!

Yeah the merc looks pretty similar to the before pic. I spent some time this weekend warming my father in law up to the idea of me raiding his stash. I'm kinda thinking the best way would be to fix something for/with him. He has an 18 hp longshaft evinrude he really wants to get going. I spent the weekend boning up on youtube, reading maunals on working on the Johnsonrudeds. Need to make a motorstand for my shop then I'm gonna go grab a few.

I personaly Vote Merc as well.. I have never had much luck with the OMC, Johnson, Evenrude... I have all and the only ones that truly give me a worry free, exciting and pleasant trip are the Mercs. They are not that dificult to work on just take your time, Read the manual and ask some questions. Any Special tool you may need can be purchased reasonably on Ebay. for the price of a Dinner for one at olive garden... And the Mercs sound alot cooler

I will say.. you may want to take all three, tinker with the Lark untill you get a good understanding of it, then move on to the Merc, You wont regret owning them.





I have always been a tinkerer. SO the challenge of getting the old thing running is the fun part for me, I typically start with something I am not worried about hurting and go from there. If you hurt it, you hurt it, if not good, any way you learn alot.

Haha, thats exactly what I did last night. I went over and raided the stash for something smaller that looked like it has a chance of coming to life. Grabbed a 57(I think since has the round symbol around the 15HP insignia on the side) long shaft Johnson. Not frozen,prop turns... I can see a little burnt wire up under the flywheel I'm guessing coil wire? And there is a little corrosion on the outside of the block near the shifter handle. But it looks decent overall. Anyone want to walk me through your general checklist on going through a potential motor when you first get home? Compression check, I'm thinking I should loosen up the pistons etc though first with a seafoam soak or something before trying to turn it over a bunch. Steering is pretty darn sticky. I don't need to work on the lower before compression check though right? Thanks for you help. Figure I'll do this one first if it's a good candidate, then move on to the bigger 40's which I know are great candidates. If I can get this one repaired I'd like to surprise my father in law. I specifically looked for something that was buried and that he probably won't notice is gone.

Thanks!!

I am no expert.. as I said I am a tinkerer. I usualy start by oiling it all up so everything moves smoothly. Check the compression then I usualy remove the lower unit and check the water pump impeller and change the oil etc.. While that is off I take off the fly wheel (on an OMC)and clean the points and check the coils etc.. ( I have only fiddled with one small merc with the points and coil in the fly wheel 1965 35hp 2 cylinder) see if I can get spark, if not I source new coils and points and install. I also clean the carb and check the float, if it has a fuel pump I check the digaphram as well.. usualy I just replace all the gaskets while I am in there. Reasemble, check the timming on mercs with belts.. and see if it will fire up in a test tank. thats my rambling thaugts of how I go about it as a novice tinkerer

I am sure you will get imput from people far more expirianced and professional than I but for what its worth...

Cutty_Sark,

You picked a WINNER imVho. - the mid50s to mid60s, 2-cylinder OMC OB are easy to learn on.
BUY yourself a copy of CHEAP OUTBOARDS & read it from cover to cover, if you have not already done so & get your little OMC going right along.
(I replace ALL of the coils, points, plugs, condensors and the impeller on EVERY OMC outboard that I find & "mess about with".)

note1 : That 15HP Johnson would make a FINE "second" or trolling motor for a Fiberglassic.
"JOHNSON MAROON"/"Johnson Green" paint is available in "rattle-cans" & you can find original style decals on ebay.com.- Those little Johnnys are easy to return to original looks.

Note 2: My next project is a 12HP Gale that I found "unmolested" in a barn over in New Braunfels for 50 bucks.= This one will be restored & go on a little Skeeter boat/homebrew trailer that I've located. It will be my bayou & creek rig for "perch jerking".

BEST WISHES & GOOD LUCK.

yours, satx

The 15hp you found is a great starter motor and is unique in 50's OMC's. Up until 1956 OMC kept some differences in HP offerings in the 2 model lines eg Evinrude had 3, 7.5, 15,& 25hp Johnson had 3, 5.5, 10,& 25hp in the 1955 model year. In 1956 it was decided to combine the lines and the selection for both brands was 3, 5.5, 7.5, 10, 15, & 30hp. The 15 and 30hp models were available with electric start. In 1957 the 15 and 30hp models were replaced with 18 and 35hp models which makes your 1956 a 1 year only model. The ignition is dead simple to work on, the carb is easy to service, swap out the impeller seal up the LU and your off the the lake. Once you have done the 15 you will notice that other than size the Lark is exactly the same in the manner in which it is built and after doing 3 or 4 OMC's you will be able to service any of them with your eyes closed, not so much for the "dark Side" Mercs!!! If you want a reliable, quiet, torque laden motor the Lark is for you. Fuel Mix for both motors is 24:1 using TCW3 oil and ethanol free gas if you can get it.
Al

I love my Johnson too!

Oh I love my 55 Johnson 25 also, doesnt have to be pretty to run good. But its no merc performance wise, but if you want a great reliable war horse it is a great motor, Just a bit slow and loud for running up and down the hudson river. Great small lake set up, 13.5 foot Seamaid and the 25 johnson.

Wow, thanks for all the tips! I will take this to the Johnsonrude forum here I guess moving forward.

Ok, picked up a harmonic puller since that was the one tool I didn't have. I lubed up the steering a bit, but it must have some serious dried grease in there, hard to get the fitting to take much. Also drained the lower unit, and as you will see in below pic it wasn't pretty. Quite brown, milky and thick. Before I pulled the top screw, what appeared to be water or clear liquid came out, the clear liquid did have a smell to it so not sure if just water or from the ancient oil seperating? I put fresh lower unit oil in, just to keep it from corroding further until I decide what to do/get to the lower unit.

I also pulled the spark plugs and have the cylinders soaking with seafoam now as they were fairly gummy, but definitly moving well enough when I rotate the flywheel. I did hear a little rattle from the bottom cylinder when I hand turned the flywheel over, but the engine was on its back. Is that something I should be concerned about?

My plan is to check the compression this evening and then pull the flywheel for access to the ignition components.

Any thoughts on the rattle, and is the water/liquid in the lower a death sentence for the lower unit?

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Looks like a nice Engine! Should be a great platform to get used to working on an engine. I dont know about the rattle you were hearing. As for the lower unti oil, you likely will need new seals or just change the oil often. Though seals are easy to do on the Johnsons. As stated above the Cheap outboard book is a good guide on these old engines.

www.amazon.com/Cheap-Outboards-Beginners-Making-Forever/dp/1891369628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358960537&sr=8-1&keywords=cheap+outboard

Jesse's right, that lower will need new seals. I have to do it on my '59 Fat Fifty. I keep getting water in and using the no oil and compression test showed a leak around the drive shaft seal. The rattle doesn't sound good. There really should be any "rattling" going on. The compression check should/could give a clue.

Lower unit will need to be off for this. Drain the oil, put the lower drain screw back in. Take some soapy water and put it around the upper seal area around the drive shaft and some around the prop shaft. Take a compressor with a rubber nippled blow gun or some way of sealing a blow gun tip and blow air into the upper oil fill hole and see what bubbles show up around the shafts. Mine showed bubbles around the drive shaft, the prop shaft was fine.

Bob

I'd put the Mark 58A powerhead in the Mark 55!

I'd go with the OMC V4. They are easy to work on and generally trouble free.

Beyond that, I have always preferred the OMCs to Mercs for one reason. The Mercs I've encountered have a shorter stroke and higher RPM. The OMCs have a long stroke and turn slower. I know it is a personal preference, but I prefer the motor running at lower RPMs if can do the same work.