Thread: Need old school boat motor mechanic

Is the guy down at the Boat Wrench still in business? He was pretty good as far as I'm concerned. Of course, the best there ever was worked for Bill Carver up at Mud Creek. He was a double amputee, but was all over a boat and could fix any of them. Some of the old-timers will remember him.

Anyway - Boat Wrench.

I have a '63 Johnson 18 HP also. What kind of issues are you having with it?

I know a guy in Decatur but that might be too far away. He's the only one I use.

All sorts of information on the net. The 63 18 hp is one of the easiest there is to work on. What is the issue? We might be able to help. If not I suggest making the trip over to Decatur...out Danville road..If you decide let me know I can get you the name and number.

Depending on the day is how smooth it runs. I changed out the gas thinking it may be tainted, but still one day it's smooth as can be. The next it putters along horribly. I feel like Im a decent shade tree mechanic but when I pulled the cowl off I got scared and put it back on because I've never dabbled in boat matters. When I was checking it out I noticed when it's tilted up gas is pouring out of what looks like the bowl. Also it's a pain to get cranked...and usually once per outing I'll have to pull the cowl off while on the water because it won't come out of forward so I'll move whatever plate the lever is bumping into.

I have personally never worked on that particular motor but I have a 1959 OMC 35hp. I'd imagine they are pretty similar which would mean it would be very easy to work on. My advice would be to create an account on iboats . com and post in the Johnson/Evinrude repair forum. There are a tons of guys on there who focus solely on the old 50's to 70's OMC motors.

Based off what you said about the carb spilling gas, you probably have an issue with the float sticking or something causing your needle valve to not fully close.

No matter what it is the first steps are always to check spark and compression, even if it sometimes runs perfectly fine. If they check out then it is fuel related. For an old motor like that, depending on the last overhaul, I'd go ahead and rebuild the entire fuel system from the tank hose to the carb. New fuel line, primer bulb, fuel pump rebuild, fuel filter, and carb kit would all be in order and would cost $50 or less depending on if you needed a new primer bulb or not (they seem really expensive to me). Then dial in the carb per the instructions in the sticky thread on iboats and you likely will have a problem free motor again.

BTW, both our motors are covered under the same Clymer manual and you can get them used on Amazon for dirt cheap. I just got a used one in perfect condition for less than $5 shipped to my door.

Parts can be picked up easily online. Went through mine couple of years ago and had no problem finding parts for it. My dad bought it new in '63 for his '57 lonestar semi -v. I still fish and duck hunt with the same combo. He was a boat motor mechanic for years at the old aeromarine dealership when it was located by the Birmingham Airport in the 1960's. He had a heart attack when he was 28 and went through a state program that sent him up north to be trained by Johnson as a boat mechanic. For years people used to bring him old motors to work on and it was almost always fuel related issues with these motors. By the way, he turns 80 next month and is still going strong, fishing about once or twice a week. I will ask him what he thinks based on the info you shared and get his opinion.

Originally Posted by H.M. Slab

Parts can be picked up easily online. Went through mine couple of years ago and had no problem finding parts for it. My dad bought it new in '63 for his '57 lonestar semi -v. I still fish and duck hunt with the same combo. He was a boat motor mechanic for years at the old aeromarine dealership when it was located by the Birmingham Airport in the 1960's. He had a heart attack when he was 28 and went through a state program that sent him up north to be trained by Johnson as a boat mechanic. For years people used to bring him old motors to work on and it was almost always fuel related issues with these motors. By the way, he turns 80 next month and is still going strong, fishing about once or twice a week. I will ask him what he thinks based on the info you shared and get his opinion.

I have always heard that the motors built in the 50's and 60's are much more sensitive to modern ethanol blended fuels than the later years with carbs. I don't know what would be worse about them with respect to that but I have read or heard that many times.