Vintage Johnson Purchase

[InjectorService]

So.... This got dropped off at my place. Old (early 60s supposedly) Johnson. Sort of cool, want to add it to the collection. It's in amazing shape, I want to build a nice wood stand and convince the wife it needs a home in the house haha! (wish me luck)

Anyone know about these things? Supposedly it runs, but I know NOTHING about Johnsons from this era, well before my time haha!

https://i.postimg.cc/Wb3mFN4r/20200616-161051.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/50Vq68HN/20200616-161100.jpg

[Instigator]

Yep

I had a ‘1960 version of that motor on my first recreational boat, a 14’ runabout and loved it.

Bought mine in parts from a local ad.
Seller bought a fishing boat that came with that motor and him being a Merc guy he didn’t know anything about it so of course what he did he do?
Took it to his trusty Merc dealer.
They proceeded to disassemble it down to every last nut and bolt and told them it was junk and sold him a new Merc.

I didn’t want to argue with him so I gave him 50 bucks and took it home.

Upon inspection I couldn’t find anything wrong with it so I reassembled the damn thing.

Used the same rings gaskets everything!
We skied with it the next day, and I never touched it after that!

It is a big bore, big stroke, two cylinder cross flow.
Yours has the 5” extension to make it long shaft.

That era had the extra housing around the mid section to help quiet them down.
I believe it has a compression release which activated automatically to ease starting.

Its a great old motor and probably still runs good.
They never seem to die.

You can rebuild that lower unit on your kitchen table w/a screwdriver.

Always amazed me at how simple/basic they were compared to the 4 banger Merc’s they competed with.

This motor replaced a pull start, ‘1953 25 hp version of that same motor on my lil 14’ “ski boat”.
That motor would still pull me up on a slalom.

[InjectorService]

It seems to be a symbol of simpler times in a way, I like that!
Thanks for the info Instagator. :cheers:

[David]

That was the most common outboard on my lake for a long time

[Instigator]

They were a lower rpm tractor motor compared to the 4 banger Mercs of the era.

Those old Mercs are collectors items where the old JohnRudes are still pushing boats around.

[InjectorService]

They were a lower rpm tractor motor compared to the 4 banger Mercs of the era.

Those old Mercs are collectors items where the old JohnRudes are still pushing boats around.

Yeah the Mercs are super tough to find here, and when they are in good condition you pay a lot for them. It seems in my area the J & E were more popular.

[delawarerick]

I had the older big twin 30 or 35 evinrude did that thing burn gas and I also had a starflite 75 electric shift use to take a match book cover bend into v pour gas in the carb and start when the smoke cleared we were off. Right now I have an 82 sixty twin cylinder I have been restoring for the laser an ICW runner. Your motor looks clean is that a 25:1 or 50:1 oil?

[eli]

We had one on ski boat had a lot of low end power pull 2 adults on 2 skis up easily ,on other side of lake there was a guy named joe had a meteor 100 hp would pull 6 up

[azsportpilot]

I had a 1960 40hp Johnson on a 10 foot GW Invader back in the mid 1980's....... was very reliable and extremely fast on that tiny boat