Late 50’s OMC extension kit for 5.5 or 7.5hp

[hmai]

Anyone ever have any luck finding a extension kit for the 5.5 or 7.5’s out of the 50’s? I have several of these motors and would like to convert at least 1 to use as a kicker I seem to find everything other than the shift rod. Just wondering if I can use a later year rod that splits with a coupler and feed it through.

[chris-p]

I haven’t looked through my boxes of shift rods in a while, ill have a look for you.

Short of that, Im sure you could cut your current one and extend it somewhere in the middle.

[2fast4me]

Hmai, where are you located? I’ve got a Johnson AD- with a long shaft kit installed.
Jim
If you have the other parts I’d do like Chris said and have an extension welded in. I could weld one up from left over lower unit parts if needed.

2Fast4Me

[chinewalker]

There’s no reason at all why you couldn’t use a later 6hp style unit with a split shift rod.

[garry-in-michigan]

Cut the existing shift rod at the level of the water pump. slip on a connector with a hacksaw blade in the gap in the middle as a stop to see where to file the notch for the connector bolt. Do the same with he upper part of the shift rod. Install the 5" long connector to one of the the shift rods and proceed with the rest of the instillation. You then have a choice of where to separate the exhaust housing to drop the rower unit the next time you want to change the impeller. The down side, you would still have to pull the powerhead to check the bottom crankshaft seal. . . 😎

[hmai]

Thank you for the replies. Chinewalker, are the shift rods in the later 6hp identical other then the coupler? Same length?

[garry-in-michigan]

All shift rods were quarter inch stainless steel – all shift rod couplers were the same – Standard and five inch longer . . . 😉

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