Suggestion for an antique outboard appraiser?

[pm-t2]

quote sheila1067:

PM T2,
Believe me If I had known this ahead of time I would have never entrusted this motor with UPS, but unfortunately now it’s a little too late.

I say again I’m sorry you’re stuck with dealing with it. We all need that tool that allows you to know stuff before you find out that you have a need to know it. Hopefully if you end up needing some bits and pieces to make it whole again, we can help you out as a group.

Best,
PM T2

[seakaye12]

When I had my business I shipped and received literally thousands of packages through UPS and while percentage wise issues were nominal; getting them to pay on an insurance claim was one heck of an exercise in frustration.
Contract or no; additional coverage paid for or not…..they would always require that I PROVE the value of what was inside……and it had to be my WHOLESALE cost…..not retail….and I had to substantiate it with an invoice showing what I paid for it.

Just the thought of trying to deal with them on an antique outboard makes me wince. They NEVER just pay the amount you insured it for without a bitter fight.

IMHO it’s a sad blemish on a company that otherwise is a pleasure to do business with.

[49hiawatha]

I had similar experiences as Seakaye12. When UPS screwed up they would only pay my manufacturing cost of my products , which I made from start to end, NOT the retail end.Talk about hassle !

[sheila1067]

Ok here are the pictures of the motor and the id… Any help you can provide as to a value or someone who can appraise it and/or appraise the repair costs would be a great help.
Thanks so much.

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Attachments:

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

This is a nice example of a 1923 3hp Service twin, it is commonly referred to as a "Ruddertwin" By the serial number, but the flat rudder throws me off as I was thinking they were only on the early ones..

Anyway, what parts are actually broken? Can you get some pictures of those area(s)?

Awesome motors to run

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[oltimer]

Richard
Look at pic #1 more closely and you can see it is snapped/broken. Hard to replace.

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

Umm Oh yeah I see it now… Doug Penn repops them…Check here:

http://www.penn.itgo.com/parts.html

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[wedgie]

test

[jasonh]

The part that is broken is referred to as a timer.

As suggested, Doug Penn is best bet and great to deal with.

[pm-t2]

Sheila;

If it’s only the timer that is broken, the repair costs for the parts themselves will likely run you in the $125 to $150 range, as long as the replacement parts are limited to the timer casting. all the parts out of the old timer can be transplanted into the new one, but you will need someone familiar with doing that sort of work to do it for you, or at least guide y’all through it. Obviously, having to pay someone to do the work is going to add to the bill.

As for an appraisal – since you’re asking for one, I’ll venture forth and give you an unsolicited opinion (and that’s all it is, an opinion, not a fact, rule, law, or mandate).

For what its worth – allow me to play devil’s advocate for a minute. I’m willing to go on record (and probably draw the ire of a few observers) as saying that your motor is not worth thousands of dollars. Not that I’m implying that you are thinking that way anyway, I’m just saying for the sake of clarity so you know where I’m coming from.

I’ll stick to the facts. It’s a model A Elto Light Twin Outboard with a serial number in the 10000 range, which puts it in the 1923 model year according the the model-year guide I’m using. It has the flat rudder and water pump, which is correct. (Hollow rudder wasn’t seen much until it showed up on the Model C). I’ll assume it’s not seized, and that the prop spins when the flywheel is rotated. There don’t appear to be large welds or obvious repairs on the exterior castings in the photos that are provided. This is all good stuff.

Less than good stuff – there is an obvious non-factory extension fastened to the timer handle. Both transom pads are missing, and the thumbscrew on the starboard side of the motor is a cobbled up replacement for the original. There is a broken piece of aluminum in between the transom clamps and it needs to be determined as to exactly what that might be for. The propeller is not seated in the proper position on the prop shaft, and it needs to be determined as to why. The original aluminum propeller nut has been replaced with one of steel. There appears to be what is a tiller handle zip-tied to the motor leg, and these motors did not come with a tiller handle, they were rope-steered. the tank has been dinged in and shows obvious signs of rust, which is not at all uncommon for these outboards with their thin-wall sheet metal tanks.

Here’s the opinion part that you may not like – at an AOMCI event, this motor would likely have to be priced in the $300 US range in order for one of our fine members to be seduced into buying it. Yes, in restored or mint original condition they might be worth hundreds more than that, but the reality is that it’s a neat old antique motor that has been allowed to accumulate dirt and dust, and may or may not have internal wear issues just waiting to be discovered.

Just an opinion…..here’s my disclaimer…

your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Do not bend, fold, spindle, or mutilate. Disclaimer does not cover misuse, accident, lightning, flood, tornado, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricanes and other Acts of God, neglect, damage from improper or unauthorized repair, incorrect line voltage, broken antenna or marred cabinet, missing or altered serial numbers, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, sonic boom vibrations, customer adjustments that are not covered in this joke list, and incidents owing to airplane crash, ship sinking, motor vehicle accidents, dropping the item, falling rocks, leaky roof, broken glass, mud slides, forest fire, or projectile (which can include, but not be limited to, arrows, bullets, shot, BB’s, shrapnel, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, or emissions of X-rays, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays, knives, sticks and stones, et al.)

Hope this helps.

Best,
PM T2

[Author]

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