I’ve not got a lot of experience working with engines and have never rebuilt one, but I have a 1957 Evinrude 18hp that I bought for $20 quite a few years ago as a parts motor for a 1956 Johnson 15hp that I was using on a boat at the time. However, I never ended up needing any parts off of it, and lately, I’ve became interested in seeing if I could make the motor run.

The motor was locked and quite rusty but after three days of soaking the block in Marvel Mystery Oil I was able to tap the pistons out and pry the rings off of them. Surprisingly, the pistons don’t actually look bad, nor do the cylinders. While I want to get the motor running with enough compression to make it functional, I’ve no dreams of restoring it to the point of optimal performance. It’s really just about challenging myself to see if I can tear it apart, put it back together, and make it run more than anything else.

With all this said, the question is, “What can I get by with as far as cylinder work?” I know that I don’t want to spend the money for a professional machine shop, and from other things I’ve read, chances are probable of doing more damage than good honing the motor myself with a cheap three stone honer. I’ve seen references on this forum regarding a “50 cent hone job”. Can someone explain specifically what a “50 cent hone job” is and if it would be satisfactory in this case?

• This topic was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by BayouBengal.