Buccaneer, here’s what I wrote-up for the Elginoutboards.org website on the 1959-63 page – just so you know what you are getting into:
The the low-profile 7.5hp and 9hp Elgin/McCullochs turn up at a lot of swap meets, flea markets and yard sales. The goal of making a low-profile, compact, reasonably powerful and very light weight motor were definitely achieved by Scott/McCulloch. And, to improve on a major shortcoming of the Bail-a-Matic motors, they even moved the waterpump and bailer impellers down below the waterline. Keeping the waterpumps below the waterline helped improve their longevity over the previous model.
However, to do almost any service work on these motors the powerhead must be removed. First you need to take the recoil, magneto and throttle linkage off the motor to gain access to the powerhead fasteners – several are hidden from view no matter what you do. The waterpumps are mounted upside down on the spray plate and there is a fair amount of plumbing for the bailer and cooling systems with press-fit connections. All of these are possible places to leak and reduce cooling water flow. Poor quality fasteners can make much of the dis-assembly very difficult.
Depending on the year, there were two carbs used on these models: a Marvel Schebler and Tillotson. Each is unique in design and ethanol spells death to the complex gaskets and diaphragms inside – I’m not aware of any modern replacement parts for them.
Almost all of these motors seem to have problems with the motor cover being cracked, broken or missing. This is because the cover is made from very flimsy plastic. Even when new, the cover, latches and hinge were not strong enough to support using the hand-hold to tilt the motor up! Add 50 years for the plastic to get brittle and you have one really fragile item. If you have one of these motors never, ever, use the hand-hold provided in the back of the cover to tilt or carry the motor.
Should someone attempt to restore one of these, it would be wise to have at least 2 donor motors for parts. A lot of PB Blaster (or like product), heat and patience is required to work on these motors.
On a personal note, after the last Scott low-profile motor I went through, I swore them off forever. I needed intensive Ruddertwin and Rowboat Motor therapy for months to get me back on an even keel! 😯
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