Fleetwin vs Seaking 5

[burnt-clutch]

Hey all, I finally have 2 pressurized motors in my collection. One is a 1954 Evinrude Fleetwin and the other is a 1962-ish Seaking 5. Both motors are complete, but not running. Can any of you think of an advantage that one motor would have over the other? From my research, the Fleetwin should be a little lighter (48lbs) than the Seaking (60lbs), but that and the extra 2.5 hp is the only thing that I can see offhand that would give the Fleetwin the edge. Whichever one I choose to tinker with would end up on the back of my 10ft feather craft and would be used for trolling around the lake. What do you all think?
-Karl

[fisherman6]

By ‘pressurized’ motors, I assume you mean intended to be used with a pressurized remote fuel tank. The ’62-ish Sea King 5 should definitely have a fuel pump for use with a single line, bulb primed, suction-type fuel tank. They are nice motors and are intended to run on 24:1 gas-oil mix. I have a nice running ’62 Gale-built Sea King 5 in my collection that I like a lot.

The ’54 Fleetwin will have more push and have a lot better chance at planing your 10-foot Feathercraft. That one is a pressure-tank motor. These run on 16:1 gas-oil mix. I have a hard time believing the Sea King 5 is 12 pounds heavier than the Fleetwin, but maybe. That said, my choice would be the Fleetwin. My .02.
-Ben

OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

[garry-in-michigan]

The Sea King has the easy pulling oval pulley in the auto-rewind starter and rubber motor mounts. (which are more robust) They both use the same lower unit which can be damaged if water gets in, both used a 4 gallon fuel tank. The Fleetwin has bronze bushings on the connecting rods. The spring mounts are about 5 pounds lighter, powerhead about the same weight. Either one is bullet proof if properly maintained. Things to watch for – water in the gear case. (Rusts the clutch) leaking bottom main seal. (allows water into the powerhead lubrication system) Lack of grease film on driveshaft spline (causes crankshaft rusting) . . . 😉

[burnt-clutch]

Thanks for the replies. I downloaded a factory shop manual that covers that model and it is supposed to weigh in at 55lbs, not the 60lbs per the iBoats website. They both seem to have some perks specific to each one, so I guess I’ll base my decision on which one has the better compression numbers of the two.
-Karl

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