Johnson C 1347

[toomanyprojects]

Gentlemen and Ladies: As I am sure you have all experienced I have found myself with more projects than I will ever complete, and I have decided to cough one up. Within the span of two weeks I have found that I own a rare guitar and a little piece of Boat Motor history. Research is fairly simple and I have already discovered that neither of my "found items" is worth much money, but considering the relative rarity of each I decided to take the information to the folks who seem to have the most interest in this kind of thing hoping you can point me in the right direction. You folks got the nod as to the question, "who On-Line seems to know, and care the most about Vintage Boat Motors".

So, cut to the chase. Buried in "the barn" after my In-Laws passed away turned out to be Johnson C 1347. It’s not in the best condition, in fact if you follow E-Bay the recent cousin offered for sale was in substantially better shape than C1347, but this motor is a 1922 and that one was around ’24 wasn’t it? So, what do you folks think? I’ve never sold anything on E-Bay and don’t have a real desire to start now. There is a show coming up in Quincy Illinois next month that I might be able to attend.. Is there some deserving soul that is just the go to person for this kind of thing, or a kid just getting started that might be just thrilled to have a motor from Johnson’s first production year? What do you all think?

[reivertom]

I think you have the wrong number. This doesn’t match up with any Johnson or Evinrude model numbers I’ve seen listed anywhere. If it is a 20s Johnson, it would have an "A" then a 2 digit number such as 25. The earliest ones just had the "A". If it has the original rope sheave, it should have the model and serial on it. Could this be a 01347 serial number?

[toomanyprojects]

I was hoping to avoid having to post pictures just yet, but I might have too. From what I can tell most of the A models appear to have the Serial number and model listed in a little curve over the top of the South Bend area of the embossed central area on top of the motor. This motor has the Serial number listed inside the emblem area just under the center of the emblem. It simply says C 1374. From the research I have done it appears the Johnson folks used serial numbers consecutively and numbers #501 to #3930 appear to have been assigned within the 1922 Serial Number set. I can’t remember whose website I get the Excel Spreadsheet I have from but the "C Model" designation appears to be an "A" Model with "Canoe Bracket" version of the Light Twin. I’m certainly open to being further educated, but if the Serial Numbers were used consecutively the number itself places this motor in 1922 and then the "C" in front of the number kind of becomes the wild card and the "C" makes sense only as the Canoe version of the A model. The real key is whether Johnson used Serial Numbers consecutively. From images I’ve seen on the Net and in books the motor is a Light Twin.

[stanley]

Does it have a screw clamp mounting bracket like most outboards you’ve seen?The canoe models came with a different type for canoe mounting.However brackets are easy to change.

[oldelto]

Looks like C1347 is correct for canoe type motor.

[bkrsdoz]

I am interested in your motor.
Please e-mail me @ bkrsdoz@gmail.com

[PM T2]

If it has a hard cast tank on it that you probably couldn’t dent if you shot at it with a .22, then it is likely a first-year motor with that serial number.

If its the softer pressed aluminum tank that dents if an overweight dragonfly lands on it, then it’s prolly later than 1922.

Hope this helps.

best,
PM T2

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

[eltoquad]

I would think it could be a canoe motor that has had the standard clamp installed on it after no longer being needed for a canoe.

[toomanyprojects]

So, most of you appear to be right. The fuel tank does appear to be cast, but it still got dented a bit. One of the things that threw me was that the mount looked pretty normal so I was never sure what was meant by Canoe Bracket. I think it is likely that the mount was changed. I looked for a long time before I found this really definitive Excel Spreadsheet on someone’s site that very thoroughly listed a ton of manufacturers and serial number ranges. I’m way more familiar with firearms, and this spreadsheet looked like one of those that was so thorough it just had to be well-researched, a labor of boat motor love if you will.

Obviously you all know a lot more about this than I do, but when I turn the Rope Sheave on top the Prop still turns, and I can feel compression building and then releasing.

Provenance for Johnson C 1347 is almost completely unavailable. Everyone in the family just remembers seeing it somewhere in that corner of the barn for as long as they can remember. The Patriarch on the Maternal side of the family was an Illinois Conservation Officer and political operative and "knew everybody". He could have picked it up at any point and just given it to his Son-In-Law who never used the thing. So, in the end it has been in the barn for at least 50 years, but it has a special birthday coming up soon!

I didn’t intend to use this forum as a way to sell the motor so I have decided to wait until at least Sunday the 7th before I start responding to folks who have expressed interest in it. Might be cutting off my nose to spite my face, and I don’t intend to annoy anyone, I was just looking for advice more than offers. If more than one person is interested in the motor I will probably just decide how much I want for it and then will post it and pictures in the Free Classifieds to be fair.

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