Need info on Evinrude 40 HP.

[billy-j]

Hello. Just bought another boat a 15 1/2 ft. 1959 MFG Celeron. It is a fiberglass boat that was patterned ( molded ) off a 15 1/2 ft. wood Lyman. I am a Lyman guy so I could not pass it up. It came with two 40 HP. Evinrude Lark ‘s One is a regular shift and the other is a electric shift. I am interested in the regular shift one at this time the model number is 35530-H and serial number is 01077 . I am more of a mid fifties OMC guy and know absolutely nothing about this newer motor. It’s gray metallic in color and I think it is a 1962 engine but could be wrong. Would some of you please describe how this engine is improved from earlier models, does it have a generator? Was it a reliable motor or any quirks? It’s in nice shape I am debating keeping it or just put on an earlier big twin. I know how to go over the mid fifties big twins is there any thing extra to do to restore one of these to reliable operating condition? Any comments would be appreciated. Regards Bill,

[chris-p]

Yes it is a 1962

If you are familiar with the Mid 50s Big Twins, this is very similar. Few more items to tune, but nothing overly difficult.

[frankr]

Generator was an accessory kit on the Big Twin Electric start (manual shift) motors, but came with the electric shift motors. Yes it can be swapped. But then you have an electric shift motor with no gen (not good)

[fleetwin]

The 40hp is a great engine. It is basically a 50s bigtwin with more displacement, a more advanced cooling system, and the "super quiet" two layer exhaust housing. The gearcase is basically the same as the bigtwin, although the water pump is a bit different. Great engine that you will enjoy, I don’t know how much luck you will have installing the electric shift’s generator onto the manual shift model, probably best to just use a good battery and trickle charge it up ever few weeks…

[tarcigam]

Learned to ski behind a 67 Lark 40. That was back in the seventies when a 40 could pull my preteen but out of the water. No Generator. Mechanical shift. Battery lasted all summer with no recharge. Still have the motor. My grandfather bought it new.

[outbdnut2]

Those 40s are great motors. dad bought one new in 1960 and, on a 14′ aluminum Crestliner, I routinely pulled three of my then teenage friends out of the water to ski triple, I just dropped the trim pin down a notch to do it.
Dave

[lindy46]

We had a 1960 Lark on a 14′ Glasspar and would pull three skinny teenagers out of the water, each holding an extra ski rope. Then we would transfer skiiers from another boat. It was quite a sight seeing 6 skiiers behind that little Glasspar! The crazy things we did for kicks!

[billy-j]

Thank You all for the replies. I started this post when I first got the boat and engines. I never worked on a engine newer than 1957. Now I have to learn a 1962 engine. I could see the similarities to an earlier 1950’s Big Twin. I just wanted to make sure this was a good engine without any quirky design or mechanical issues before investing any money. I went to Marine Engine.com and looked at the parts breakdown to familiarize myself with the mechanics. Looks pretty basic .I was not going to try to swap out the generator from electric shift to the other engine. Both engines are complete with all wiring ,solenoid boxes and controls and in good cosmetic shape. The regular mechanical shift 40 HP. is for a 15inch transom which is what I need for the boat. The electric shift 40 HP. is for a 20 inch transom so I will probably just try to sell it complete with shifter control,wiring and solenoid box. Regards Bill,

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