Were Neptune carburetors painted at the factory

[Gary Haight]

I am working on a 1940 Neptune 1.5 hp. The carburetor and powerhead were painted a bright silver color. I do have a spare carburetor that is also painted silver along with a couple more carburetors that are not painted. Were they originally painted silver or was this done by someone to make it look better?  When I was restoring my 1953 Evinrude Fastwin, that carburetor was painted the same color as the motor. That carburetor did not look like it was ever removed from the motor and the paint looked original.

[Waunnaboat]

My 1945 2.5 hp with the OB1A cylinder has the Tilleston AJ4A carburetor that I believe was on many Neptunes in the 40’s.  It may have been painted at some point, but it now has a sort of pot metal color.  To the best of my knowledge, OMC motors were almost always painted one color, and that would explain why the Evinrude is the same color.  I have never heard of a Neptune powerhead being painted a bright silver, and most of them were the color of the metal they used to make the power heads.  I think that the Mighty Mites of the time were only painted on the fuel tanks and possibly the drive shaft tube.  If the paint looks good and is not flaking, I would just keep the motor as it is because it would be difficult to remove paint from unless you use a sand blaster.  Take my advice with a grain of salt as I am relatively new to antique outboards.

"If you lack the knowledge, use intuition. If you lack intuition, use the AOMC website"

2 1925 ELTO Ruddertwins
1940 Evinrude Sportsman 2hp
1941 Evinrude Sporttwin 3.3hp
1941 Sears/ Kissel Waterwitch 571.35 1hp
1945 Neptune model 15B2 2 hp
1955 Johnson CD-12 5.5 hp

[Waunnaboat]

Actually, I just checked my carburetor and it appears that there was some silver paint residue on it, but it is darker silver in color.  It seems I spoke too soon, but they may have been painted silver in 1945. I am fairly confident that the carburetor on my motor is original, and all Neptunes had Tilleston Carburetors. If the paint is in similar condition to the gas tank and looks professional, it is probably factory.  If it is in better condition or a poor paint job, it is probably not original.  Unless somebody chimes in with more knowledge in this area, I would go with the condition of the paint relative to the fuel tank to go forward.

"If you lack the knowledge, use intuition. If you lack intuition, use the AOMC website"

2 1925 ELTO Ruddertwins
1940 Evinrude Sportsman 2hp
1941 Evinrude Sporttwin 3.3hp
1941 Sears/ Kissel Waterwitch 571.35 1hp
1945 Neptune model 15B2 2 hp
1955 Johnson CD-12 5.5 hp

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