Which motor to purchase – if any

[jimaz]

Hello to all,
Have jumped all in on restoring an early 60’s aluminum closed bow 14ft runabout. Have it gutted and working on removing old hardware, removing several layers of old paint etc…
Not ready for a motor yet, but came across these older motors only a couple of hours away from me. Looking for advice on whether any of the following could be possible choice for my project or something to stay clear of.

1957 Johnson Javelin 35hp
1961 Mercury 58A
1961 Merc400
1961 Merc500

According to the owner:
None of these motors are frozen. They all turn.
All of them are complete
All have electric start
None of them are currently running

The owner had collected them over time with the intention of rebuilding, but a recent change in health has put that out of reach.

So, having no experience or point of reference for restoring an outboard, would like gather opinions on how or if to proceed with picking out one of these outboards.
Which might be easier to find parts for? Not wanting to run into a dead end from a lack of parts availability/cost.
Which might be easier for a novice to work on?
Which might be better/easier to live with once it is restored?
The owner says take your pick. He wants $100.00 no matter which one.
Thank you

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[RICHARD A. WHITE]

Ummm ALL of them…
Then get the javelin up and running and sell the others
Javelin easiest parts with minimal tools, when properly rebuilt will last your lifetime and then some.

Merc, totally different sound, sometimes better speed, a bit more difficult to work on, but parts available for both.

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[mr-asa]

From a novice point of view, I’d say that a Johnson/Evinrude would be a little easier to get running right than a Merc

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean much, everyone has their own preferences.
I do agree that you should pick all of them up (if they’re a decent price) and sell what you don’t want

[opposedtwin]

I agree. The javelin would be best for a beginner. That one looks like a 1956 however which makes it a 30 hp and it looks like a long shaft. The Mercury (red/white) in the picture is a mark 55 (no shocks) and could be an early one-1955. The face plate is from 1955 at least. And if you don’t want it, I’d be interested. The other 2 mercs would be white (I think) and would be very sweet to have running. That said, the pictured motors look pretty rough. depending on the compression, $100 might be getting up there for the javelin. ANY of the mercurys are worth the $100 asking price as is.

[Michael Anfossi]

Johnson looks to be long shaft, others appear to be short. So you should check your transom height because if long, the Merc’s will not work without a lot of effort to make them long shaft motors. The Johnson can be made into short by removing the 5" extension. Water tube and shift shaft can then be cut 5" – will need to source a short driveshaft though

[gearhead4]

Go with the Javelin! I do not own one but I do have a RDE-19 that’s similar and it’s simple and reliable with plenty of power. It’ll run for the remainder of your life and then more. I’m just not a Merc guy, too many tools and too cramped. Anyways, good luck and I’d buy them all then sell off the Mercs to get them into the club.

[joecb]

The Johnson for sure… Also looks like that one has the controls. How about the boat wiring harness, any have that? If missing, I would guess that the Johnson/ Evinrude one will be a lot easier to find.

Joe B

[ronboonville]

I would buy the Javelin only. You never know what you might get for the mercs or when. Use that money on your boat and motor. Twice I’ve said "I’ll never buy another Mercury"

[20mercman]

One thing to remember is that this board has a fair number of OMC fans here and their suggestion on the Javelin is understood. It was a very good motor. They are known for being good dependable power and look nice. That said, I would ask what do you want to do with the boat? As was already said, the Mercury at 50hp vs. the Javelin at 30hp will most likely be a faster motor as they are going to have 40% more horsepower. There are a great many Mercury experts that feel that the inline 4 cylinder motors were Mercury’s finest hour. I would think long and hard before I turned away from one of these. As you said that you are working on an early 60’s boat, then for me it would be a clear choice to at least check out the 60’s Mercury’s as they would be a better match for the boat. The one in your photo is likely a 1962 as it has thru-the-hub exhaust and 62 decals. (62 was first year of the hub exhaust) Go to Johnsoldmercurysite.com and talk to George Garland for information on these 4 cylinder Mercury Motors. Great site for the Mercury fans. What ever motor you get, you should plan to do a full restoration on it to make sure that everything is as it should be. The Mercury motors are not hard to work on in my opinion, but it is often what you have experience with.

Steve

[weedlessdrive]

I would question if you are going to use the boat for towing skiers etc? Or just weekend runs to cruise? From a reliability standpoint it just depends on how vintage you want to go and of course how much you want to work on it.
I would agree with the Javelin but its long shaft counts it out as I would be looking for a short shaft for it.
I might even look for a later 60’s 25hp less weight, depends on how fast you want to go and what you are using the boat for?

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