Evinrude 3 hp outboard

[Battis]

I've had an Evinrude 3 outboard motor in my basement for many years. It used to run. I recently did some research on it - it's a folding motor (folds and fits in a case, which I don't have), made in 1966-68.
So, I have the brilliant idea of restoring/rebuilding it.
Any ideas on the feasibility of this? Degree of difficulty, available parts, etc.

[BLAHUT]

YES; go for it; Parts ???? You may need to make lots of them ??? Makes for a good hobby......

[Battis]

I'm going to degrease it and see if it's seized. I don't think it is. Like I said, it ran maybe 15 yrs ago in a barrel (I never used it).
I soaked the folding connections in PB Blaster last night and it unfolded easily today.

[Winger Ed.]

It shouldn't be a big deal as long as the 'hard parts' like castings aren't damaged.

You will probably end up making some gaskets and do some digging to fit a seal or two.
Points, plug, carb., reeds, etc. should clean up and be re-used.

[ShooterAZ]

It's a good old motor, perfect for fishing/trolling around on smaller lakes. Should be a fun project to get it restored.

[Battis]

I bought it to use on a small dory to get out to my 22' sailboat. But, the sailboat never went back into the water, so I never used the Evinrude 3. I also have a 1958 Evinrude 18 HP to use on the sailboat that also used to run, but was never used on the sailboat. The sailboat had an inboard 10 hp Atomic 2 when I got it (gas - not good for an inboard motor on a sailboat). I pulled the inboard, planned to replace it with the 18 HP, then "things" happened.
Bucket list stuff.

[RickinTN]

I would try to get it started first. May not need to be rebuilt. Could save yourself a lot of trouble.
Good Luck with it,
Rick

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've heard them called "traveling" motors.
I grew up in lake country, lots of resorts.
Back in the day, I guess it was common to go on vacation to a lake resort, stay in a cabin and rent a row boat there, and then use your own motor.

It's funny this came up. I was at a auction last week. There was a bunch of outboard motors and one of them was a traveling motor with the case, I hadn't seen one in decades. The Auction had two rings, so I didn't see the outboards sell, so I don't know what it went for.

[georgerkahn]

I've had an Evinrude 3 outboard motor in my basement for many years. It used to run. I recently did some research on it - it's a folding motor (folds and fits in a case, which I don't have), made in 1966-68.
So, I have the brilliant idea of restoring/rebuilding it.
Any ideas on the feasibility of this? Degree of difficulty, available parts, etc.

Bion I have two of these, although one is not the folding model. Of MOST importance is for you to make sure the impeller is pumping sufficient cooling water!!! I had one running nicely until it seized! I got lucky and kept pulling the rope until it cooled; put in a new impeller, and it has run swell since. For what it is worth, too, I use ONLY OMC/Evinrude plain-Jane TCW oil mixed with ethanol-free 91 Octane Exxon-Mobil fuel.
Good luck rebuilding -- bion, those old early outboards were really quite simple in design. If you have compression, ignition, and a working carburetor complemented by that good impeller -- you should have a dandy motor!

[fecmech]

Clean the carb and it will probably start right up if it ran when you put it away. The old oil and gas mix will varnish all the small passages in the carb. Good luck.

[rockrat]

I remember those folding motors. Grandad had a 6 hp Evinrude (early 60's) but really like an older 6 hp, like late 50's, that a friend had. When the friend passed, he bought the motor from the widow. That older motor would really idle down low for trolling, which Grandad liked to do. When he passed, I got both motors. Sis wanted one for her hubbys sailboat, so I gave her the newer one, which she promptly gave to someone else!! Still have the one in the shop. Hasn't been started since the 60's

[ulav8r]

Evinrudes and Johnsons (both by OMC) usually have parts available. Definitely put in a new impeller and clean the carb.

[rcslotcar]

Sounds like a great project. I've rebuilt several tools and equipment with the intent of making "wall hangers". There is a certain amount of satisfaction making old things new again. Good luck with this project!!

[Jsm180]

Great little engines, many small parts still available.

https://epc.brp.com/Index.aspx?lang=E&s1=4cc62c71-d362-4aed-a0da-c63198063bb2

[bedbugbilly]

When I was a kid, we had a 3hp Johnson - would have been earlier than the Evinrude that OP has - probably a late 1950s.

I remember the folding Evinrudes though. They were quite the thing. We knew a fellow who had one. He and his wife vacationed the same time we did and he spent every day trolling with it fishing on Higgins Lake in northern Michigan and it was rare for him to come in at night without some good sized fish.

Good luck with your Evinrude and maybe it won't take much to get it running again.

I'm betting that if you do a bit of googling, you might come up with some forums pertaining to old outboard motors and possibly be able to find parts on them if needed.

[MaryB]

Agree on the impeller! I ran my outboard in the Minnesota river and the silt content in spots plus running into mud bars that constantly shifted chewed up an impeller in a year... for some reason they don't like pumping liquid mud! Would chew up the ends then it had a bad seal and didn't pump enough. I actually carried 2 spares when on the river for a week. Mine was a 1976 10hp Johnson with a carb kit from a 15hp making it a 15... was a pain to start when hot but it made that little Alumacraft T-14 fly with just me in the boat, top speed was 30mph!

Dad said it was scary to see because only the back foot of the boat hull was in the water. VERY squirrely making turns at full throttle and one of my nephews flipped it one year when the back corner dug into the wake from his last turn. No injuries, boat was empty so he went flying, safety switch I added shut the motor down so it didn't suck up any water. Flipped it back over, bailed the water out, restarted and off he went... kid had no fear! Carried over well into his Air Force pilot career!

[Bmi48219]

If it is locked up, try pulling laying it down with the plug, pull the plug and squirt some penetrating oil into the cylinder. Let it sit for a few days then try to turn it over. I picked up a 1958 Evinrude 10 hp. Thing was heavy, and locked up. I did the above but it wouldn’t budge. Then I slid a 1/2 inch dowel through the spark plug hole and tapped on it with a rawhide mallet. Piston broke loose. A new impeller and it ran great until I sold it five years later.

[Battis]

I'm going to build a new stand to hold it. Should be interesting.
The other motor I have is a 1958 18 hp Evinrude that also ran back in the day. The best motor for this sailboat is a 9HP long shaft (for ocean use). From what I remember, the power of the 1958 18 hp was measured at the motor (shaft?), while new engines are measured at the prop, making the old 18 hp approx 9hp. Sound right?

[jonp]

Perfect size motor for a 10-12ft fishing boat on a lake. Get you where you want to go and will troll at slower speeds than bigger motors. I've seen guys blaze past us with much bigger motors and have to drag a bucket to slow enough to troll.

Grew up on a 30mile lake using, maybe, 6 Miles of it as the rest went into Canada. All we ever used was a 4hp Johnson. Troll for salmon in the spring, head out for perch etc

[farmbif]

stored indoors, sounds great. get a can of OMC engine tuner. it will clean up the carburetor and melt any dried up oil without damaging rubber or gaskets. if it was run dry before it was put up it might just run by adding gas with a good 2 cycle oil in it like yamalube. if it is gunked up with dried out fuel probably just cleaning out gas tank and carb, replacing gas line, spray some of that engine tuner into spark plug hole and let it sit a while and then spray some though motor while pulling rope to get things inside freed up and lubed good and put in a new water pump impeller. fresh gas mixed with yamalube and your good to go if it has spark. if no spark its either points condenser or coil. I may still have new old stock points. ive got a very similar motor in dry storage that ive not even looked at in 20 years

[Tall]

Spray WD-40 in the carburetor. It will probably start right up.

[firefly1957]

When my dad & me cleaned out his fathers garage we found in a corner covered with coveralls a Goodyear CB outboard motor on a stand . From what I can find it was made in the late 1940's by Johnson . I checked it out it pulled fine but no spark after pulling the points and finding them corroded I filed them flat and it fired right up . I have only used it one time (about 1995) it ran well for trolling their is no neutral it is always in forward gear .

Me and my father talked about it and remember seeing the motor in the mid 1960's when my grandfather fished Lake St. Clair . My father was in the military at the time and we went fishing one day with Grandpa then back out of state for several years . The boat was a rental Grandpa had the motor and some pretty old fishing gear .

[georgerkahn]

OIL note -- at the risk of being "insulting" (which I surely do not wish to be) I was just talking with a friend who did NOT know that that there are TWO different types of 2-cycle oil to mix: Oil for air-cooled gear (e.g., chainsaws) and oil for boat motors -- which have a TCW designation. Apologies if you knew this -- but I'd rather you read this and used TCW oil to mix with your fuel rather than ruin a good motor.
geo

[Battis]

Good to know about the oil. I'll take all the info I can get.
I was going to start working on it this week, but we had really bad rains with flood warnings that actually came true. My basement flooded maybe 15-20 yrs ago, really bad, and two days ago it flooded enough to kill the pilot light in the water heater. Now I gotta empty the entire basement and spray with Borax and water for any mold (works great).
One thing about sump pumps - they only work if you plug them in.
More flood warnings today and tonight.
I think it was John Lennon who said that life is what happens when you're making other plans.

[farmbif]

yamalube is excellent 2 stroke outboard oil. there really is a difference in different brands even though some of the crabbers I built motors for used the cheapest oil they could find and put thousands of hours on the motors they were run every day and opened up quite a bit which helps blow out any carbon build up. but for recreational use Yamaha has perfected the oil to keep carbon build up to minimum and has added stabilizers added.

[atr]

Of MOST importance is for you to make sure the impeller is pumping sufficient cooling water!!!
That impeller is essential and if the engine has been sitting that long I suspect that the impeller probably hardened and become brittle which will lead to failure to pump cooling water. My advice is to replace that impeller. You might also have to pull the carburetor and clean it.