A lost soul with a newly acquired "0 time" 1958 Evinrude 35 HP electric start outboard motor...

[airrace48]

Hello... I'm Steve Williams. I'm an old guy in Montana. My best friend bought a 1959 Crestliner boat that was the apple of his
eye belonging to the lake property owner next to his property at Swan Lake Montana. After 15 years of pestering, the nice lady
finally said yes and it was his... My friend (Jeff) is a classic Ford truck collector and is pretty wise when it comes to restorations.
Jeff and I worked our hearts out on restoring the '59 Crestliner Commodore and it is in showroom condition. Now to the fly in the
ointment...

The boat had a silly little 5hp motor. Don't know how in history that happened. We went on a quest for the recommended 35 hp
motor and came up with quite a few examples. What we wanted was a period correct (late '50's) motor. We did quite a few postings
and we came up with a guy that said he was a young Naval officer in San Diego that had the avocation of outboard motor specialty.
He referred us to a guy in Nevada that (supposedly) had a 1958 35 hp electric start motor that was virtually new, having been only
once on a boat for an outing and on the way home was involved in a trailer accident that only damaged the towing vehicle and not
the towed boat. Story went that the Evinrude motor was put in a crate and left untouched for 65 years... Supposedly new old stock.

The price was $1200. The location was Ely Nevada. WHAT A DEAL ! Jeff spoke to the seller who pretty much verified the story. It
was outrageously expensive and time consuming to drive the round-trip to pick up the motor. When Jeff arrived after a two day drive
from Kalispell Montana he saw a motor that was ANYTHING but new old stock. It was clean, but the story changed. The motor had
problems in that it would not run well. The owner had already been in to it and had replaced components to try to get it to run well.

Bottom line is that Jeff gave the man his money and drove home to Kalispell with his tail between his legs. The motor is cosmetically
very good. Our problem is that we live in an area of the country that has absolutely no outboard motor mechanics/expertise. We are
on our own. We are not neophites... we have a full shop and resources. We need advice... Can anyone help us?

 

[racerone]

Compression test is first thing to do.----Post the actual values here.-----More tips to follow if compression is good.

 

[airrace48]

Compression test is first thing to do.----Post the actual values here.-----More tips to follow if compression is good.

Yep... I'm already hep to the initial compression, spark requirements. I am guilty in my post of not asking specifically the questions that I'd really like to understand... My bad. The wonderful folks (actually one "folk") at MarineEngine.com did me a HUGE favor. I asked on the phone if he could help me identify the correct Evinrude motor that we have. Nothing on the motor gave any clues. The brilliant man (Dan, I think) asked if I could see a freeze plug... Yep, says I. I even have a picture of a strange little round aluminum plug and I had no idea what it was. (see photo). Bingo! Dan instantly came up with my Evinrude information... 1958, 35hp, 25936. For a dumbkoff like me this was a great start.

So here's my starting point to get this beauty running. Jeff has a car lift in his shop. We can easily mount the motor to a front structural element on the lift. This will allow a wonderful, adjustable work platform. The next issue is to actually be able to turn the motor over for a compression test. (Easier said than done). The wiring harness came with what "might" be the original ignition switch... No key. I took the switch to a reliable
locksmith company here in Kalispell Montana and the result was that the number on the key cylinder gave a key blank that did not match up with the lock. The great fellow at the locksmith spent 20 minutes trying to help and had to give up. So, a new switch... I noticed that most replacement switches have a "push to choke" function. The switch for which we had no key (very possibly not the switch that would have come on our 1958 Evinrude) had no such choke function. I ordered a modern switch assuming that the "push to choke" function was something that our 1958 35 hp motor, if no electric choke function did not have could simply be ignored. I am now mystified by how to properly re-attach the 5 wires to the new switch (6 terminals, not 5) to properly energize the system. As the old switch has no key, I can't do a simple continuity check to see the flow of power between terminals. That's the first problem. Next, if anyone can advise, does our motor have an "electric choke" function"? If one looks at the sticker on the inside of the motor cover, one sees the statement (see photo) which seems to indicate that electric choke might have been included for this motor... Well, you beautiful citizens, I have already overloaded you with queries... I'll leave it as that for now. If any kind soul would be willing to talk to this old guy I would welcome a phone call... Steve Williams 406-885-6272

Does my motor have remote/electric choke?

 

[kevinj]

Here is a link to your parts diagrams --> 1958 Parts Diagrams for Model 25936

In short, yes, it appears your model has an electric choke. The components are on the lower left of the carb diagram that I have circled in red.

 

[racerone]

Do a COMPLETE evaluation of this motor BEFORE spending beer tokens on parts.-----Including removing bypass covers to look at pistons / rings.-----Will likely need overhaul of the simple " universal " magneto.