Topic: 1957 Evinrude Big Twin-Frozen Flywheel-UPDATE – Page 2

This topic has 33 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by danblue.

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July 12, 2015 at 11:53 pm #19995
danblue
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How could something so clean and well kept freeze up!

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July 13, 2015 at 1:07 am #20002
frankr
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US Member - 1 Year (includes $3 online payment fee)
You missed what I said. They had a wrist pin needle bearing problem. Way back when nearly new. In fact they had already changed the design in 1958. And that wasn’t the last design change either. There also were some connecting rod big end bearing cages breaking up. Fortunately, there were many more good ones than bad ones. I was there seeing history taking place. And trying to keep customers happy when failures occurred.
July 13, 2015 at 1:31 am #20008
danblue
Participant
Thanks for the Heads up Frank! Since this is the case with the 1957 Evinrude Big Twin, I’ll likely try to find a completely restored 1956-1958 Johnson 35hp Seahorse..pay the 3k and just call it a day.

Can anyone tell me the best year for the 35hp Johnson Seahorse?
July 13, 2015 at 1:52 am #20014
phil-b
Participant
*MY* favorite is the 1958 super sea horse (because of how outrageous it looks). But many more people seems to be fans of the 1957 "Golden Javelin"….
July 13, 2015 at 1:57 am #20016
chris-p
Participant
I like them all, but have a special spot for both the 57 javelin and the 58 super sea horse as mentioned
July 13, 2015 at 2:08 am #20017
fleetwin
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US Member - 2 Years
I dunno, I kinda like the 59 super sea horse styling.
July 13, 2015 at 4:53 am #20033
1946zephyr
Participant
Damn, so sorry to hear that it froze on you. It looks like you got brutalized enough on the repair costs to buy three of those motors. Hopefully, since you came here, you will undergo the next repairs yourself. This is a great organization of folks and always willing to help out. These old 35’s are great motors, but NOT worth $550 for a lower unit rebuild. Especially when good used lower units are easily obtainable for around $100 and re-seal kits are under $25. You came to the right place.
July 13, 2015 at 4:57 am #20034
1946zephyr
Participant
quote Phil B:

*MY* favorite is the 1958 super sea horse (because of how outrageous it looks). But many more people seems to be fans of the 1957 “Golden Javelin”….

The old single wall big twin class is my number one favorite too. I have 5 of these classics myself.

1955 Big Twin
1955 RD-17
1956 RD-18
1957 Big Twin
1959 RDSL-21B
July 13, 2015 at 8:27 am #20042
frankr
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US Member - 1 Year (includes $3 online payment fee)
’58 Super Sea Horse is my favorite in the styling department. It also is the Super Quiet model, which I totally appreciate. Maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for them because I had one in the "fun" times in my life and put a bazillion hours on it water skiing and the like.

Want a great motor? Get a Gale-built 40 from their later years, say ’62 or ’63. Well built, simple, reasonably quiet, most parts are available. I had one of those also, in my early-married life with little kids. Many good memories.
July 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm #20057
danblue
Participant
Yea, it’s a tremendous disappointment. I paid about $125.00 for the new lower unit casing/gears. I took the time to strip/sand/primer & repaint that lower, then spent $550.00 to have Dave’s Boat repair install seal kit and bolt back to the motor. What a heartbreaker.

Now I’ve learned the likely reason the motor froze up on me recently was due to a faulty bearing on the wrist pin on these 1957 Evinrude 35hp Big Twins, so my power head is likely ruined….So much for reliability! This motor is very well taken care of, so it’s a shame.
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