Opinions needed

[wiscoboater]

Hi Guys, Happy summer boating season to all,
I need your opinions, A while back I came across a 1957 Fleetwin 7.5hp model number 7502. I grabbed it because it was so clean and original I could not resist it. In getting some motors ready for the Tomahawk meet I got her out of the basement today and tried to fire her up. No dice..no spark.
I removed the cover and started diagnosis on the old girl. What I found kind of amazed me. This is a completely unmolested original motor. It has the original amber colored coils that are crumbling, the flywheel has never been off of it, the pull rope is still clean and white with the original grip, carb has never been off or rebuilt, gear case has never been resealed and does not leak a drop.

My question is, because I will be selling this motor at Tomahawk, should I leave it alone as an original, or get it running and sell it that way? I obviously I want to get my best dollar for it to reinvest into the hobby by buying more motors at Tomahawk, so what would you do?

[wiscoboater]

More pics,

[fleetwin]

Boy, that surely is a little sweetheart. That nearly new looking 56 Fleetwin will probably have a few people that are very interested in that particular model/year. I wouldn’t bother doing anything to it if you are selling it at Tomahawk, I don’t think you can recoup your time and parts required to make it a daily runner.
Now, if you were selling it outside the club, then I would do the service work first.

[mr-asa]

A running motor, to me, is always a better buy than a non-running motor. However, that motor will likely need an impeller as well if it is truly going to be a running motor, if you don’t have that done anyone that buys it might be tempted to actually run it without changing the impeller (or they might not know any better.) Considering that changing that means removing the powerhead… I’d leave it.

[wiscoboater]

Wheres Wedgie???? I know this one will make his heart skip a beat…

[chris-p]

Well Ill throw my 2 cents in the mix.

I myself, do not like buying motors that others have tinkered with. I like them just like you have it now, totally unmolested, cracked coils and all!

I then know it has been sitting for who knows how long. Also unlikely someone has run a lean mix through it, not has messed up any of the tune up.

So for a collector, or aomci member, they will likely want it left as is. Now, collectors as a whole are usually a cheap bunch, and will not want to pay for your time either. Just sayin.

If you were to sell it to a fisherman outside the club, go through it, and price it as such.

I don’t know what the market calls for in your area, nor have I ever been to Tomahawk. But sure wish I could go. What do as is nice originals like that down south bring? What about a motor you go through for all the mechanicals?

[chris-p]

….and by the way, what a beauty! That paint on the powerhead is mint!

[legendre]

The next owner will almost certainly need to pull the flywheel to address the spark problem – and if its really never been removed, that could be a tough job at this late date. Same situation with the impeller, and maybe even the carburetor – those are both involved jobs.

Since you don’t know who will end up with it (their level of skill, etc.) I’d say you’d be doing a service to both them and the hobby in general by taking care of these issues right now – before something equally sad and avoidable happens to it down the road. If not, you’ll have to carefully vet your potential buyer(s), make sure they are fully informed and in a position to do what’s needed without collateral damage.

That said, it can’t be too wet behind the ears.. look at all the paint wear on the shift lever, and the knock-about dings from R&R’ing the motor.

[wiscoboater]

I’m in Southern Wisconsin, so nice fresh water motors are still around at times. It’s hard to get much for J/E motors because they are plentiful. Most are "parts" quality, but sometimes you stumble across a diamond. I just love to preserve them. I’m not in it for the money as much as the hobby. I just love to make them live again. They are Americana, and American history from a better time. I’m hoping to get $200 out of it, but like you said…we are a cheap bunch.

[Mumbles]

That’s a very nice Fleetwin. One of the better ones I’ve seen in a while. 😮

If I came across that one around here, I’d use the non-running condition as a bargaining ploy to talk the owner down a bit because of it. Remember, if they don’t run, consider them a parts motor. With the tank, I’m sure it’s worth what you are looking for because of its condition.

[Author]

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