63 Johnson lives again.

[tamuben1]

a couple months ago I bought a 1970 Starcraft Trident with a 1963 75HP Johnson that had been sitting in a garage for the last ten years. I put in new plugs, rebuilt the carb, fuel pump, water impeller and distributor. I finally took it to the lake yesterday and it ran great, It idled smooth and we hit what felt like a very respectable top speed, I would guess 35mph, except it seemed to take a very long time to plane out. I was thinking about seafoaming the motor and getting a new prop since it is in pretty bad shape. Will these things help, or am I just spending more money? Should I just be happy with the performance I am getting out of a 45 year old engine. Also, I have these things on the outboard called "hydro stabilizers", what are they and what do they do? Are they just some after market garbage that don't do anything?

P.S.
Great site. I am completely new to boats and this site has been extremely helpful.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: 63 Johnson lives again.

make sure u have no water in the boat like under the floor and such and u could try moving weight to the front. how long is your boat?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 63 Johnson lives again.

Definitely run some sea foam through it in the gas. Replace the prop if it's really beat up...that's a respectable speed on the water. Hydrostabilizers...you mean a whale tale/hydrofoil? Some like them, some don't. Only way to tell if it helps is try it without the whale tale and compare.

 

[tamuben1]

Re: 63 Johnson lives again.

It is 16 feet. There is a small area of rotted floor, so I peaked under there and there is some water. It did sit in the weather for about a month before I got it. I assume that is where the water came from...I hope...