Is this oil okay for my 1960 Johnson Sea-Horse JW-16, 3 HP, 2-cylinder? And is 16:1 the right fuel mix?

[JakeAnderson07]

I have a 1960 Johnson Sea-Horse JW-16 (3 HP, 2-cylinder) that my grandpa passed down to me a while back. I'm working on getting it running again.


I picked up some Pennzoil Outdoor Premium Outboard & Multi-Purpose 2-Cycle Engine Oil (TC-W3 rated) —


I’ve read that it should run on a 16:1 fuel-to-oil ratio, but I just want to confirm that with people who know these motors.

 

[Crosbyman]

1960s use 50/1 oil won't hurt it and go 25/1 but spark plugs may get plugged up with carbon after a while.

if it is grandpa's motor may as well pull the FW and check coils for cracks , change condensers and clean-up the points change impeller and GC oil set points at the high spot of the cam lobe for .020 and put a drop or two of 90 oil on the felt pad next to the coil.

 

[JakeAnderson07]

1960s use 50/1 oil won't hurt it and go 25/1 but spark plugs may get plugged up with carbon after a while.

if it is grandpa's motor may as well pull the FW and check coils for cracks , change condensers and clean-up the points change impeller and GC oil set points at the high spot of the cam lobe for .020 and put a drop or two of 90 oil on the felt pad next to the coil.

thanks, really appreciate the info. I'll try to check that stuff out tomorrow and see how it looks.

 

[Crosbyman]

1962 Johnson 3 HP Restoration

A very cool vintage 3 HP outboard from Johnson, model no. JW17, this engine was heavily marketed to fisherman and duck hunters in the years following WWII an...

www.youtube.com

 

[jimmbo]

That has Friction Bearings and 50:1 just isn't enough Oil, The Ratio should be on a Decal on the Fuel Tank. The Service Manuals I have for that Motor say 24:1
While Present Day Oils are vastly Superior to the stuff used in the early 60s, the original Ratios are still used, with exceptions list below
1964 was the First Year that 50: was speced. However, some 1957 thru 1963 Motors could safely run 50:1 as they had Anti-friction Bearings throughout the Powerhead. Those would be the 18hp, the 35hp, the 40hp, and all the V4s

 

[racerone]

On many OMC models the BRONZE BEARINGS for the crankshaft are well designed.----I work on the wonderful 5.5 / 6 HP models and rarely see any issues at 50:1 on these bearings.----On 50 year old motors they are usually just like new.----Run the 1960 model 3 HP at 24:1 ratio.---The 1964 and later 3 / 4 HP were not much different that the 1960 model and ran at 50:1 ratio.

 

[Crosbyman]

thanks for clarifying.