Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

[Maximusprime]

Hey everyone. New to the forum, and soon to be new to boating (hopefully)!

My dad is turning 70 this year and as long as I can remember he always talked about getting a small Jon boat to go fishing. For whatever reason, there always seemed to be something more pressing and he never got one. Now that he has retired and lives near a big lake, I have decided to buy one for his birthday.

I found a nice 16 ft aluminum v hull with a 1957 Evinrude Lark 35hp and a nice trailer for about $800. That is right in my price range and the boat and motor look clean. The guy says it was his father's who died last year and used the boat until shortly before he died. He also says it is missing the fuel line but should run fine if I replace it.

I doubt I'll be able to test this thing in the water so I want to get a good idea of what kind of quick inspections I can do before I buy it. It is a bit of a gamble but I restore motorcycles in my spare time and I know my way around an engine so I think I should be able to manage if someone can tell me some of the typical things to look for.

That said, what are some signs of trouble to look for on this old engine without being able to start it? I am already planning to replace the impellor and take the carbs apart to clean them.

Thanks!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

Hi Maximus. Welcome to iboats. Sounds like you've got your eye on a great little combo. Most of us here love vintage OMC (Johnson/Gale/Evinrude) motors for their reliability, ease of maintenance and availability. Oh, and they look cool Best of all, you can fix virtually everything on them yourself, without any special tools, for a few hundred bucks, at most. About the only thing your really want to be weary of is the compression on the motor. Assuming each cylinder is over about 100 psi and within 10% of each other, you'll be fine. However, if the overall compression is low and/or there is a large discrepancy between the cylinders, I would walk away. If the compression is ok, all the rest of the motor is easy to fix and you can get virtually every part you may need right here at iboats. A carb kit, lower unit seal kit and ignition "tune up " kit with 2 pairs of points and condensers are all about $25 each. Here's a great link that can walk you through a tune up of that "Big Twin" from start to finish. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/columns/max/24/index.cfm

 

[Maximusprime]

Re: Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

Hi Maximus. Welcome to iboats. Sounds like you've got your eye on a great little combo. Most of us here love vintage OMC (Johnson/Gale/Evinrude) motors for their reliability, ease of maintenance and availability. Oh, and they look cool Best of all, you can fix virtually everything on them yourself, without any special tools, for a few hundred bucks, at most. About the only thing your really want to be weary of is the compression on the motor. Assuming each cylinder is over about 100 psi and within 10% of each other, you'll be fine. However, if the overall compression is low and/or there is a large discrepancy between the cylinders, I would walk away. If the compression is ok, all the rest of the motor is easy to fix and you can get virtually every part you may need right here at iboats. A carb kit, lower unit seal kit and ignition "tune up " kit with 2 pairs of points and condensers are all about $25 each. Here's a great link that can walk you through a tune up of that "Big Twin" from start to finish. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/columns/max/24/index.cfm

Thanks for the link, I can't believe how cheap that stuff is.

I have a compression tester that I use on my bikes. What is the procedure for testing them? Pull the plug and give it a crank from the starter? I have a feeling the battery will be dead if it is even there at all. Can I jump it from a car?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

Hello again maximus. The cheap parts is half the reason we love these old gems You can usually rebuild the entire ignition, carb and lower unit for about $150. To do a compression test, just remove the spark plugs and then install the tester and turn the motor over a few times (6-8). It's best if you can use the starter, but you can use the pull start too. Then repeat the procedure on the other cylinder. You can spray a bit of Deep Creep, or WD-40 into the cylinders prior to testing to help loosen things up a bit. While you do want compression around 100+ psi, it's just as important that the two cylinders are relatively even (within 10% of each other). If the overall compression is a little low, buy fairly even, there's probably hope for the motor. There are several tricks you can do to improve the overall compression, assuming the two cylinders are relatively even. Here's a link the to parts store right here at iboats and a manual with a complete parts list and exploded diagrams of your motor. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.marineengine.com/parts/v...evinrude-johnson/ITEM_2836/ITEM_283600001.htm

http://www.iboats.com/Johnson-Outbo...4636086--session_id.736772718--view_id.271265

 

[F_R]

Re: Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

If you plan to check the compression by using the recoil starter, disable the compression relief first.

 

[lindy46]

Re: Looking at an Evinrude Lark 35

You may also want to loosen the oil drain screw on the lower unit and see if any water comes out or if the oil is milky. If it is, you'll probably be looking at a seal kit for the lower unit. While you're doing a compression test, you can also check spark with a $10 spark tester. Should get a snappy blue 1/4 inch spark.