Re: The fleet grows a bit more...
That Elto Quad looks cool as heck. How are parts availability on those? I want one, how hard are they to find?
Hard to find? Not really. I know where there's a slightly later one available - I think it's a 1930 Quad. Not cheap, but a lot less than a new 18-20... There's still quite abit of old big iron out there if you look for it. Johnson made a 4-cylinder big boy back in the late '20s too - a 26hp monster called the V-45.
Parts availability? Depends on the supply of parts motors to act as donors. The Antique Outboard Club is a good resource, too. Also helps to get to know "Mr. Elto", aka Sam Vance.
These aren't motors for someone with no mechanical knowledge or ability. The battery ignition Eltos like my Quad are really neat in that they do exactly what the old ads proclaimed - "Starts with a quarter turn!" It takes some practice, but if you rock the flywheel back and forth against the compression, it'll light off with a flick of the wrist. They didn't call them knuckle busters for nothin'. Plus, with further practice, you can actually idle down, hit the stop button and restart it in reverse! I did it once with the 2-cylinder Elto Speedster (foreground in photo) and backed it into the dock, wrecking the prop! Clearly I needed more practice...
