WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

[SeaKaye12]

Hi...

I have a 1955 Fastwin 15. I just got it recently...and I noticed right off that the cowl doesn't really fit very well. The carb controls aren't perfectly centered in their holes...and the hinged side (port) of the cowl has a real hard time snugging up with the rear clamp. The front clamp works pretty well...but on the rear one it's been so tough with previous owners that the clamp "hook" is all messed up.

In looking around the web...I see that other Fastwin owners have actually cut off the port side cowl supports. That seems nuts to me...they must have had a problem similar to me...but why has it become necessary to cut the support off? There must be something that I'm not seeing or thinking of....

These following two images are of other people's motors...

Can anyone shed some light on what's going on?

Thanks, Chuck

 

[F_R]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

I've seen lots of motors, but never have seen anybody cut those off. They almost look like they have been broken off. Wonder why/how??

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

I'd put my money on the motor being allowed to fall, with the cover off.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

I think most of the broken ears were due to bouncing around in pickup beds, car trunks, or toppling over when standing in the corner of the garage. I've never seen one that I would characterize as having been removed purposefully...

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

This is actually the first one I've seen with them missing.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Agreed...as clumsy as that design is I can't imagine anyone axing the supports to make it better...the Johnson design for cowls is much more practical and durable.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Agreed...as clumsy as that design is I can't imagine anyone axing the supports to make it better...the Johnson design for cowls is much more practical and durable.

Ill second that! I much prefer the Johnson cowls.

Ive had quite a few of the mid 50s Fastwins lately now that I think about it, havent personally seen any with missing supports.

Wait until you need the head gasket changed and swap heads from a donor motor? Or cut the supports off the parts motor and have them welded on. I personally would swap parts though.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

I concur. My Fastwin cases are all hard to take off and on. The shifter has to be rotated. The carb needles aren't even close to center. That one always really befuddles me. How the heck does that happen!

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Yep, I like the Johnson style, for the fact that you just open the rear lid and the front half slides off. Quite an improvement, from the '53 motors. I like the Evinrude styling, but you still have to remove the low speed knob, choke knob and the two screws on the starboard side.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

What about the '54 RD cowling? It's a friggin' nightmare... Something like 15 screws to take it off? That's not fun

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Yea, I had a '53 once and I remembr that. LOL The '55 model was a huge improvement. Not only in the cowling, but also the throttle advance linkage and shocks. I wouldn't mind getting ahold of a SD model. Cool old motors.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Now we know why so many old rudes are run topless.

 

[Mas]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

They do not look cut...but rather broken. I agree with the comments of the difficulty of hood removal on the 'rudes. Those shifters really mess up paint.

Mas

 

[SeaKaye12]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

As for the shift lever....I read on here a while back that some of the models have a shift lever that arcs out of the way...It was said that you pull it out a little bit and then it angles down. I don't know what years may or may not do that...but mine (a 55) does not appear to.

It must have been a great day at the Evinrude/Johnson factory when some smart young engineer came along with the plans to have a one-piece cowl that just snugged down with clamps. Anyone know the first outboard to use a one-piece cowl?

Thanks for the interest folks....I suppose that the cowl supports in my pictures might have been broken...but doesn't it seem unlikely that both of them would be broken?

I'm going to try and contact the owner of that one engine and ask him.

Chuck

 

[samo_ott]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Yes, the shift lever on some of the Evinrude clamshells rotates 180 degrees right out of the way.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

As for the shift lever....I read on here a while back that some of the models have a shift lever that arcs out of the way...It was said that you pull it out a little bit and then it angles down. I don't know what years may or may not do that...but mine (a 55) does not appear to.

It must have been a great day at the Evinrude/Johnson factory when some smart young engineer came along with the plans to have a one-piece cowl that just snugged down with clamps. Anyone know the first outboard to use a one-piece cowl?

Thanks for the interest folks....I suppose that the cowl supports in my pictures might have been broken...but doesn't it seem unlikely that both of them would be broken?

I'm going to try and contact the owner of that one engine and ask him.

Chuck

Those would be the 18's (1957 - 58) that had those shift levers. You pull them outward and rotate it down 180 degrees, to clear the shroud, for removal.

The clamshell shroud was on it's way out in '58, on the 18's and smaller motors. Somewhere towards the later part of '58, they started using the one piece fiberglass hoods on the 18's. By '59, all motors had fiberglass hoods, and truthfully, they actually weren't quite as good as the earlier clamshell type, because a lot of them would come off in your hand, when you beach the motor.
Also, the little tiny rubber shock mounts on the lower shroud were prone to failure and the shroud assembly would be sloppy.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

The '56 15's also rotated and I think the '55's might have also... Don't recall for sure now.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: WHY do people do this to their FASTWIN Cowl Supports?

Yea, that's entirely possible, although marineengine didn't show those models in their diagrams having that kind of shifter. They would have been easy enough to change over though. Just remove the two securing screws and replace.