Welcome to the club Jerome – Yes a model 8008 – which became the Evinrude Big Four with a change in the stern brackets. We featured them in one of our Florida meets and I was told seven showed up. Dad worked it The Evinrude Experimental Engineering department when the first Big fours were built. Many changes were made to boost horse power for racing and the Racing 460 that resulted was the King of speed for many years. When WW2 broke out the armed surfaces wanted a portable fast assault boat to move troops to the beaches. The 460 was detuned for easy starting and dependability. The compression was lowered and the carburetor opening in the crankcase was necked down for smoother idling. A storm boat motor was supposed to put a squad of soldiers on the beach at 35 Miles Per Hour. It was attached to the boat with two rods that allowed the motor to be levered completely into the boat To raise the transom the keep water out, make the motor less of o target and make repares when necessary. As a 16 year old I ran Dad’s modified Big four on 14 foot Speedliner. It ran 50 MPH, It is one of my Favorite motors.
Early Big Four
Racing 460
Model 8008
