A few of them have been known to catch fire, but there’s a reason for that. Clean the carb, fuel pipe, and tank thoroughly before trying to run it. The carb especially is finicky when it comes to being cleaned out properly. It can flood if there’s any dirt left in it that interferes with the inlet needle and seat and that flooding can cause it to back fire out through the carb, or it gets ignited by the spark plug wires which usually didn’t have insulating boots on them… at any rate, it reaches the point the motor now becomes a big gas-powered torch that is not easy to extinguish. But if you prep it correctly, you don’t have to worry about that.
There’s also a vent tube in the gas tank that needs to be clear, you can usually see it in the filler neck with the cap off. Otherwise, they’re about the same as any other motor. Do the basic mechanical work as on any other old outboard. They do run very smooth and will idle down to nothing. Parts availability? They made a pezillion of the damned things so finding a parts motor shouldn’t be too hard if you get out to club events or get to know other collectors in your area. Model 4404 is one of the most common ones I’ve seen around FWIW.
Hope this helps.
Best,
PM T2
He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...
