Re: Best years for OMC 10 horse?

[jeff-register]

I agree too!
The older motors have charactor & are fragile but are so basic & simple too. I just treat them accordingly & don’t run them at full throttle for long runs. I over power the boat so no running hard with an oversize motors. The weak rods are not the best without bearings. The 1950 Mercury’s were fully bearinged. I not sure how far the Evinrude started running real bearings, not bushings. They all are fun at any rate if it is rebuilt correctly. Even my Firestone collection runs very well. The original Scotts had many needle bearings too. I like the studs & nuts used on the head bolts too. Each brand had great quality’s like early fuel pumps & remote tanks like many other brands. Then again my 85hp Evinrude 1978 motor is no oldie but is much better on fuel & oil mixture but the tight tolarances on the newer motor when I bought it. It seems to be in the transision period but still a super motor. Didn’t mean Johnson is weak, just the early rods were & at the time OMC corrected their bad design. Every brand had weak & strong points to sell the builds. My Firestones too had needed imporovements on the sealing of the gearcases too. The driveshaft seal is almost a lost cause too, but adding a second seal helped very much too. That required our friend Frank to add his golden touch to the assembly too.
Jeff