Re: Evinrude Model 39A?

[PM T2]

Hate to say it, but the fact is that without the serial number, its impossible to pin down an exact model year.

Some things to consider about your motor;

1. The Maxim Silencer muffler was standard equipment only in 1915; it was listed as an accessory in all other years that it was available.

2. Crankcase configuration can help determine if its a 1915-16 model or not. 1915 motors (at least some of them) had two-piece crankcases that were all bronze. This may have continued into the 1916 model year. The identification guide in the RBMJ currently lists the two-piece crankcase ending in 1914, but we know that to be a mistake that has been corrected in a later version of the index. The two-piece crankcase was superceded by the three piece design that consisted of a centre cast iron housing with upper & lower cover/bearing castings that were bronze. If you’ve got the three-piece crankcase then I’d strongly suspect the engine is later than 1916.

3. Your motor has the tilt lock apparatus on it. From many collectors viewpoint, this increases the desirability of the piece. It also adds to the weight, as it incorporates a larger and heavier transom bracket as well as the additional bracketry that forms the locking mechanism. The tilt lock thing was offered on multiple years, but I can tell you I’ve never seen it on a motor built before 1918, so that might lend a clue as well.

I do not think that it is a 1922 model, as the ’22’s had an aluminum stamping for a timer lever, with the points hidden beneath the flywheel; the timer lever on your motor is a bronze casting with the points visible on the side of it, and I’ll point out the obvious, and say that the end of the lever has been broken off.

So, with all that said, your motor is going to date somewhere between 1915 and 1921. That is about as small a window that I’m comfortable in suggesting at the moment.

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...