1958 Johnson RDS-20 35hp rebuild

Johnny · Aug 9, 2017

Hello Bart, and Welcome to TinBoats !!
we like to see photos of the vintage outfits.

Johnny · Aug 9, 2017

great job on the repaint, Shaugh !!
did you go with the gloss white or a toned down color?
I will be using the tan tinted white - sort of like the biscuit color.

.

Shaugh · Aug 9, 2017

Johnny,
I decided to try this motor on a budget. Instead of mixing up expensive 2 part urethane for the base coats I used spray can Rustoleum enamels... Canvas white which is very cream colored and burnished brass metallic.

Sprayed those on and let them dry for several days till I was sure they were fully cured, steel wooled, then when back and clear coated with a 2 part urethane clear... it seems to have worked very well. Finish is diamond hard now and seems very durable.

I wanted to keep the controls matched to the motor .... the controls I got were a mess with several coats of sky blue and black paint over it. Got it stripped down and painted.... Not sure I'm happy with it... might get rid of the gold and just stay all canvas white ?

nccatfisher · Aug 9, 2017

Shaugh said:
Johnny,
I decided to try this motor on a budget. Instead of mixing up expensive 2 part urethane for the base coats I used spray can Rustoleum enamels... Canvas white which is very cream colored and burnished brass metallic.

Sprayed those on and let them dry for several days till I was sure they were fully cured, steel wooled, then when back and clear coated with a 2 part urethane clear... it seems to have worked very well. Finish is diamond hard now and seems very durable.

I wanted to keep the controls matched to the motor .... the controls I got were a mess with several coats of sky blue and black paint over it. Got it stripped down and painted.... Not sure I'm happy with it... might get rid of the gold and just stay all canvas white ?

I think they look great.

Pappy · Aug 9, 2017

Amazing job so far!!
These are great looking vintage engines in my opinion. I just worked on one the other day about a thousand miles from here (not kidding). The guy loved the engine and doesn't even have a boat for it!

satx78247 · Aug 9, 2017

Shaugh,

PURTY Big Twin!!!

IF it had been my 35 Johnny, I'd have stripped it for every possible reusable part & scrapped the rest.
(I must have bought at least a dozen of these Big Twins over the last 3-4 years & never paid more than 50.oo for any of them. = My TREASURE is a 1957 Johnson 18HP with factory electric starting (and with less than 50 hours), including all the controls for 40.oo from a Southside garage sale.)

TRUTH is that the 35-40HP Johnnyrudes just are NOT at all rare (in repairable condition) & there are LOTS of them around.
(I've been known to buy & strip 3 "junk" Big Twins to get enough parts for ONE really good motor. = About 18 months ago, I bought FOUR Johnny 35 OBs from a scrap metal yard for 20.oo & made 2 good motors from them & sold what was left of the 3rd on craigslist for about 25.00. - The ONLY part of the 4th OB that was worth saving was the cowl.)

All of my "garage-sale Johnnies" get a carb kit, new coils, points, plugs, condensers & water pump impeller, from the local NAPA auto parts store. - After doing that, if they weren't STUCK, most will fire right up with fresh fuel/a hot battery & run fine for decades. = It is my contention that the Big Twins are the most over-engineered OBs ever.
(Incidentally, if I can successfully "cobble-together" a GREAT-running Big Twin, using a copy of CHEAP OUTBOARDS: The Beginner's Guide to making an Old Motor Run Forever, anyone can as I'm NO mechanic.)

just my OPINION, satx

Shaugh · Aug 10, 2017

Wow satx78247, that's an impressive resume... I'd love to see some photos of your collection ?

satx78247 · Aug 10, 2017

Shaugh,

I don't own a camera nor do I know how to use one competently but I'll see if I can get my adult daughter to make/post photos of my BT collection, the next time that she comes to visit from Austin.

Btw, "my pride & joy" is my one-owner/seldom used 1957 Eighteen HP Johnson, with factory electric start, which is NOT restored. = All that I did to it is thoroughly clean/polish it, as it was always stored inside the PO's garage, until his untimely passing.
(So far I haven't mounted it on a boat, as I'm looking for a 1957 YELLOW JACKET runabout/Dal-Tex trailer to display it for shows.)

yours, satx

Bart · Aug 12, 2017

Johnny said:
Hello Bart, and Welcome to TinBoats !!
we like to see photos of the vintage outfits.

Here is a pic of the Evinrude Lark 35. It is a tiller with push button start and kill switches. It pushes the 16 ft Starcraft along really well. I bought the boat motor and trailer on an auction this spring for $175.00. It hadn't been used in about 10 years. It started right up even with the old gas in the tank. I put new points, water pump, lower unit seals, and fresh gas and lower unit lube and it runs great. I will get some pictures of the boat when I get a chance. It was dark when I took this.

satx78247 · Aug 12, 2017

Bart,

You really also should change out both coils & the 2 condensers. = The old Big Twins have a couple of weaknesses & the COILS are the MAIN one.

Otherwise, they are "nearly bullet-proof" & last for decades, with even minimal care.
(My loony cousin borrowed my "using tinny" some years ago, after I told him that it needed to be refilled on 2-CYCLE fuel. - When he brought it home that night, he said, "You need to do something about the motor, as it gets 'hotter than H' after it's been run a few miles". = You guessed: He added NO oil added to the gas, when he filled it up. -----> Fyi, after the tank was PROPERLY refilled on oil/gas mixture the next day, it started right back up & has run well for another few years. - I don't know any other OB that would take that horrible abuse!!!)

yours, satx

Johnny · Aug 12, 2017

also - I believe these '57, '58 and '59 Big Twins take 24:1 gas/oil mix - not 50:1

Bart · Aug 12, 2017

I have been running 24:1 Pennzoil Watercraft. I did replace the condensers along with the points. The coils look like they have been updated in the past.

Pappy · Aug 12, 2017

Here is a video of an RDS-20 in action. Hope you like it. If you want to just see the one engine then look at the beginning then look around the 14 minute mark. If you want to see more of the incredible Suwanee river then check out the video I did around Sept. '16 I think.
We do at least one 100 mile cruise with the vintage and antique engines up there per year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42AXu-ruk4w

Shaugh · Aug 12, 2017

Great movies Pappy.. Super Quiet it is.... That K boat with a 35 must be a swift runner .. you're making me want a tiller handle to try it on mine... I thought about doing it but it just seemed like too much motor for that boat .... I'm feeling much braver after watching you...

Pappy · Aug 13, 2017

The model K is a perfect boat for a 35. That boat has had a 60 cu. in. 50hp 4 cyl. opposed engine in it as well and handles it nicely as long as there is weight onboard besides myself.
Have even run a 57 Johnson 35 on my model R 12'. Also runs well. Runs a bit better with a 1954 25hp on it though as the engine is a bit lighter.

Shaugh · Aug 13, 2017

I might get there some day... will need to find a tiller handle or rig something up....

One other part I'm in need of is the center emblem for this switch plate:

My dashboard is already drilled for it so I need to use the one I have from another boat.. unfortunately that one has an evinrude center emblem. I understand I could also put small ammeter in there too ?... any help or links appreciated.

Shaugh · Oct 2, 2017

Weather is turning nice... started making progress on the boat. Got the trailer cleaned up and the boat stripped and reassembled... put in 230 pop rivets by hand this weekend.... my hands hurt...