I am pretty much in your situation.
Never owned one, but now have one. I have a 1955 Fleetwin Aquasonic 7.5, and looks like the same type of tank as well.
I took my motor to the local marine mechanic, and he stated it ran better than most he sees of that era and model.
I rebuilt the tank and restored it and it works great... a little time and research got the job done.
I had him explain to me proper operating procedures, and had him dial in the high and low speed fuel adjustment dials.
What i found was most important was the idle speed... if you can get a really solid low idle, it shows good stability of the motor.
I also found that it should start in just a few pulls, not having to crank on it 20 times before it starts.
He mentioned that the Coils looked good, and the carb was in good shape.
Just my 2 cents.
Havent tested it on my boat yet, but have a testing tank in my garage and found that I like the way it just kind of hums.
No sputtering or anything like that.
[url=https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=355431#p355431 said:
josh870 » Today, 07:40[/url]"]thanks for the advice!
about weight distribution, i weigh 140, i plan to have the tank and a 40lb battery behind me, and my buddy in front weighs 240, would that be ok? and what should i expect for speed? it goes 3mph with my 55lb trolling motor
is there anything specific i should look for when i see it run? keep in mind ive never had an outboard or a two stroke motor at all for that matter