Projects for this coming winter

Hi again guys and gals, been a long time! 

Winter is here again. We're almost in December already and christmas is at the door. 

With winter comes mixed feelings: I very much dislike putting my cars in storage, it breaks my heart not to be able to enjoy driving them for a long time, but on the other hand I'm eager to get working on the cars to finish everything that has to get done before spring.

Last winter I had my 1973 Saab 96 repainted and spent some time working on that car. This winter I will mainly be focusing on my Miata. Here is a list of things that I will be doing and what I'm thinking of doing to it:

This will get done:

- Replacing timing belt, along with crank- and camshaft main seals

- replacing the water pump

- General service, including engine oil change, gearbox and differential oil changes, new spark plugs

- Installing a set of lowering springs

- get a set of brand new tires

- get a wheel alignment

Thinking of doing:

- replacing brake pads and discs

- building custom exhaust headers

- installing a 2.5" exhaust system

And just like any miata owner, I've come to the conclusion that the car is just fantastic but lacks some serious power. Therefore, some kind of forced induction is on my wishlist.. Turbo would be the easiest way to go but I like the idea of supercharging it.

So, lets see what happens!

Early sixties Monark Marin 4 hp

This weekend I got to enjoy one of the highlights of the year: the Juthbacka marknad. It translates to the Juthbacka fair/swap meet. It is the biggest fair of its type here in Finland and I always look forward to attend it. The thing I enjoy most is that it is a fair for the whole family: one can find everything from car parts, engines, tools, to antique furniture, clothes, kitchenware and so on.

This year I didn't find as much stuff as I would have liked to find. I need to start hoarding projects for the coming winter, you know, haha.

I did find one cool outboard motor, though. This is an early 1960's swedish made Monark 4 hp.  Got it for the grand total of 15 €! 

The engine is one cylinder, air cooled, approximately 77 cc. It has got an internal 1.5 litre gas tank plus a connector for an external tank, which is a really cool feature! It is direct drive.

I got it to run after just a little bit of tinkering but I still need to get it to run well. Here are some pictures of it. Enjoy!

Note fuel pump and connector for an external tank

A perfect combo

A classic car, a classic boat and a classic outboard. Just a lovely combo!

1973 Saab 96 V4, 195X wooden boat and a 1951 2.5 hp Johnson HD-26.

The boat has been coated with fiberglass from the outside but the inside remains the way it should be. Plain wood with a lovely smell of tar oil.

1963 Evinrude Sportwin 10 hp

Today I took my 1963 Sportwin out for its first successful outing on the lake in 20 years. I'd like to point out the word successful since last time I tried it a few weeks ago the outing ended with a shattered water pump impeller and a heat seized engine.. Oh well. Back to the workshop!

Here is what the impeller looked like after last time

I replaced the impeller and thermostat and went through the entire engine to check for damage from the seizure, luckily nothing was damaged.

Here is a short video of it running

Here comes a couple of pics from the outing. What a lovely little engine that Sportwin is!

Note the matching Evinrude Cruis-a-day six gallon tank

Ongoing projects: 1958 Husqvarna typ 80 A

..and we have a winner on guessing the engine. Mr Boyd Peters guessed that it is a Husqvarna, and it is. Sadly, I can't give any other prizes than fame and glory, haha!

This is a 1958 Husqvarna typ 80 A. No, typ is not misspelled. This is how they write type in swedish.

Back in 1958, Husqvarna bought the rights to produce an engine designed by another Swedish outboard manufacturer called Aldell. Aldell had produced outboards since the early 1950's. 

This engine is one cylinder, air cooled, 77cc's (therefore named typ 80). It uses traditional points and condenser-ignition, the system is designed by Stefa. It also has a lighting coil for the 6 volt power outlet.

Anyway, this is it for this time. More info in the next update. This is how far I've come to date. A little more had to be done before it can be test ran, but the end is near now!

Ongoing projects: mystery engine!

A little something from the Petrolist workshop. Just repainted this engine since its original paintwork was too far gone to save. More on the progress of this one later.

Anyone care to take a guess at what it is?

I know, and I'll tell you in the next update.

1975 Evinrude Fisherman 6 hp - For sale

This is my '75 6 hp Evinrude Fisherman. This one is about as good as they get. It is all original and unrestored, and as close to brand new as possible without being NOS. This one came to me in a bundle deal with my 1977 Seagull Silver Century and a 1965 Evinrude Yachtwin 3 hp.

It is an alternate firing twin, with external ignition coils. It is equipped with points and condenser ignition. Just a few years later OMC went to cdi ignition in their outboards.

The petrol comes from an external tank and is delivered to the carburetor by an impulse fuel pump. The carburetor has an adjustable low speed needle but fixed high speed needle.

The Fisherman has a regular F-N-R gearbox that drives a two blade propeller. It also features a 6 volt power outlet for powering lanterns and such on the boat.

As the title says, this one is for sale, as I have to start selling off some of my collection. More pictures are of course available and sensible offers are welcome.

Power outlet

Not usually taking pics of the inside of the engine cover, but when did you last see one this clean and spotless?

Ongoing projects: 1969 Kiekhaefer Mercury Merc 200 20 hp

I have decided to start a new series of posts on this blog. This series is called ongoing projects. I don't think the title needs any further explanations.

I, just like any other engine collector and restorer, have engines that fit into several different categories. Running engines that need no work, minor projects that need some service work and such, and long time projects. Some even have a so called some day-category, which contains projects that are going to be addressed some day.

Ongoing projects contains engines that need more work than others and doesn't have to keep a timeschedule per se. Of course I'd like to finish any project as soon as possible but I've realized that time is not on my side every day.

Anyway, on to the first engine of this series. This is a 1969 Kiekhaefer Mercury Merc 200 20 hp. This one is in a very rough shape at first glance, but underneath all the dirt and grime is a real diamond in the rough to be found. 

The engine is seized from sitting at the moment, but I have it soaking in wd-40 as we speak so it should free it right up. 

The engine is complete part wise, all that is missing is the prop (no big deal) and the chrome plated face plate. If anyone has got one, give me a heads up! 

This engine is probably going to need new coils, condensers, points, impeller, all new main gaskets, plus a carburetor cleaning. Then I'll have to decide what to do about the cosmetics. Right now, I figure I'm going to gice the paint job a real good rubbing to see what can be saved. Otherwise I'll probably have to paint and apply new decals.