The rebirth of a 25 hp Sea Horse Johnson outboard motor
The original owner saw the potential for the engine and ordered many of the parts to repair it in 1973
Here is an update on a story we ran last year but first, lets recap.
Back in the early ‘70s, an Auckland bloke gets hold of a 25 hp Sea Horse Johnson outboard motor – it’s knackered but he sees it has potential.
He takes it all to pieces, orders all the bits to get it up and running again then wraps it up, bits and all, in a New Zealand Herald newspaper and packs it in a box, presumably as a rainy day project.
For reference, the outboard was manufactured in 1970 and the Herald is from December 1975.
The years tick by.
All the parts were put away in a box and forgotten about for over 40 years
The bloke dies and his son finds the Johnson outboard box-a-bits while clearing out his dad’s old shed.
Its now 2018.
The outboard is 48 years old and the Herald is 43 years old. The old outboard is still knackered, still wrapped in newspaper and of course, it still has potential.
The son of the bloke, finds another bloke, who is keen to take the rebuild of the Johnson on. “Sure thing, I’ll get it all up and running again mate – I’ll take a punt. Sounds like a fun rainy day project for me and my shed”.
Thing is, this bloke lives on Great Barrier Island, but being a good friend and desperate to get rid of the box-a-bits, the son of the original bloke pays a huge sum and ships the box off to The Barrier.
Its now 2019.
The box-a-bits arrives on The Barrier
The Herald newspaper all the parts were wrapped in was still in great condition.
After a mega search for obscure rubber grommets and knobs and bits and bobs, it turns out eBay is an Aladdin’s Cave of old Johnson outboard stuff.
The Americans love these Johnson outboards and you can still buy practically everything you need to repair or refurbish these engines. They use them a lot in fresh water lake apparently.
Details like this plate help when sourcing parts – thankfully is was there
eBay abounds with parts for this motor
The punt was worth it. The Barrier bloke has had many a fun hour and been kept very busy this summer in his old shed, restoring and getting this box-a-bits on the water again. The recent sea trial of the outboard on a borrowed boat was a complete success and the Johnson runs smooth as. Job done.
The Barrier bloke will be forever in debt to his old friend and his dad.
Restored and looking like new
New decals and knobs
All that’s left to do is the sea trial
