Fix or part out? 1956 Johnson 18hp

Holy cow! That insurance cost for a 22 year old truck is high, but I don't have to tell you that. I don't understand their reasoning why they won't let you insure for liability only.

To get a bit back on topic, I can get an 18 right now for $50 and prob will grab it when I'm next out that way, even though I don't have any real need for it. I just like 18s. They run like crazy, parts are available, and they aren't really worth squat these days.

Just about any one part of that 18hp is worth $50.
I just parted out an 80's Mercury 20hp that wouldn't sell, I couldn't get $250 for it, it needed a carb cleaning and water pump impeller. I got $50 for the prop, $200 for the power head, and $300 for the lower unit. Then my neighbor listed the bag of bolts from it on fleabay and got me another $30. The carb later sold for $70, the clamp screws and cups brought $40, and the oil tank and pump brought $125 all online.

Wow, where do you live? That kinda stuff I'd have to give away. Only way to get anything for it is on ebay. I'm the only guy for miles around who messes with old motors. That 18 did sell though. Then again it is July.

I did part it out on eBay, locally, nothing sells, not even newer motors it seems.
Up until last year or so the older motors were king, but now boats, motors, fishing tackle are all dead items.
Everything seems to be about cheap or free. The problem now is that even eBay has been dead. There's a few guys around here that always parted out motors on ebay but they all quit bothering because too many items just sat unsold. It wasn't that no one wanted them, it was that no one would pay more than a couple dollars for them and the shipping costs now killed the selling price.
OMC 9.9/15hp motors were always king, now they are dead items, and trip down to any of the local boat ramps tells the story.
You'll see a few jetski trailers hitched up to brand new Jeeps or Toyota 4x4's, maybe one or two big trailers belonging to a 19ft or so 'fun' boat out pulling a tube, usually a new rig pulled by a brand new truck, but no fishermen, no older trucks and trailers, and on the water its eerily quiet most of the day. The jetskis have their fun zipping around for a while but those are gone by mid day. A few years ago it was zoo 24/7 on the water here from the minute the weather broke till it got cold. They used to have to force the boat owners to come get their boats because they were pulling in the docks for the winter. Now the don't put out but a fraction of their docks and most of them go unused.
Those who can afford to buy new don't seem affected but they also don't run the river, they go to the shore or beach and their toys live in the water all year but even those areas appear to be fairly empty lately. I started to notice it two years ago all along the shore. As a truck driver who delivered to various marinas and dealers regularly it wasn't hard to see that they had no business left even in the middle of the boating season. Between the economy being in the tank and the cost of gas and food more than quadrupling in the past few years its likely made most choose between their boats and putting food on the table. Its been downhill here since they announced the minimum wage increase to $15.13/hr. Right away about half the jobs ran to other states with only a $7.25/hr min. wage. It drove up the cost of gas, food, cars, boats, everything and now no one can afford anything. Businesses left in droves and stores are failed.

That all sounds very familiar. Had a guy offer me $250 for a like new OMC 9.9. Told him I'd sell him a pair of oars. Boats, bikes, motors all down right now. 30-40%, maybe more.

One thing different here is the lake is pretty busy at times. A weekday morning or less than perfect weather and it's not too bad. Way too many jet skis. They look like fun, but to be honest they pi$$ me off. Seem to take way too long to launch and retrieve. Seldom just one, several guys all wanting out or in at the same time.

I could do without the noise too. Sure some boats are anything but quiet, but my dream of living right on the lake faded when jet skis came to be. For over 20 years now you hear them almost all day long in the summer.

LDUBS said:

For Walmart out of stock stuff, I've ordered online with delivery to the nearest store for pick up. That might be an option for your 2 stroke oil.

Your boat registration fee is higher than ours, though our governor tried to increase some of the boat registration fees by 400% in this year's budget. I'm not sure where that stands, but suspect it didn't happen because I haven't heard anything new about it. Car registrations can be put on hold if the vehicle is non-operational. California, and it sounds like NJ, does not allow boat registrations to lapse because of non-operation. So even if the boat sits the annual registration is required. Let it lapse and back registration is due, like the position you find yourself in.

We also have to pay an unsecured personal property tax on boats (a "luxury tax" in reality). Mine is over $200 per year. Last time they tried to increase the value of my boat to 24% more than I paid for it in 2018. They said because of market conditions. I challenged and got a reduction. Ba$tard$ are out to grab money anywhere they can. Current thinking seems to be everyone should be happy living hand to mouth.

Click to expand...

I went and ordered oil from Walmart last week, but after two weeks the CC payment was refunded or dropped and when I got to the site now it reads 'Sorry this item is out of stock online'.
They dinged the card, held it for a week then dropped the order without any notice.

Now when I search it its gone completely under the same number and they show a DFI/TC-W3 oil now but its also showing Out of Stock Online.
The store has neither on the shelves. They have no 2 stroke oil at all, but the empty shelf says they had it for $28.58/gal. at one time.

My guess is they're about to jack up the price when it comes back in stock, if it ever does, so they won't put it on back order at the old price.


Our only 'property tax' is on our house and property but we pay sky high car insurance and home owners insurance.
The latest thing is homeowners insurance companies refusing to insure a property with a boat, diesel truck, any trailers, or outbuilding, or any place without a full security system.
I got dropped again this year because my house has iron drain pipes and copper plumbing. They only allow PEX tubing I've been told. Another one dropped me for not having a new roof, telling me that they won't insure a roof older than 5 years old. Mine is 11 years old with a 50yr shingles. I've been here for years with no issues all of a sudden I can't get insurance.
The same with my trucks and cars. I sold my motorcycle because they wanted $2,300 for liability only, but all years prior were never over $150 for the past 18 years. No insurance company will insure any house with a dog for any amount of money.

When it comes to property tax they keep increasing the size of my house on paper, hey have it nearly double the actual size and their argument is that its up to me to prove them wrong.
They did it about 6 years ago and I had to hire an attorney to fight it, now they changed it back and refuse to change it. They're arguing with me about the exterior foot print of the house. They somehow can't read a tape measure. we were told that property taxes and assessments are going to double over the next three years. Two of the largest homes on the street just sold, one at $145k the other at $185k both are larger than mine and on double lots. My house is 800 sq ft. Those were 1,400 and 2,200 sq/ft and multi story homes.

Right now the measurement they keep telling me is larger than the lot width in either direction. No house in this neighborhood is that big.

A few years ago they tried to ban boats here, they tried to force everyone to pay for storage or put them in the garage. Not everybody has a garage and it turned out that a relative of the mayor then owned the four local boat storage facilities.


More on topic here, I just saw there's a few older motors on cl, the pricing just 4hrs away is way different.


NJ
https://southjersey.craigslist.org/bpo/d/riverton-vintage-hp-evinrude-outboard/7758763009.html

RI
https://providence.craigslist.org/bpo/d/riverside-18hp-evinrude/7750751071.html

Seafarer, that is some crazy stuff. And I thought my state was bad.

I went to Walmart here the other day and they told me that the Universal Outboard oil is discontinued, replaced with an all purpose version good for DFI and TC-W3 motors. But of course they didn't have any and said they didn't know if or when they'll get any back in. They again blamed it on 'supply chain issues'. They don't have anything these days. Its always a wasted trip.

I sold my motorcycle when they suddenly wanted $3k for insurance after paying $75 a year for the last 40 years or so.

They started rating bikes in engine size classes. Anything over 1,000 cc got hit hard with my quote being $3,100 a year, from 750 to 999cc was around $850 a year, and 250 to 749cc was $750, and everything under 250cc was $650. That was a few years ago, its gone up since then. I've got a perfect driving record and never had a claim in my life but I'm single and own a home so I pay nearly double. If I was married with a ton of debt and no property I was told my rates would be far cheaper. I guess their worried about a gray hair old man going out tearing up the town or something.

There's been a 9.9hp Honda listed here on CL now all summer for $500 with no takers. I think it said 2009. Its a great price but only if the seller can find someone with $500 to spend these days.

There's been a rumor that since its our governors last year in office he's going to jack up all the state fees since he can't run again. All the DMV fees just went up a few years ago, now they're going to double again.

A buddy used to do that every time he went fishing so he didn't have to spend the $23.50 for the whole year. He would wait till the stripers were running here, then tag the boat up, and then go cancel the registration on Monday. Then do the same thing about 10 times a year. He did the same with his truck. He would transfer the tags between his pickup that towed the boat and his work van every weekend. He spent more time in the DMV than he did fishing or driving. He would take vehicles off the road too when the grace period was up for inspection after two weeks, then tag another one for another two weeks. That way he never had to fix anything.

When he died his truck still had a 1974 inspection sticker on it. He towed his boat with a truck so rusted out he had to put his tackle box on the seat so it didn't fall through the floor. He had pried the spring out of the parking brake pedal assembly so he could use it as the main brake. The brake lines rotted away so long ago they were completely missing. The only thing he ever fixed was the air conditioning. His van, his cars, and his house were all in the same shape.

He also insisted on his senior and military discounts everywhere he went, combined. If not he'd walk out and go elsewhere even if it were only a $2 sale. He avoided a few stores because they put a rule in place that in order to get a senior discount you had to spend $25 min.
Not that there's anything wrong with that but he'd wait till they rang it up then insisted on the discounts. That way they couldn't say they're included.

His outboard was a 1968 6hp Johnson with one intermittent coil and a hole cut in the mid section with a bilge pump for a water pump plumbed into the side of the motor and the pump bolted or strapped to the bottom of an old trolling motor shaft and clamp.
He died before this mess we have going on now even started but it seems there's hundreds more just like that around here.

I sold a guy a used push mower for $35, it was fairly new and in great shape. That was last summer. I got a call from him a few weeks ago saying I over charged him and he can get one for $25 off his neighbor, and he feels I should either take the mower back or give him the $10 I 'overcharged' him. After several of the comments I made to him, he likely won't be coming around here anytime soon.

I sold a boat with a junk motor on it to a guy about 7 years ago. I had bought it at an auction just after Hurricane Sandy just for the lower unit and SS prop for my boat. The rest was a major project. (17ft glass center console). The hull was okay but had a few bumps and bruises but the rub rail was torn up a bit and the power head had gotten battered up pretty bad, maybe even flooded with seawater. I advertised it for $750, as is, storm damaged boat with bad motor and damage'. This guy buys it for cash, and leaves. I never heard from him again. He called me the other day telling me he's bringing the boat back because he can't afford to keep it, he wants his money back. I dared him to bring it back.
The fact that anyone would even think that such a request was okay is insane but its getting super common.
I though it was bad when people used to steal from yard sales here then come back later on and want a refund.

I'm seeing similar crap around here. One thing, when I sell something I tell them up front: You better be sure you want this, because you are not getting your money back. I didn't get a guarantee when I bought it, you're not getting one from me. It could work for years, it could quit today. If you come back with it, I WILL call the police. So far nobody has come back. People know better than this. They just think they can bully you into a refund. Nope. Not happening.

One other tip for you. I have State Farm insurance on my house. I insure my bike through my homeowners ins for a little over a hundro a year. Been nearly the same price 20 years. It does NOT cover damage to the bike itself and I CANNOT loan it to anyone else. Just covers me and passengers if any. You might want to check into it.

The whole neighborhood had a block wide yardsale a couple of years ago. he idea started with one neighbor who was moving, and another who was trying to liquidate the contents of their dad's house after he passed. In all 17 houses were involved centered around the intersection of two streets.

The house on the corner has a huge parking area out front and a lot of people set up tables there vs on their own yards. We started at 7am on Sat. and ran till 5pm and again on Sunday till 3pm. Right away the family next door caught a woman stealing clothes, they caught them on camera. She was sliding clothes off the table onto a tub she pulled out from under a table, then she then straddled the tub and squatted down, and shoved the pile into a bag under her dress. When they confronted her five of her friends al took her side and swore she bought all that stuff at another yardsale. The cops were called, they arrested her after seeing the vid and her friends went nuts and upset all the tables there, then they arrested two more of them.

In the commotion, after they picked up all the tables others realized they had items stolen while they were watching the incident go down. Then later in the day they all started to have people come back with the stolen items wanting their money back. The next day, the woman who got arrested was back again trying to return things she didn't buy. The police were called but didn't respond till the next day. Those that came back wanting money back created a similar scene at every place they went to wanting their money back for items they stole.

I sold a 14ft boat to a guy back in 2007, it came from the estate of a family friend who passed away. The boat ran fine, had a then two year old 50hp motor and the trailer was rebuilt by me the year before. His widow just wanted it gone and dropped it and his truck off at my house the day she moved to FL two months after his funeral.

I was going to keep the motor myself but decided to stick with what I had so I listed the boat as it sat. It sold for $3,500, after being listed for four months. The motor was the main value, the boat was an older Northport Troller 17ft with a Load Rite trailer and Mercury 50hp 4 stroke. The boat was decent but older with just a side console and older fish finder. The buyer paid cash after taking a month to make up his mind. That was in March of 2008.

The buyer called me back in January saying he feels he overpaid and that the boat won't start and was asking what I was going to do about. ITS BEEN 15 YEARS. He tells me he brought the boat home and parked it in the driveway and never used it now it won't start, it won't do anything.

I thought it was a joke, but the guy was dead serious. He goes on to tell he needed me to come get it and give him his money back Then he tells me the tires are flat but that's my problem. I told him he's SOL and don't call back. He called the police saying I ripped him off and sold him a junk boat. The officer who showed up here knew the original owner. They warned the guy to stay away but he got nasty with the police and ended up getting arrested for beating his fist on a patrol car and threatening the officer who responded.

He called once more but I just called the same officer and they paid him another visit and I've not heard from him since.

At the fleamarket they now put a policy in place that requires sellers to give refunds without question or get banned. I haven't been there in years now. Its likely why so many people just throw things away now to avoid the BS of selling it.

This is getting out of hand! are people in general stupid or just plain evil? I guess it's part of the new cover all way of living, that is " It's not my fault!"

We gave up doing yardsales here because of the theft. They worked in teams. It took 10 people to guard your stuff then you got the people who would show up claiming they bought something and wanted their money back for it.

It got to the point where we would put a few items in the ad that we didn't have that were common scammer returns. We had a couple show up trying to return a large screen TV that they said didn't work, but we never had one, but the ad listed it. By the end of the day we had four people try to return a TV.