Getting the Scott to Fly

So its May of 2013 and Summer is just around the corner. Time to get the Scott running. The first order of business was to seek help from the members at  FiberGlassics.com. This is my journey as I was led by their advice.

The First Order of business was the starter. While I already had two starters, I came across a listing on Craigs list for a 58-59 Scott McCulloch 60hp for $50 in Folbrook, CA. I have a broken latch on the port side of the motor housing and this one has both levers in tact, so given the price and proximity I had to own this motor.

The 58-59 60hp McCulloch outboard motor (white head) has some different parts than the 60-61 (red head). Most notibly (that I've seen so far) is that the carburators are different and the motor uses three coils fired off a magneto rather than my 60-61 that uses a single coil and an automotive type points and distributor. But the good news is the starter is the same! So I sent my 3rd starter to my buddy and they refurbished it and I bolted it on my motor.

Get it to Spin
Then it was off to O'Reilly's for a new Marine battery, new battery cables, and a new starter solenoid. The goal was to spin the motor with the plugs in.

The members at FiberGlassics gave me several suggestions for the starter including putting a ground strap from the starter directly to the solenoid.

So I made new cables (from a set of 6 gauge jumper cables) and mounted the starter with the new starter solenoid and turned the key. The motor turned about a 1/2 turn and stopped. I pulled the plugs and the motor would spin and spin just fine. (Update: See my post on Feb 2014... there's a problem with these battery cables. I used them all summer but have replaced them.)

Then my buddy suggested I charge the new battery overnight. The next morning I turned the key and the motor started spinning with the plugs in. Sure it wouldn't start, but the "starter" issue was solved. (Really Advanced Marine? What did I do that was different than what you did? hummm...)

Do we have Fuel?
So now we are spinning next up do we have fuel? You will see in this photo the fuel pump is not original. This is a crankcase pressure activated fuel pump and this one only had one pressure line connected the other pressure line had a screw into to block it off. So I pulled the fuel pump off the donor motor and ordered a new diaphragm from Laings Outboard.

I removed the carbs and cleaned them (mine were actually in pretty good shape. Usually old carbs have a lot of gunk from fuel residue but these had been gone through by the previous owner. I did find one significant problem. These carbs are Carter N series PN 3008S and have a fixed jet metering rod. This is spring loaded and rises and falls with the rotation of the cam on the top of the carb. I found that one of the carbs had a messed up metering rod spring and pin. The metering rod was stuck in place next to the pin (rather than sitting on top of the pin and moving up and down). I made a new pin out of a nail head and a small spring solved the problem.

I went to Napa Auto Parts looking for the Carter N gaskets, but all they had was a $30 rebuild kit and I needed 3. So I went with $10 of do it yourself Mr. Gasket gasket material. I made a new fuel pump gasket and three Carter-N style gaskets.

So with the refurbished fuel pump, carbs cleaned, new fuel lines and fresh gas mixed 50:1 with outboard motor 2-cycle oil, I twisted the key again... and she fired to life... sort of.

The motor would fire occasionally but only on full throttle and then it wont start again for a while. It would just turn over but wouldn't fire. Then something funny(ish) happened. The el-cheapo starter solenoid failed locking in the on position sending me running to disconnect the battery as the motor just turned and turned for what seemed like an eternity. I was sure I'd fry the starter. (so much for a bad starter...) I was able to disconnect before I burned up the starter and so I reinstalled the original starter solenoid.

Do we have Fire?
Next up is the ignition and spark. The first thing I did was get some new spark plugs. The spark looked a weak so we replaced the plug wires, points and condenser. The plug wire kit I bought is an 8 cyl kit so I have extra wires.

Edit: I originally bought the Accel 4041 suppression core wires and found out I needed to use solid (copper) core wires.

Here's my parts list. Try the PN's in bold they should be readily available  at your local parts store.

• Plugs:  Champion J6JM, Autolite 303
• Points: Niehoff SE-332B-135, Intermotor MA346
• Condenser: Neihoff DR24, BWD G120A

The spark was still weak so I pulled the distributor cap to clean the rotor and contacts and I found that the carbon brush was stuck in the distributor cap and not touching the rotor. I drilled a small hole through the pocket where the coil wire goes in and was able to push out the carbon brush with the other end of the drill bit. (I re-filled the hole with a drop of silicon.) The spring was rusted and crumbling. I was able to cleanup the pocket and replace the spring. I'd love to get a new distributor cap, but haven't been able to find a replacement.

With everything replaced, I pressed the choke button and twisted the key and she rumbled to life! I spent a little time adjusting the idle screws on the carbs and now the motor starts, idles and revs ups nicely.

Next up the water trial!

This post includes most of what is contained in these postings on FiberGlassics.com. But for more information, here are the complete posts:

• Original Flying Scott... should I even try?
• Help Tuning my Flying Scott 60