TOPIC: 60 hp gale questions

Hey all,

I found on my local craigslist a 60hp gale for $50 obo. I am currently running a 40 hp johnson on my boat and would like a little more power.

I have a few questions about the gale.

To me it looks identical to an old evinrude v4 60hp. Are there any major differences?

What is the weight difference between my big twin 40 hp and the v4 60hp? I rebuilt the transom last year, so i know its strong enough to hold it, i was just wondering what the actual numbers are.

The biggest problem i see is that the gale is a longshaft and my boat needs a short shaft. Are the water tubes and driveshaft the only differences? Are short shaft driveshaft available? I do have a mill with an indexing head so i can cut the driveshaft down and re-cut the splines, but if i could find one for cheap i would rather do that.

sorry for the long post!


Scott

The 60hp Gale is the same powerhead etc as the 75hp Johnson and Evinrude. In 1964 a 60hp was added to the mainline offerings as an in between motor to bridge the gap from 40 to 75hp In 1964 the Big Twin 40 electric start weighed 146lbs and the V4 60hp weighed in at 221 lbs. The V4 motors were available in both 15" and 20" shaft lengths but shorts are very hard to find. In addition to having to modify the drive shaft and water tubes the shift shaft would also have to be shortened.

My understanding is that the 60hp gale is the 50hp powerhead (70.7ci) with the more streamlined 75hp lower unit. When Gale went away, the 60hp reappeared as Evinrude/Johnson models...

boatspecs.iboats.com/Evinrude__50012__50hp__1958/bpe/57e10387
boatspecs.iboats.com/Buccaneer-Gale__60DE10B__60hp__1960/bpe/57e14933

The 75hp powerhead was 89.5ci, which begat the 80, 85, 90, and 100hp models....

Did you buy the Gale V60?

60 impella 17,

WELCOME ABOARD.

IF he did not, he's "made an error", imVho, as at worst there is a couple of hundred dollars worth of parts on the Gale 60. = I saw a GALE SOVEREIGN hood sell for 200.oo, at an AOMCI "dry show" in 2011.
(It takes very little effort to upgrade the Gale to 75HP, as virtually nothing but the "cosmetics" are different than the equivalent parts on a Johnson or Evinrude.)

yours, satx

Good to know as I have come to possess one of these motors. Mine is 95% complete but I soon hope to have it running. I'm presently seeking parts.

So far.... we have found that all the parts from 1959 & 1960 Johnson and Evinrude 50 HP motors are interchangeable with our 60HP Sea King.
I believe that Gale would be also.

Larry
Vintage Boatworks

Larry,

Your Sea King IS a GALE.

yours, satx

satx,

I have the 60 hp Gale as well as a couple of 75 hp Evinrudes. What is involved in upgrading the 60 hp?

Thanks,
Paul

boatman,

While I've never done it myself (Unfortunately, I do NOT own a 60HP SOVEREIGN, though I have a suitable hull to take that much HP and I'm a GALE/SEA KING "fan".), the maintenance/repair book on GALE PRODUCTS (available on CD off ebay.com for 5.95 plus S&H) says that the SOVEREIGN is simply a 75HP Johnnyrude that was de-tuned (to placate the franchised Johnson & Evinrude dealers) & that that detuning is "easily reversed" by changing the jets in the carbs for the larger 75HP Johnnyrude size & doing, what the book describes as, "other relatively simple procedures".
(Virtually ALL 40+YO outboards will NEED points/plugs/wires/condensors/coils/water pump impeller/carbs re-done to ever run properly.)

Fwiw, the BEST-running outboard that I've ever owned was a forty HP 1962 Sovereign, that I paid 50.oo for at a garage sale.
(In case you're curious as to why I don't still have it, it was "washed away" during ANDREW.)

just my OPINION, satx

satx,

I'll pick up the CD since I have 4 V4 OMCs. Much more familiar with the 40hp and under motors.

I might just switch the carb off of a 75 or 80 hp to the Gale.

Thanks

boatman,

I frequently see perfectly suitable "parts motors" sitting about "unloved" for very little money (My 2nd cousin bought a 1965 model 75HP Evinrude that was "locked up" for 10 bucks a couple of years ago.= Robert needed a prop & some small parts & ended up selling the carbs & some other parts of his "junker" for 50.oo. = It's simply a matter of "looking about"), that you can strip for the parts that you need.

I wish you GOOD HUNTING. - To me, about HALF of this hobby is SEEKING the things that you need & rehabbing those things to return the boat/motor/trailer to a suitable/NICE condition.

yours, satx

boatman wrote:

I have the 60 hp Gale as well as a couple of 75 hp Evinrudes. What is involved in upgrading the 60 hp?

Boatman-- It's my understanding that the Gale powerhead is the one from old "fat fifty" (50hp), while the lower unit is from the 75hp.

I have no idea if the 75hp powerhead might swap onto your Gale (checking the base gasket part number is always a good first step).

Another approach if you like the look of the Gale, you might see if the "pan" (lower part of the engine cover) from the Gale might swap onto the 75 "leg"

Not sure, but I thought the Gale motors had the old 'heavy duty' split lower units, and the 75's all had the newer one piece units...???

55,

The Gales had the newer style pointed lower unit as shown in Larry's pic.

Not sure whether it was the 50 hp or 75 hp powerhead.

Paul

I'm quite sure that a Gale 60hp was a Fat Fifty powerhead with the pyramid-style reed blocks used in the 75hp, and higher-compression heads.

My brother had one of those on an old Glasspar and it wasn't too bad of a motor.

60 impella 17 wrote:

Did you buy the Gale V60?

I didn't end up buying the Gale, but not for lack of trying. The seller was very 'wishy washy" and i finally got fed up dealing with him. At first i started off emailing him from the craigslist ad, and he gave me his number but would never answer the phone or call me back.

i did find a little brown colored Gale Buccaneer 5hp that i picked up thought

motoscott909,

Well you aren't the only one with "seller's problems". = I recently wasted several days of my life trying to buy a "Texas-built one-off" boat/motor/trailer.
(I was STUPID enough to make TWO > 200 mile roundtrips to a little wide place in the road just North of Austin to "pick up" the rig.)

On the first trip, the seller said that his boss, at the last minute, sent him to see an important customer in Waco, less than ten minutes before I would have pulled into the driveway.
AND
Six days later, when I arrived on the property, his older sister had "a screaming fit"/temper tantrum at both of us saying, "I just cannot believe that you even considering selling Uncle Josh's boat and for peanuts".
SO
At least for the time being, I won't be buying the boat & the owner will leave it "sitting out in the weather", which is SAD as the boat is most likely "one of one".
(GGRRRRRRRR!!!)

yours, satx

I hear ya Satx,

As much as i love craigslist, sometimes i wish there was a better way.

This past weekend i found a sea-doo for sale about 45 minutes from my house for $200. Called the guy, got his address and told him i was on my way, and he told me all was set.

Showed up 45 minutes later to find the sea-doo loaded up in someone elses truck. he could have at least told me someone else was coming to look. I literally had talked to him less than an hour before.

So frustrating!!!

As stated by a few above on this thread -

The 60 absolutely is not the same as the 75hp.

the 60 has the smaller bore for a total of 70.7 cubes.

The 75 had larger bores for a total of 89.9 cubes.

The Evinrude 60 and 65, the Gale 60 and the sea King 60 were made using the fat 50 block. The "50" had open chamber heads (like the big twin engines) with tall top pistons. The later 60 through 65 hp engines had a lower piston crown and closed chamber heads that were cast to fit the contour of the piston top.

The "50" had horrible "leaf petal" reeds and reed cages. These reeds are rounded "petal" type and look like the reeds used in the big twin models. The 60-65 hp models received the improved "finger" reeds and cages used in the 75 - through 85 hp models.

The finger reeds and cages from any 75 - 85 HP V4 can be scrounged and installed into a Fat "50" to give it a little more pep and save a little bit of fuel. They will drop right into the "50"

The Gale had the "jetstream" lower unit as found on the 75 hp models. It was manual shift only - no electric option.

The hood of a Gale or Seaking will drop right on any Evinrude up through 1960. So the easiest way to get a Gale 60 to make 75 HP is to drop a gale lid on a Evinrude 75.

The Evinrude "commercial" motors were the only models made after 1959 that used the football - split case lower unit.

check this out

63 Sabre wrote:

check this out

Them's the ones!!!!