TOPIC: 1964 14' Sears Runabout (Sears140)

So while visiting relatives my wife was offered the opportunity to buy this boat (for 400.00) from my great aunt. It was purchased by my great aunt and great uncle new from sears many years ago and was used on a small lake on our family land in Texas mostly for family reunions. I am told it originally came with a sears 25hp motor but was upgraded to the evinrude 35hp to help with pulling skiers. I was basically used once a year for a few years (stored in a barn under a cover in between uses) then put away permanently. It has been covered in the barn for 20+ years.

From the picture it looks like a 1964 sears 14' runabout. The emblem says "Sears 140". The outboard motor says evinrude 35. That is about all the info I currently have.

The trailer looks a bit sketchy, it does not look like any I have seen with similar boats. Knowing my family, they may have built their own rather than buy one. My wife is having the wheels, tires and axle bearings replaced for the drive back to phoenix.

My wife is telling me the interior has no scratches or cracks, the hull has no cracks or damage but the entire boat is covered in mud dobbers (wasp nests made of mudd) so it looks pretty dirty. All the chrome is there as well as lights and lenses. There is no visible damage or wear to speak of, just a lot of dust and dirt.

I plan on restoring this boat back to original condition. From what I have read, it has a gel coat, so I am hoping it will only need a good buffing to get the shine back. The chrome may need some polishing as well. The rest is where I have some questions.

Interior- According to the sears catalog I believe it is vinyl. Is there any type of conditioner i should put on it to prevent cracks? I am concerned it may be brittle due to age.

Motor- From the picture, it looks like a 1976 ish Evinrude 35 HP. Not sure if it is a 2 or 4 stroke. I know it was running when put into storage and all the fluids were drained out of it before being stored as well. Is there anything in particular that I should do to the motor or outdrive as far as maintenence or service? Does anyone know if this is a 2 or 4 stroke? Does it need leaded fuel? If it is 2 stroke, does it have oil injection? If so should I bypass the oil injection and just do premix or are the injection systems reliable on those old motors? I only ask because I raced dirt bikes many years ago and anything with oil injection got the pump removed and we ran premix right away. We lost too many motors to bad oil pumps.

Anything else anyone can think of would be much appreciated. Once I get the boat here and get the project under way I will be sure to provide before and after pictures in the restoration thread.

Thanks
Joe

Engineer837,

WELCOME ABOARD. - Sounds like a nice rig, too.

yours, satx

Sounds like a great boat, and so cool to be able to keep it in the family.

I would think similar to an old car you should look at all the rubber on the engine the fuel lines anything else like that. The gaskets may be dryed out in the carb as well. I had the best luck shining mine with the three m brand boat products. Sounds like you have a great project boat a few weekends to get ready to put in the water instead of a few years.

Sounds like a great project! The motor is a 2 stroke for sure running a mix of 50:1 If available in your area buy only ethanol free fuel. Ethanol will eat up all the rubber parts of the fuel system and cause you no end of grief. If it's unavoidable rebuild the carb with a new kit that is ethanol tolerant and replace all the fuel lines and the tank with new. As for the vinyl seats if they have been out of the sun they may be just fine, there are marine vinyl cleaners on the market that have additives that help keep the seats soft, don't use Armour All as it makes the seats slippery when wet which can be dangerous.

Thanks for the info guys! So I will plan on replacing all the fuel lines. Fortunately there is a machine shop locally that sells 110 leaded racing fuel. I use it in all my small engines. It is a bit pricey but it does not seem to destabilize like the ethanol fuels sold at the pump.

I will get some more pictures up as soon as I get it home.

By the way, is there anything as far as service that would need to be done to the bottom end of the motor, prop or shaft?

Definitely want to check & change the lube in the gear case, and replacing the water pump impeller is a must IMHO after all those years sitting. The rubber blades get old and brittle not to mention taking a "set" so they don't pump well. Running one without cooling water ever for a few minutes can spell disaster.

Here's a link to some online repair manuals to help with the task(s);
boatinfo.no/lib/library.html

Sounds like you have potentially a really nice "barn find" there, we're all looking forward to seeing pics of the old girl!

Thank you for the link and suggestions. I will look into doing all of that. I spoke to a local boat shop that was recommended to me today who seemed familiar with the boat and motor. He quoted me 1000.00 to get the motor tuned up and ready for the water. Glad I was planning on doing it myself. He sounds pretty proud of his work.

My wife took the trailer to a local automotive shop in college station to get the axle bearings replaced and to give the trailer a once over to make sure it is road worthy. The guy working on it called me and let me know he was able to replace the bearings however he was unable to cross reference the axle seals or find any seals that would work. He is telling me it will be safe to drive to phoenix without the seals, just not safe to put in the water. In addition he had to replace the wire harness as rats had eaten the existing one.

Both of these issues I could have probbably resolved on my own but I am here (in az) and my wife and boat are there. Anyhow, I will update with better photos when I get it home next week.

You might call your wife and make sure he gave her the seals he couldn't cross reference. Most of the time you can carry those to a decent parts store (like NAPA) and find a suitable replacement. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more on your project.

Here's a source for parts for your motor... www.laingsoutboards.com/johnsonevinrudeparts.html
Great Prices!!!
I restored a 1962 40hp Evinrude Lark for under $300 and they had all that I needed. I replaced all electrical, fuel, seals, the works!!!!

Thanks a ton for all the info guys! My wife just called and said the final bill for the trailer was 450 to replace bearings and the wire harness and 175 for tires. I know I would have been able to do that much cheaper had I been there. They obviously saw her coming from a mile away. Oh well, still excited to get it home and i am glad it will be safe for her to make the drive.

let's see if this works ?

Here is the pic that was posted...

www.fiberglassics.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/20150723_124859.jpeg

Nice looking boat. Love the dragon fly too !

After seeing the pic, your is the closest to the deck form I have ever seen. Mine is a 1962 Elgin Sport utility runabout. 13' 9" center line, 60" beam. Other than mine, I have never seen another with the bow form like ours I.E. the two raised ribs along side of the bow light. What does your plate read ( mounted on the starboard side of transom, inside) ? Been searching online for years, never seen another so close to my elgin

I do not have a picture of that plate and i have not seen it yet. All I know is it has badging on the side that says "sears 140" from what I have read, sears used many different manufacturers to make their boats and motors back in the day. It is very likely that this boat was made by the same manufacturer as yours. Just google "sears 140" or "14' sears boat". there is even a flyer for this boat from the catalogue back in 1964 online.

On a side note, any idea why my picture is posting as a link and not just putting the picture itself in the thread?

Yes they did change manufacturers year to year. I really think the deck was from the same mold style. When you get it home we can trade pics

The boat made it home safely this evening. Unfortunately j am stuck at work until tomorrow morning, I will get pics up when I get home.

I have all the pictures, still trying to figure out how to get then in the thread.

So here's the good the bad and the ugly.
The good - the transom and body are near perfect for their age, the windshield is flawless. The entire upper half just needs a good buffing to shine it up. The interior is great minus one rip that should be easily fixed. It looks complete minus the fuel Cel which I assume was a plastic one, no big deal. The controls all seem to work too, could use some lube but otherwise working well.

The bad - the trailer is pretty rusty, it's going to need sandblasted prior to paint. The prop is pretty much trashed. Needs to be replaced.

The ugly - unknown by my great aunt, there is a patch (about 18") in the floor under the rear seat. My uncle remembers they hit a stump many years ago the punctured the hull. The boat never sank and they repaired it. They used it for years after that and he says it never leaked. It is kind of ugly and although it is in a spot you would rarely see, I think I will take it to a glass shop and see what they would charge to clean it up.

Other than that it is great and we are excited to get her back to her old glory!

Looks to me like you can have a really sweet rig there with just a little work! I know fiberglass work seems a little intimidating at first, but many of us (myself included) were guided by the great folks here on the basics and found out it really isn't as bad as once thought. Very similar to working on an outboard, once you get into it it really isn't as hard as you once thought. The gang here is always glad to help, let's get her done!

Thank you!

Hi - where did you find this serial number on the trailer? I am trying to register mine, just like it!!
Thanks