I have decided to restore my old Wizard... where should I start? I believe it would be helpful to have a manual for my model and year but I am not sure. Model WD# S# 113183.
Before you start dropping money, is it a runner? If you don't know, have you checked the compression on the cylinders and tested the spark (if you have two cylinders you have a WD4S, one cylinder, a WD3S). If the compression is low or unequal, you could be looking at rebuilding the powerhead, which can get expensive. If you run these tests, it will help you know what kind of money you are going to need to invest...helps in the decision making process. I've learned the hard way.
I'm not sure what the compression spec is on those models. I'm guess you hit the # sign instead of a 3...so you've got a one-cylinder based on the KD3. I hope Ron and Louis chime in...those guys know their stuff!
I would not get too concerned about compression...
A)older outboards did not have that much to begin
with, and B)if cylinder is unusable it is removable and replaceable...
Rings are currently available
Bearings are standard items
Seals are standard items or available
Gasket sets are available or you can roll your own
(Carb gasket sets too cheap and too hard to make)
Impeller is available
Coils may be iffy...either Wico or Scintilla
Neither will be easy to find or cheap
The real problem is rust and wear:
crankshaft journals and splines
driveshaft journals and splines
propshaft may be corroded into propeller and
threads may be shot...
A fellow I met who seemed to know his stuff said:
"Every 50 years or so you have to expect to go thru
these motors replaceing seals, bearings and gaskets
in order to get another 50 years out of them."
I have found the limiting factor are the splines
in the end of the crankshaft...if those are bad you
have a parts motor...you build up a motor starting
from a good crankshaft...the rest can come along
like Johnny Cash's Cadillac...a piece at a time.
More to say on subject of old outboards from
Kiekhaefer regardless of brand...if you take a
parts count you may not get to a 100...not a whole
lot of parts involved. If you are like me you knew
absolutely nothing about outboards and have had
no prior experience doing anything mechanical.
You find an old outboard and it intrigues you...
not that you have a boat or have ever owned one.
So why did you buy that first outboard? It looked
cute, the price was right and you think you might
someday get it to run... maybe even on a boat...
Two or three dozen motors later you realize you
have been hooked into a hobby. I lay no claim to
knowing much about other than the early K models
and many know far more than I ever will about them.
I was over at a friend's this week and he had a
Mercury KE4 he was going to take to a meet...it
went home with me to join a few more of same in my
basement...someday...the mood and available time
have to pair up and the moon, stars and planets
have to be in alignment...about 6 months to Spring
and there is work to be done in basement!
