[freeozradio]

Comments:
Modifications to the bearings, crankcase, carburetor and low profile spool recoil helped modernize the old CD series starting with this motor in 1965. Interestingly, while this motor looks lower than the earlier CD's and has lost the bulky top mounted recoil start, it is less than 1" lower to the transom than the previous model. Only slight changes in the ignition, decals and paint color were made until the end of this models run in the late 1970's. (1978?)

[xcikni]

The Johnson brothers were uniquely American; plucky engineers who tried their hands at many different businesses before building their first outboard in 1921. (I’ll leave the history lesson to others who are better qualified to teach it!) Regardless, Lou, Harry and Clarence launched their names into outboard history when their little Waterbug or Light Twin went on sale in 1922.

[Cane]

Year & Model: 1946 Johnson TD-20
Horsepower: 5 @ 4,000 rpm
Cylinders: 2 - alternate firing
Bore: 1.9375"
Stroke: 1.5"
Ignition: Johnson Magneto
Point Gap:.020
Cooling: Water by rubber "wobble" pump
Condition: Restored
Retail price when new: $154.00
Weight: 42 lbs.
Oil/Gas Mix: 1/2 pt TCW-3
Spark Plug: Champion J-8J (now J-8C, however, J-6C has been found to be better suited to today's fuels) more

[K7Off]

1953 Johnson QD-14 10 hp. more

[prestonsco74]

Unfortunately my parents sent my original QD-14 to the dump when I was in college. Probably because, by the late 1970's, years of salt water use and abuse had left it looking pretty ugly. The engine seen here is a nice original example that spent years in a barn upstate. It required several months of soaking with PB-Blaster to free the stuck pistons but now runs as well as new. here

[jelon94]

This motor is our daily runner for our 12' aluminum boat. It is named "Hopkinson" after the moniker on the soiled tag on the gearshift when it came to us. Needing the usual coil and waterpump replacement it runs exceptionally well - the cosmetics are 100% original. here

[bitanarchy]

The outboard motor industry saw more than just the rise of Elto in the early 1920s. Other players had also entered the marketplace. The newly formed Johnson Motors Company burst
onto the scene with a twin-cylinder motor, quickly taking leadership away from Evinrude Motors. Much like Evinrude Motors though, Johnson Motors Company begun as a family owned and operated business. In 1908, with just the bare basics for parts, the brothers Johnson crafted their first marine engine in a barn in Terre Haute, IN.

[cheapvps]

Coming off of this recent disappointment, the Johnson brothers began to look again at the marine industry. The first prototype outboard motor was tested in the spring of 1921 in a lightweight boat built by Warren Conover. The test was successful and the Johnson Motor Company was incorporated one month later in South Bend, IN. Warren Ripple was named as the company�s first president. The first Johnson outboard motor was produced on December 19, 1921. The 2-hp twin engine was made largely of aluminum alloys, weighed only 35 pounds and featured a full-pivot reverse. here

[The Madhatter]

The Johnson brothers continued to handcraft airplane and seaplane motors while building and selling marine motors and racing motorboats. Business was good, with the brothers selling products just as fast as they could make them. Then on Easter Sunday of 1913 tragedy struck in the form of a tornado that ripped the Johnson factory from its foundation, destroying everything within. Because the family had no insurance, rebuilding was out of the question. Instead the brothers conceived of a new invention � a motor to propel a bicycle. With this new idea, the Johnson Motor Wheel Company was founded. Because the motor wheel was very hard on magnetos, burning them out as quickly as they could be replaced, the Johnsons began to discuss possible solutions with Warren Ripple, owner of the Quick-Action Ignition Company in South Bend, IN. Ripple took a special interest in the manufacture of the motors and helped facilitate a move of the Johnson Motor Wheel Company to South Bend in March 1918. The motor wheel was very successful, selling more than 17,000 units during the years it was manufactured. However, the Johnson Motor Wheel Company went out of business in 1921 with the onset of the recession. here

[jef.blanc]

In 1935 Johnson merged with Evinrude to form Outboard Motors Corporation, Then later in the 1960s it was renamed to Outboard Marine Corporation. Ralph Evinrude oversaw this new company, OMC, and restructured the corporation based on the "consolidated competition" of its divisions.

[venom]

In 1922, the Johnson brothers purchased a license from the Hult brothers of the Pentaverken company in Skovde, Sweden to use one of their patented inventions fro outboard motors on the Johnson outboards . [links]

[Versus71]

While marine engines were the main focus of the Johnson brothers, they also developed an aircraft motor. The lightweight V-4, two-cycle motor produced 60-hp. Since the Johnsons had no aircraft on which to test the motor, they decided to build one. In 1910, seven years after the flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the Johnson brothers built the first American monoplane to actually take flight. The plane weighed 750 pounds, had a 36-foot wingspan and measured 34 feet from propeller to tail. The monoplane quickly gave the brothers celebrity status, drawing invitations to attend county fairs and carnivals throughout the state. Visitors paid 25 cents to take a look at the machine. In addition, Lou piloted the plane in contests; once winning $1000. here