motor equal of cardinal reel?

[SandySteel]

Some things that come along in life that outlive their counterparts and are just dependable. They gain a reputation for their reliability and their quality.
In the reel world the flat sided red ambassadeurs and the abu garcia made zebco cardinal with the green bodies are considered the standard for dependability and quality.
I am looking for what others consider to be the equivilent in the motor world. I want a mid 80's - late 90's 25 horse outboard motor.
What motors do the technicians see the least or when they see them it is just simple things that need to be tuned?
What motor just runs and runs and runs for you even though you rode it hard and put it away wet?

[Phil Layer]

Mid 70's Johnson 70 horse. What a motor. I've never had one that started so reliably and ran like a tank.

Don't get me started. Tears are welling up in my eyes.

:crazy:

[Slugranch]

Gotta be the 70 HP Johnson or Evinrude. Stuck a rod thru the block at buoy 8 on the CR a year ago . Had to push the Coast Guard to Ilwaco with a stiff rope,,,,,,,,,was all ready to upgrade to a newer engine and nearly bought one,,my mechanic and three others from reputable dealers convinced me that the proper fix was a new power head on the existing motor. Had it done and haven't been sorry. Very reliable engine.

[SandySteel]

I was kind of hoping that boat Doc could reply but then again he might get in trouble with his sales staff who would most likely prefer to sell new motors.
What 25 HP motor do you see the least?

[DF]

Definetly the 70's johnson....uncle had a 35 hp ran like a tank!! :wave: