Homelite / Fisher Pierce Outboard Manuals
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About: Homelite and Fisher Pierce 460 Series Outboards
Dick Fisher of Boston Whaler's parent company Fisher Pierce did not invent or initially develop the Fisher Pierce Bearcat 55 engine, but he did recognized the superior quality and performance of the Homelite 55hp four-cycle outboard boat motor.
Homelite Grand Prix & Deluxe 55 HP Outboards
The
engine that would become the Bearcat was initially developed by Lloyd
M. Taylor of Taylor Engines Inc., California, in the early 1940's, and
later redeveloped into the
Homelite Grand Prix
& Deluxe 55hp outboards, introduced in 1961, being the first 4 cycle
outboard on the market.
The Taylor engine block was formed from about 125 steel stampings that were copper brazed in a 60-foot long furnace at over 2,000 degrees. Hardness and temper were imparted to the steel by controlling the cooling time. The finished engine block with refinements weighed 14-pounds and allowed the small displacement (44cc) engine to produce impressive performance.
The lightweight Taylor engine caught the attention of Paul Klotsch, chief engineer of Crosley Motors Inc., who was so impressed with its design and features that he negotiated an exclusive license to it from Taylor. Crosley Motors produced the engine and labeling it the Cobra for use in generators, marine pumps and other applications.
In the early 1960's Homelite developed a derivative of the Crosley engine into a successful 4-stroke outboard engine. This Homelite 4-stroke outboard ingenuity was years ahead of its time.
Fisher Pierce Bearcat 55 HP Outboard
By
1966, the Homelite 4-cycle outboard caught the attention of Dick Fisher,
as they paired well when used on the transom of Boston Whalers. With
his interest peaked - Homelite agreed to sell their outboard manufacturing
to Fisher Pierce. Like his Boston Whalers, there were many things about
the Homelite 55 that attracted Dick Fisher. The outboard design was
unconventional, and in many ways superior to the conventional 2-cycle
outboards, just as his Boston Whalers were superior to most conventional
boats.The Homelite 4-stroke outboard engine was then re-badged as the Fisher Pierce Bearcat-55 while they produced and marketed it for six years, from 1966 until 1972, after which Fisher Pierce ceased production of their innovative four-cycle engines. In their heydays of the 1960's & 1970's, four-stroke outboards were ahead of their time.
Then the four-cycle outboard was pretty much forgotten for more than a decade until another small car automaker, Honda, adapted their four-cycle car engine to marine use in the 1980's.
These days, six decades after first appearing on the market, Homelite Grand Prix and Deluxe along with the Fisher Pierce Bearcat outboards have made a bit of a comeback in popularity among vintage boat and outboard enthusiasts and collectors.
Fisher Pierce Bearcat 85 HP Outboard
In
the late sixties, Richard Fisher felt that the boating public was ready
for more horsepower, which lead to the design and development of a 4-stroke
85hp Bearcat model.
It was introduced in 1970 with an aluminum block, three main bearing, 4 cylinder Coventry Climax engine that was already being used in some vehicles as well as for water pumps on firetrucks.
The Bearcat 85 4-cycle outboard was a great upgrade to the Bearcat 55, and a welcome improvement for larger boats. However, with Fisher Pierce ending production in 1972, the 85hp model wasn’t on the market long enough to develop any sort of market track record.
Resources: Bearcat / Grand Prix / Deluxe
- Homelite Grand Prix & Deluxe Parts - ebay
- Fisher Pierce Bearcat Outboard Parts - ebay
- IDENTIFY Fisher Pierce/Homelite Outboards
- Compare: Homelite/Bearcat vs Modern 50hp
- continuouswave.com whaler bearcat history
- crosleyautoclub.com Crosley outboard history
- https://everythingaboutboats.org/bearcat/
- Scott Stewart's website / page 2 archive
- bearcat55.com homelite55.com archives
Homelite / Fisher Pierce - Outboard Manual Directory
- Service Manuals, Owners Manuals, Parts Catalogs
- N/A = currently not available, got a copy? contact us
Homelite Grand Prix & Deluxe / Fisher Pierce Bearcat 1961-1972 Manuals
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Download pdf Outboard Manuals
| Year | Model | HP | Manual | $ USD | Manual ID | Brand | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 460A1 460A2 |
55 | Service | $14.98 |
homelite55sm |
Homelite | 460 Series |
| 1962 | 460A1A 460A2A |
||||||
| 1963 | 460A1B 460A2B |
||||||
| 1964 | 460A1C 460A2C |
||||||
| 1965 | 460A1D 460A2D |
||||||
| 1966 | 460A1E 460A2E |
55 | Parts | $14.98 |
homelite1966pl |
Homelite | Grand Prix |
| 460A1F 460A2F |
Parts | N/A | Bearcat | Serial # 2301171+↑ |
|||
| 55 | Owners | N/A | Homelite | Grand Prix & Deluxe |
|||
| Bearcat 55 | 55 | Service | $19.98 |
bearcat55sm |
Fisher Pierce | 460 Series | |
| Bearcat 55 | 55 | Parts | N/A | Fisher Pierce | 460 Series | ||
| Bearcat 55 | 55 | Owners | $14.98 |
bearcat55om |
Fisher Pierce | 460 Series |
Homelite / Fisher Pierce - Outboard Identification Guide
Running Changes for the Homelite Grand Prix, Deluxe, and Fisher Pierce Bearcat models offer differences that can help tell what vintage engine you have.
- Early Homelite blocks didn't have hard valve seats, Bearcats had hard seats
- On later Homelite blocks, there's an embossed letter below the
block number
- The first series had an "A" (known as an "A" block.)
- The Bearcat blocks are marked with a letter "F" (F block)
- In the mid Sixties, Homelite changed the block to include hardened valve seats
- A second mount at tower shaft housing base added block to base plate strength
- Early Homelite outboards had the oil filler cap mounted to the
oil pan
- In (1964?) a manifold side crankcase casting hole was added for filler cap
- The tower shaft end of Crosley blocks had boss tabs for fan mounting
- Early Fisher Pierce outboards included Homelite & Bearcat parts
on some motors
- - this makes identifying those motors much harder
| Homelite Grand Prix, Deluxe 55 HP 460 Model Identification | ||||||
| Year | Model | HP | Cyl | Serial Number | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 460A1 460A2 |
55 | 4 | below 1400000 | 15" Short Transom |
|
| 1962 | 460A1A 460A2A |
55 | 4 | 1400000 & up | 15" Short Transom |
|
| 1963 | 460A1B 460A2B |
55 | 4 | 1524000 & up | ||
| 1964 | 460A1C 460A2C |
55 | 4 | 1653260 & up | ||
| 1965 | 460A1D 460A2D |
55 | 4 | 1882564 & up | Deluxe? | |
| 1965 | 460A1E 460A2E |
55 | 4 | 1885793 & up | Grand Prix | |
| 1966 | 460A1E 460A2E |
55 | 4 | 2143625 & up | Grand Prix | |
| Fisher Pierce Bearcat 55 HP 460 Model Identification | ||||||
| Year | Model | HP | Cyl | Serial Number | Name | Notes |
| 1967 | 460A1E | 55 | 4 | 2300000 & up | Bearcat 55 | |
| 460A2E | Long Shaft | |||||
| 1968 | 460A1F | 55 | 4 | 2301147 & up | Bearcat 55 | |
| 460A2F | Long Shaft | |||||
| 1969 | 460A1F | 55 | 4 | 2304160 & up | Bearcat 55 | Standard |
| 460A2F | ||||||
| 1970 | 460A2F | 55 | 4 | F6811 & up | Bearcat 55 | |
| 1971 | 460A2F | 55 | 4 | F10XXX & up | Bearcat 55 | |
| 1971 | Bearcat | 85 | 4 | Bearcat 85 | ||
| 1972 | 460A2F | 55 | 4 | some F10XXX F20XXX & up |
Bearcat 55 | |
| 1972 | Bearcat | 85 | 4 | Bearcat 85 | ||
Comparison Test of Homelite 55 vs Modern 4-Stroke
From bearcat55.com: How the Homelite 55 or Fisher Pierce Bearcat 55 outboards compare to a modern era 4 stroke outboard. Back in 1996 Scott Stewart facilitated comparison tests using a Homelite 55 vs a more modern 50hp 4 stroke. Both engines were run on the same boat, results of the test are in the table below. Note that the Homelite is much closer in performance and fuel economy than you might expect!
Bottom line: The Homelite 55 or Bearcat 55 match up well to newer 4-cycle outboards. Look at the optimum fuel economy figures at cruise speed, which is the rpm you'll realistically run your 55 at, vs (WOT) wide open throttle.
| Tech Data | Homelite 55 4-stroke |
1996 50hp 4-Stroke |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best MPG speed | 22mph | 21.6mph | Very Competitive! |
| Best MPG RPM | 4350rpm | 4450rpm | Less rpm |
| Best MPG | 7.1 | 7.37 | Astounding economy! |
| Best GPH | 3.1 | 2.93 | Very Close |
| WOT speed | 30 | 33 | Close |
| WOT rpm | 5560 | 5950 | Less rpm |
| WOT MPG | 5.7 | 6.7 | at wide open throttle |
| WOT GPH | 5.3 | 5.0 | at wide open throttle |
| WOT noise | 100 | 97 | sound in dB |
| Idle noise | 68 | 62 | Close, can insulate |
| Time to 30mph | 15.5 seconds | 11.6 seconds | Gear ratio difference |
