Merc 700...Calling Farley, Dave, Ryan...

[seabob4]

Guys, a friend of my neighbors said come get his old boat, he's moving.  Didn't cost u8s a cent, except some sweat equity to get the damn thing out of the jungle it was parked in.  Old 15' Sea Sprite with a Merc 70 on it.  So finally messed around with getting the cowling off this afternoon, see what the PH looked like...



Flywheel turns fine (motor is in fwd, didn't feel like messing with the old rotten cable to get her in N), so, what are the next steps?  Besides cleaning it up.  I figure compression, but would love to get it running to do compression warm.  Is this a little dinky 6-cyl?  6 plugs, 2 coils, and 2 carbs.  Sort of a mini tower-of-power!

Would love to get her sweet running and sweet looking.  I figure pulling and re-building the carbs, I guess I should bet a FSM on this one...if it's still available.

But I'd be happy to take all you guys help if that's alright...

[dburr]

Nothing you don't know Bob, if she has been sitting a while, pull the plugs and oil up the cylinders (PB is fine, Marvel is better) as a CYA in spaces she is dry.. Soak the carbs with Seafoam or Farley's magic stuff.. If there is any crap in them you can clean the ports and passages with strands of about #16 copper speaker wire if they are really gummed up.. Can you get power to crank it over? Be intersting to know what color of spark you have..

What kind of shape are those fuel hoses? They look dried out in the picture, I assume no cracks?

Just cause she looks a little tired is not cause for alarm, that rig will sound cool when she's running.

[seabob4]

Dave, definitely looking forward to delving into her.  Just did some reading on the old in-line 6's, pretty cool, and I definitely think she has some promise.  Looks to be around a '61-'62 vintage or so.  I'm a little busy with the Pursuit, but I'll get to cleaning her up so I can see what's going on where I need to see...

[Georgie]

SB - interesting lil find you've got there.      

If your hope/plan would be just to play with her a while and see if you can get her running (assuming she's salvageable), then I imagine you need to start with seeing if she's actually worth spending some time on.  Have you pulled the plugs yet to see how the cylinders were burning when she last ran?  Takes less than a minute and they can tell you volumes.  After that, I'd probably spray some pre-mix in the back of each cylinder, and turn her over by hand a few times to get the rings and cylinder walls wet.  Shouldn't be too hard to attach your leads to a good battery and jump the starter so you can do your compression check.  Also, check the lower unit oil for water, shavings, etc., and see if you can get her to shift into neutral instead of in gear before you do the compression check.  

didn't feel like messing with the old rotten cable to get her in N

 If the cable isn't cooperating then perhaps you can just disconnect it at the engine and see if you can get the shifter linkage to move on its own?  If you can get all those things done you'll have a much better idea if she's worth screwin around with.  engine still tilt ok?  how about steering pivot tube?  If none of that stuff is frozen, then you may have very good chance of resurrecting her with only some basic soft part replacements (gaskets, hoses, wires, etc.) and general service.

I imagine Farley and Dave might have more info on the specific model/generation merc itself, but were you able to find a model number anywhere?

[Georgie]

Dave posted while I was writing....

[dburr]

All good Ryan!

As I got out of the shower I thought "crap, lower unit and water pump" but Bob said she rolled over..   MarineEngine.com will have parts for that vintage, Andrew seems to be able to find anyeverything....

Bob is that one of the old white cowled 6's?

[seabob4]

Ryan, Dave, thanks for getting in!!  No Dave, this motor is a black motor, after Mrs. Strang suggested to her son to paint it black...

Will do all of the above, was working on the Pursuit this aft/eve, thought I'd start to delve into this little girl when it got dark.  Yes Ryan, I have plenty of batts and cable, so I'll get power to the motor.  Will definitely get the old cables off and move the linkages by hand, but first she'll need some cleaning up.

No power TNT, but the lift cylinders actually look in good shape.  Steering still works...OMFG!!!  Stiff, but works, so I know I can get the cable out with a minimum of fuss...I think!  Obviously, a LU pull, WP replacement and new oil...should be fun!  I betcha she'll run, but whether it's worth it or not...don't know.  If compression is good, then I think so.  Looks like it's gonna be a motor/trailer deal, haul the old boat to the JU, as the transom is definitely shot.  It's a little 15' DC that may be perfect re-worked as a CC...if my neighbor feels like replacing a transom!

[seabob4]

And sorry guys, 3 carbs...wonder if this is one of those "dockbusters"?

[floridamisser52]

Very cool SB. That old Merc brings back memories of years past. We had a 1963 45hp on 15ft glastron. I'll bet that 700 never saw corn. As I remember , that magneto twists as throttle is applied. Don't know why....spark advance? Maybe one of the smart guys could give us tech l lesson if not a history lesson too. Also, looks like two interconnected diaphragm fuel pumps? And it looks like two gears on either end of the starter? If that's the case, I wonder what the bottom gear was for. Oddly enough , fast forward 38 years or more on the OMC 90 degree , that block hasn't changed much. Some one chime in if I'm mistaken. And lastly SB, what might you do with that baby tower of power? And by the way ... what's a dock buster?

[wingtime]

Man that thing is cool.  The first thing I would do is spray the whole thing down with some WD-40, PB, Tri-Flow, Corrosion-X or whatever you like to use!

[gran398]

Congratulations on your find!



A quick search shows a lot of discussion, free downloadable shop manuals in PDF form, year by serial number, schematics, parts lists, engines for sale, etc.

[futch13]

RUN...Run as fast and far away as possible!!!!!      

JK  Do as stated above, comp, spark, ck gearlube.  Mag can be removed and spun by hand to ck spark, just like old style distributer w/ points and condenser.  Yes it turns to advance spark when throttle is applied.  Definitely spray some type of oil into the cyls and also thru the carbs to lube the crank/rod bearings also before cranking over.  Make sure to crank over several times to blow out excess lube before testing compression (saves on gauges )

Marineengine.com is your friend for these old things.

[seabob4]

Very cool SB. That old Merc brings back memories of years past. We had a 1963 45hp on 15ft glastron. I'll bet that 700 never saw corn. As I remember , that magneto twists as throttle is applied. Don't know why....spark advance? Maybe one of the smart guys could give us tech l lesson if not a history lesson too. Also, looks like two interconnected diaphragm fuel pumps? And it looks like two gears on either end of the starter? If that's the case, I wonder what the bottom gear was for. Oddly enough , fast forward 38 years or more on the OMC 90 degree , that block hasn't changed much. Some one chime in if I'm mistaken. And lastly SB, what might you do with that baby tower of power? And by the way ... what's a dock buster?

misser, the early versions were what Merc called Direct Reverse (don't know why), where the LU gears were engaged all the time.  If you weren't careful, the boat would be a "dock buster".  Later they came out with FGS (Full gear shift), with standard F-N-R...

An interesting read here...http://board.net.au/yabbse/index.php?topic=1093.0;wap2

[fitz73222]

Congrats Bob,
You have selected an engine that will test every skill you have aquired in life. A great project if you are willing to dedicate the time. All the basics have been covered so no need to go there. The wiring will be shot which is right up your alley. Join our forum below and get ready for the download of knowledge over there about this engine. You will be amazed at what you will find. Retired Mercury engineers, factory techs, and yes, Charlie Strang is still alive and posts on our site. You should see what these guys do with your engine. From junk to museum quality. Get the serial number and post these pictures and hang on!



http://johnsoldmercurysite.com/phpBB3/s ... ive_topics

[seabob4]

Thanks a bunch Farley!  I'll go join, can't say I want it museum quality, but would like to have her in nice looking shape, inside and out.  Will definitely be a project, but hey, it was free, and my time is always "free" to me!!