Availability of White mercs in the uk

[Dansteele]

Morning All,

Finally got a place with a garage sorted so going to start a full resto of my 1960's skimcraft, currently has a '66 merc 500 on the back, but I'm much more sold on the aesthetics (and weight!) of the White mercs and the redundancy of running twins.

I do have a pair of 67 350's I picked up from Chris, but I'm not quite sold on the styling.

With this in mind, and being one of those jobs I'd like to get right first time, I'm currently trying to determine just how difficult a pair of the following would be source in the UK;

In order of preference
Mark 58A
1960 400
Mark 55A
1960 300 (I've seen that Chris has an Ad up for thunderbolt III and may part)
Mark 35A

Quite aware it's rather (very) marginal on the transom, but this is something I'll address, as mentioned before it's not to get the performance of an engine twice its size, mostly for aesthetics, redundancy and just to be that crazy nutter who decided to go there!

I believe these are much more readily available stateside but would rather put the money into the outboard rather than shipping.

Will be looking for restoration projects, so, out of the above list, which do you chaps think will be easiest (/least difficult!) to source?

Regards

Dan

[Alacrity]

Not a lot on that list available here in the UK. I'm not 100% but I don't think the 'Mark' models were sold here, so any here will have come over with US servicemen or were/are personal imports. I do know of a red MK58 but I doubt it is for sale. The white 400 & 300 were sold here & they do crop up but are more often than not in a poor state & are nearly always painted black! Rapier on here has one or two, not sure if he is planning on parting with any of them & I have a fresh water (US import) 4 cyl 350 that I may be persuaded to part with.

It would be great to see a boat in the CMBA (you need to join!) running twins as we don't have any as far as I am aware, as you say the look is great.

[se7en]

All pre 1962 Mercs will be thin on the ground, they were not imported in any real numbers before then, South Western Marine factors started bringing in the whole range from around 1962, and they were more expensive than the OMC's at that time, the pricing got competitive around 1964, subsequently, you won't see many white mercs.

[Dansteele]

thanks for your replies guys, really quite useful information (that id struggle to find elsewhere) and does explain why they appear to be a bit thinner on the ground!

what has drawn me to the 400 is that for the extra 2lbs in weight (by johns old merc site data), 10hp in power is added over the 300 + a few styling changes for the better it appears (assuming carb change + extra trim being behind this) I imagine this pair will help decide the next boat purchase and my Dad will get the Skimcraft + merc 500 as a present sometime in the near future.

oh and i'm on the lookout for for short shafts and manual starts, with a strong right arm, who needs the added weight of an electric start and battery!?!

The 350 you have Alacrity, what year would that be?


...and i've just sorted the membership out - even more motivation to be the guy with twins

Dan

[se7en]

Just a word of warning, don't take the claimed H.P. of these early engines as the Gospal truth.....sometimes engine manufacturers add a little bit on to make it appear better than it is, they all did it, I doubt there really is 10 H.P. difference between a 300 and 400.

[Rapier]

300 were 1960 only, 400s sold in '60 and '61 and the 350 (4pot) were 1961. Very very few will be longshaft over here. The 300 is a much nicer motor to own than the 400, in my opinion, but doesn't have the bling of the 400. If set up properly and in regular use manual start models do start quickly, but I dreaded the 1st season start up, for obvious reasons, so buy and convert to electric if you can - electric start Mercs were much more expensive over here, so most will be manual. Hp is powerhead, rather than prop hp and as Se7en says they were disingenuous about ratings..smoke and mirrors really. The other downside to these motors is a screw in water pump cover that is hard to find and gets corroded, mild steel drive shafts that rust, a gearbox that relies on Lubriplate 105 (a semi- liquid white grease, but can be run on modern gearbox oils if the seals are OK), heavy brass props that no one will be able to fix if you hub them (although you can use the 11 spline thru hub exhaust from 62 on (of which there are plenty locally); if you're lucky you might be able to find an ali version which I find is less alarming when the motor is put into gear). Neither motor has the uprated exhaust tuning & a new conventional designed gearbox that came out in 1962, before the switch to black motors in '63.

They're all hard to find now and are 50's technology so you'll need to work on them when they go wrong - no dealer will be interested. All mine were awful cosmetically, but ran well and parts supply these days is much better. Be prepared to pay £500 to £600 pounds for a decently setup original, maybe more for one that's had a freshwater life (Alacrity's 350 is a good one). Looms (prone to wiring issues) and MerControl remotes were common for years - early versions were Quicksilver dual levers or a marvelous looking teardrop version in crackle finish paint. They were a go-to motor for runabout racing in the early '60s, so not every one will have had an easy life.

The '66 500, is a great motor - was another cusp year design-wise and still retains the chrome cowl handle - '67 models lost this. This motor formed the basis of the 500 model line for many years and dealers like Walker Outboards cut their teeth on them, so the expertise is still out there.

Don't knock the later 350 2 pots either. They're very nice motors, much more powerful than the equivalent OMC and frugal on fuel. In my opinion '66 to '69 were the best years, but make sure they're correctly propped, they don't like being lugged.

[Dansteele]

Morning guys, once again thank you for the replies.

As a way of introducing myself, I'm one of the few of my generation (I'm 28) that still retain the ability to strip something down, figure out whats wrong and rebuild it. The 500 had no spark and I covered the usual consumables and rebuilds as I wasn't quite aware of its history. I don't think I've ever come across something I've had to take to a specialist that I can't figure out myself (I also repair valve amplifiers, 1920's fans, have restored a couple of cars, have spent time in a fab shop and restore/rebuild antique furniture in my free time) Difficult to obtain parts and troublesome designs are always useful to learn about and will factor in on the engine model choice.

On the merc 500...starts readily after being stored and on the first foot of starter rope once out on the water, a lot easier than I expected for a pull start 50hp!

The lack of chrome handle on the 67 350's and that one needs a lot of work is whats making me reassess the resto of them at this point in time, if I'm about to plough a lot of time and resource into a pair of engines I'd like to make sure they are ones that I have my heart set on. -That and I much prefer a 4 cylinder.

It looks like the search may be getting narrowed down to a 62 pair of 350's but will still be on the look out for the others just in case I get lucky!

Pricing seems to be in line with the figure I've had in my head, always a bonus.

Dan

[Rapier]

The later 500Ms are very easy to start. In case you fancy taking a punt, someone has put some time and effort into the e-start (?) shorty 300 on a Microplas on ebay. It's a non runner, the wrong colour and has the wrong face plate / decals, but all these are available on ebay us and nymarine. Owner might be able to sell the boat easier without the motor...

Look forward to seeing you on the water.

[Dansteele]

Thats quite a keen eye to spot the 300 under the the guise of a black 500 on the Microplas! - I would have glanced over that, i'll get there eventually!

I'll have a chat with the seller and see if he will split. Its not to far from me either.

Dan

[puddleduck]

Hi Dan,

drop me a pm and we can have a chat about the 300. I rebuilt the powerhead last winter (rings, big & small end needle rollers, main bearings etc)
cheers,

Chris