tower of power Q

[dorc]

I came across a early 60's merc in-line 6. The problem is that the lower unit has been torn apart. I'm trying to determine how much it will cost me for a new lower. I can't find anything on ebay, so I was hoping you guys could help me. Where do I turn for a old lower unit?

[sho305]

Someone here might have some stuff laying around...check some of the posts in the history section maybe or search old for sale posts. Likely depends on what model it is if you will have to pay much.

ttt

[Georgia Boy]

I have a marine mechanic buddy of mine who has access to alot of the older inline parts for a good price. he has as always done me right, let me know the year and I will see if he has something that might work for you. let me know if i can help you out. ~GB

[Blizz]

If it's areal early 60's make sure it's a full gear shift motor before you go buying parts for it. If it's not you'll probably not want to mess with it cuz they can be a pain in the ass to get right. Blizz

[Raceman]

Post more specifics on the engine and maybe there's help here in the parts wanted section. If it's really old WWW.AOMCI.ORG has lots of members with old Merc stuff.

"Early 60's" covers a lot of ground, but thanks to the internet parts are readily available.

[dorc]

I'm pretty sure that the motor is shifted. It has the standard control throttle/shifter unit. They never made those as throttle only, right? Best that I can tell, that would make the motor a 1961 or 1962 model. Doing some research it looks like the the 1960 models were start-in-gear. In 61 the gear shift was optional, in 62 it was standard.

I can't find this guys phone number even though I have his address. I'll have to run out tonight and grab the serial number and leave him a note to call me. Why would somebody put something for sale in their yard and not leave a number on it?

[Superdave]

There's a guy on this board that has a marina/salvage yard. Don't remember who though. Is the motor white or black?
Dave

[dorc]

White with a black and chrome cowel.

Does anybody know if there was a airbox that covered the carbs? When I took the cowel off I was looking right into the the carb throats. No air box or bell.

[Ted March]

Originally posted by Blizz
If it's areal early 60's make sure it's a full gear shift motor before you go buying parts for it. If it's not you'll probably not want to mess with it cuz they can be a pain in the ass to get right. Blizz

True, they could be a pain in the ass, but when they were right, they worked fine. And what are we doing with our 260's and 280's now? Starting them in forward. Shutting them off. Starting them in reverse. Shutting them off etc. Maybe Mercury should bring the DR's back. It sure could make shifting the bad boys a lot easier.

[MacGyverJB]

True, that motor does not have any air box, just the front cowling support between you and the carbrators. I have the same one, a 1964 Inline 6 85 HP, in excellent running shape. I'd hate to break it up for the lower, since its in great shape, but I'm not looking for a lot for the whole motor. $500.00 plus your shipping if you'd like with the controls and a prop. Here's a picture!

[Raceman]

Dorc, there are several quick glance ways to tell if its full gearshift or DR (direct reversing) Both used a single handle shifter, but the DR only had one cable. If the cables are external you'll notice only 1 slot in the lower pan for cable hardware on a DR engine. Also, the starter motor has a strange looking bendix that has two sets of gears, one to go up and the other to go down, depending on which direction the motor is being started in. All of the DR mid sections had a single round water discharge snout at the rear and the powerhead nuts exposed, while the Full Gearshift models had a cover at the top of the mid covering the nuts (hense the nickname "jockstrap") and also the two retangular discharge holes. The DR engines are really neat in my opinion, although the waterpumps take special parts that take some lookin'.

[dorc]

No, you shouldn't break that motor up. This one is $275 asking with the motor mounted to a pos boat that somebody tried to restore on top of a really good trailer. The trailer even has torsion axels. I'm hoping to beat him down to $100 because I know that it's been for sale for a very long time. Plus I don't have to ship it!

[dorc]

You know, I bought myself a snowmobile this past winter. It's a 2001 Skid-doo. It has something called RER on it. They reverse the engine electronically for reverse. You push a button and the engine dies down to 0 rpms and then restarts on it's own turning backwards. I thought that it was the trickest thing out there. And here merc did it back in the early 60's!

[Raceman]

Dorc, I think those old engines are really neat and I've got a bunch of em myself, in almost every horsepower they made from 58 through 61, plus several of the first year 1000's. The nice thing about em is they're still real cheap for what they are, with most collectors preferring the twin and 4 cyl stuff.

That being said, I'm not sure how much utility value there is in a 40+ year old outboard with unknown history. If you want to park it on a stand and look at it, or restore an old boat with it, that's one thing, but if you're plannin' on using it a lot it'll probabably be a lot more headache than it's worth.

[sho305]

Two stroke golfcarts also do it that way. They have a dual ignition to advance the spark in either direction, and the starter just starts it in the way you want to go.

With them talking about DI (etec) being able to start the motor with no starter....seems easy to run it backwards also right? No more gears to shift?

[dorc]

A little background: I live directly on a river. I own a little 10' camoflaged row boat that my brother in-law absolutly must have. He offered to trade me my little row boat for a 13' aluminum boat with teak wood accents. Teak rub rail, transom and seats. It's a pretty nice closed bow boat. Awsome unrestored condition. The boat's lable has it built in 1957. I was hoping to find a motor that would have been original to the boat and have been talking to another board member about buing his good running Evinrude 35. Then I came across this motor. For what it would cost me to ship his motor, I can get this one with a trailer that I also need. The only thing is that I fear the 70 might be a bit too heavy. The river is really smooth and twisty so I was figuring on under proping it for holeshot/skiing instead of speed. Max usage will be 2 or 3 times a year. Other than it's back on the trailer. Guess I want my cake and be able to eat it too...

Another member mentioned that these direct reversing engines were cantancerous and not worth the trouble. If it is a direct engine and knowing my usage, should I pass?

[Blizz]

There r some guys that swear by the old Dockbusters and yes they can be cantankerous but as someone said when thier right you can't beat em. Blizz

[dorc]

Is the shifting automatic/mechanical or do you have to shut the engine off, shift and then restart?

[MacGyverJB]

The shifting on the dockbuster's is done by shutting off the motor and starting it in the opposite direction, much like your's as it sounds and my Ski Doo snowmobile.
The dockbuster's are great runners, I have a Mark 75 dockbuster on a Glaspar G3 which runs great, but not having neutral makes getting around the boat docks difficult. Perhaps the most interesting thing is to start them cold, mine has a button on the top of the control box for the starter. Choke is turning the key switch fully and holding it, (where a conventional key's start position is.) (So its two hands on the control box) With some throttle on it, when it starts it jolts out of the water, leaving only your leg to hold the steering wheel! I admint there fun, but it kinda makes me wonder what Mercury was thinking.
None the less, good luck with it if you purchase it!

[Raceman]

"Is the shifting automatic/mechanical or do you have to shut the engine off, shift and then restart?

It's kind semi-automatic. When you pull through what would be a neutral position it cuts the engine, then there's a button on the control handle that you hit to crank it in the other direction. It's a one handed operation, much like shifting a regular boat from foward to reverse, but you've gotta also punch the button.

On the green control from the late 50s it was a pistol grip with a button right on top activated with the thumb. My early 60's white DR controls it's a button right under the hand hold on the handle, accessed with the index finger usually.

[dorc]

Could you imagine the lawsuits if they introduced such a system today! lol

[dorc]

Ok, I got the serial number and confirmed that it is a 1960 direct shift model. Your description of the direct shift engine was spot on perfect. I also found a source for the water pump, points, cap/rotor plug wires, etc.