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Attachment 497884
Merc 650 XS on a Seebold SE hull.
The 650 XS was a legal engine for use in Canada in both the V-bottom FE class and the tunnel SE class.
I think APBA never allowed these motors in the Production or Sport E class. Homer Greene was running a Mod 50 boat that may have been running one but with a Speedmaster lower unit. I never saw one with a propjet unit.
I thought the 650XS was fully homologated for APBA, it was the Speedmaster versions that weren't, the 650X and 700X
I think the 650X and 700X were kind of the engines that started the APBA MOd 50 class ?? Some of the early Merc MOD 50 drivers were Homer Greene, Jim Caldwell, Curt Todd and Mike Seebold.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark75H
Was happy to build a 650X many years ago, but never got a boat to run it on........."gave" it to Bernie B. and he's had fun with it. Not to offend the Mercury camp, but I feel the OMC Mod 50 motors cerrtainly dominated this arena. Here's a couple of Mod-50 rigs from the 70's
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Were the SSM versions really built by the factory or put together by racers? I can't recall ever seeing the SSMs in the HiPerf catalogs? Neat idea but never had a chance against the OMC Mod 50 or OMC Sport E 3 cyl.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark75H
I ran a 3cyl 650 in 1972 and 73. I mostly ran it in E Production but the OMCs just had more grunt for those heavy boats. I also ran it a few times on a SE boat where it was quite competitive up through 1973. Bobby Drewery and I ran 1&2 at the 73 Nationals in 73. In 74 OMC bumped up the power of the 3 cyl loopers and that was it for Mercury in the E classes.
The 650X and 700X were in the catalogs. They use their own special midsection and the powerheads were built up at the factory from diecast fishing blocks, unlike the 650XS block that was sandcast. You would have expected it to be the other way around.Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterZebra
You are correct, they didn't stand a chance against the loop charged OMC.
Not here in Canada in the late 70's and early 80's, our Merc 650 XS's were very competitive against the 75hp Johnrudes in both the FE and SE classes. In both 1978 and 1979 our SE National Champion was powered by a Merc 650 XS (and I think in 1981 and 1982 as well).Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark75H
Back then the SE class had the most boats registered in our Canadian Sprtscraft racing division.
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