Merc V6 History

[rckid74]

Is it possible that the first 3 numbers "672" meant "6 cylinder 1972 ?

But even 1972 would not be correct because I'm quite certain it was built either in late '70 or early '71.

[HStream1]

Its a Julian date.

[rckid74]

Here are some pictures of "OLD BLUE" back when she was new.

[194268]

Sweet, where were the pictures taken, was it Fond Du Lac?

[FUJIMO]

Here are some pictures of "OLD BLUE" back when she was new.

Initial mounting/set-up. Thanks again Jerry. Wait till everyone hears the V-4 story...These were great times@Merc.

[Capt.Insane-o]

[allstock]

Wow, best thread ever. I just read the whole thing, start to finish. Great job, thank you!!!

[Merc Fanatic]

I will say it again... The best read ever on S&F!! Thank you and keep it coming!!!

[rckid74]

Sweet, where were the pictures taken, was it Fond Du Lac?

These pics were taken at plt. 6 in Oshkosh. Sorry about the duplication. I’m not very computer savvy so probably hit some wrong buttons. I had wanted to post these back when I was talking about Old Blue but couldn’t find them. A couple days ago I found them while rummaging thru some drawers upstairs.
Now that I look at them closer, I see that only the first picture is of Old Blue. The others showing an engine on the propshaft dyno are of one of her sisters. The block is not dark blue.
Here are a few more of the same engine and showing more of the dyno hookup.
Attachment 295709

[rckid74]

There was nothing very unusual about the undercarriage. Between the powerhead and driveshaft housing were two adapter plates which trapped the upper mounts and also received the water from the pump and distributed it to the main inlet and some drain holes. A little was also sprayed into the exhaust to help boost the bottom end power. The exhaust extenders were bolted to the lower plate and dumped the exhaust into the exhaust collector tube which also formed the wall of water between it and the DSH.
As I recall, the gearcase was beefed up a bit but otherwise was typical Mercury.
The clamp bracket assembly was all new but at that time still used the hydraulic trim system with the pump inside the boat. Normally the hydraulic lines went from the pump, over the transom, and down to the trim cylinders. And yes, it was me, who had the bright idea to simplify that by drilling through the lower mounting bolts and routing the hydraulic oil from the pump, thru the bolts, and then connecting the outer end to the cylinders. Very neat and tidy. Well I should have stuck to engine design and kept my nose out of an area I knew nothing about. I had never mounted an engine on a boat in my life and didn’t realize that these bolts get pounded into holes, that didn’t quite line up, with big hammers and that silicone sealers were pumped into the holes first. These things were not conducive to making a good connection. Needless to say, a redesign was hurriedly put in place.

[jjamieson7284]

Read all the pages and couldn't get enough very awsome

[powerabout]

I remember those bolts.
They should have been shipped with bronze nuts to prevent the SS ones from gauling/picking up ( even when lubed)

[Capt.Insane-o]

I have quite a few sets of those bolts, they were a great idea until the ham fisted bozos got a hold of them like said above.

[powerabout]

yep good idea just needed to be shipped with bronze nuts

[njj502]

I had never seen the thru bolt until about a year ago when Rock showed em to me. Great idea but the application was not quite ideal. Thanks again for these posts. I'm loving it.