Merc V6 History

[Dave S]

Yes and on the commmputer that never goes Wonk.... he should wright a book so we don't fail to keep his meeeems.......Just Dammmm.......he did the 60 V6......impressive .... to say the least....

[rckid74]

...One of those "Hey, you got chocolate in my peanutbutter moments"... Great story & very interesting Mercury history we all love hearing Jerry. Keep 'um coming.

Chocolate in my peanutbutter moments ??? Sounds like a Reesecup to me.

[FUJIMO]

Chocolate in my peanutbutter moments ??? Sounds like a Reesecup to me.

Well, it came from just that. A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial back in the 70's. The commercial said: Hey, you got peanut butter in my chocolate!...as two kids played. Which we all have come to know was a great new discovery, in a somewhat accidental way. I know, I know...The 2 x 4 was not an "accident"...lol Thanks again for all your great input here.

[rckid74]

Well, it came from just that. A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial back in the 70's. The commercial said: Hey, you got peanut butter in my chocolate!...as two kids played. Which we all have come to know was a great new discovery, in a somewhat accidental way. I know, I know...The 2 x 4 was not an "accident"...lol Thanks again for all your great input here.

As a young kid I ate so many reese cups my buddies started calling me the reese cup kid. Hense my moniker here on S&F.

[Capt.Insane-o]

The 880 (4cyl) came out in1985 but the 879 (3cyl) came out a year or two before that. --- Sorry Captain!!

Not to be obtuse but no....the 4 cylinder 100 was debuted in the 1988 model line. I have the serial number written down somewhere but it was in the first 500 of production motors. Excellent motor non the less.

The first boat it was on was a 17 ft saf-t-mate *cough* four winns open bow tri hull. With 9 people in the boat and 4 more on two tubes with a 17 it still marched us to 33 miles an hour. It was a damn warhorse.

[rckid74]

Not to be obtuse but no....the 4 cylinder 100 was debuted in the 1988 model line. I have the serial number written down somewhere but it was in the first 500 of production motors. Excellent motor non the less.

The first boat it was on was a 17 ft saf-t-mate *cough* four winns open bow tri hull. With 9 people in the boat and 4 more on two tubes with a 17 it still marched us to 33 miles an hour. It was a damn warhorse.

By 1988 I was long gone from the I4 project. By then I had also done a jet drive using the I4 (which didn't make production) and the X12 which I've already covered here.

[Capt.Insane-o]

You were involved in some fun things

[rckid74]

You were involved in some fun things

I was!! And enjoyed every minute of it. --- Well -- almost.

[FMP]

Ouch!! You hit a nerve with that one Bernie. I was hoping I would'nt have to say anything about the 880. Not one of my better efforts!

Summer of '76 and the V6 (175HP) was looking like a winner so the powers-that-be decided they'd like to extend loop scavinging into the lower power ranges. I guess it seemed natural to just take 2 cylinders off the V6 and make a V4 to serve the 100 - 130 HP range. The V6 already had a 150HP version on the boards. So I was pulled off the V6 and assigned the V4 project. Well 2/3's of 122 = 81.33 cubic inches which (without pulse tuning to help) is kinda skimpy to ask for 130HP. But I tried. I really tried. It was to be a 60 degree V4 using the same machining and assembly lines as the V6. Makes sense. But 130 just wouldn't come. I tried several firing orders, I tried different exhaust arrangements. I even tried a wild idea I had of firing the engine as a three cylinder (#1 cyl fires, 120 later #2 cyl fires, 120 later both #3 and #4 fire together) so I could use pulse tuning, and this was the most powerful version I came up with (I think about 125HP). But the balance was not very good and the double pulse would put a lot of extra load on the gear set, so we decided against that. I wasn't getting anywhere so somebody up there decided to scrap the v4 idea and instead go for an inline 4 and a matching inline 3. That way we could cover the entire midrange (60 to 115) with new loopers. Yes they lowered the top expectation and decided to also make a 135HP V6 to cover the upper midrange. That's how the 880 (big inline 4) project came about. Getting late - I'll talk a little about the 880 tomarrow.

60*V with crank pin spacing of 30* on 1-2 and 3-4 , 1-3 and 2-4 at 180* ? Would enable adequate degree time between port to port pairing with manifold spacing length, all 4 ex ports still talking to each other, not two inline twins with separate exhaust chest. Engine would still fire once every 90*, for those wondering.

[powerabout]

X12 would of looked good before they went to the v8

[Sydneyoptimaxman]

Jerry I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the happy days (skiing and fishing) that you have provided for me and my family through your amazing work on the Merc V6.

I have had a 2006 Optimax 135 hp 2.5 litre for the past 4 years. I love the growl that this enormously strong motor makes. I love that I can service it myself. To see and hear a quick video of my motor and me go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owsv3vpVel8

By the way would you mind posting a picture of yourself (then and now)? We would all love to see a picture of the man who gave us so much.

[bernie]

Jerry I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the happy days (skiing and fishing) that you have provided for me and my family through your amazing work on the Merc V6.

I have had a 2006 Optimax 135 hp 2.5 litre for the past 4 years. I love the growl that this enormously strong motor makes. I love that I can service it myself. To see and hear a quick video of my motor and me go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owsv3vpVel8

By the way would you mind posting a picture of yourself (then and now)? We would all love to see a picture of the man who gave us so much.

Here's a then picture of Jerry and his X12 I just happened to save once upon a time

[rckid74]

Jerry I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the happy days (skiing and fishing) that you have provided for me and my family through your amazing work on the Merc V6.

I have had a 2006 Optimax 135 hp 2.5 litre for the past 4 years. I love the growl that this enormously strong motor makes. I love that I can service it myself. To see and hear a quick video of my motor and me go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owsv3vpVel8

By the way would you mind posting a picture of yourself (then and now)? We would all love to see a picture of the man who gave us so much.

Thank you Maxman!! ---- It's always good to hear from someone who has derived much enjoyment from a product I had a lot to do with many years ago. ---- I don't know why anyone would want a pic of my ugly mug but here are a couple. The first is me at the age of about 33-34 which is about when I was doing the design work on Blackmax. The second is from a few years ago.

[Sydneyoptimaxman]

Jerry I also have to tell you that I have found your stories informative, fascinating and hilarious in equal parts.

I always wondered what the little hoses coming off my thermostats were for........AHA!

And your story about the 2 by 4.... here was I thinking that Merc had conceived the cylinder shutdown from the beginning, what a great idea. Little did I know what really happened and how you made a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

One thinks of big companies like Merc creating amazing products but what it really, really is about, is a bunch of human beings like you trying to do their best, to do good things..........

[Dave S]

Hey Kid.... ya look like a happy gent........and that x12 is way cool..... now if ya did a opti.....x12.......