is this a mercury mod vp? or just a 200?

[rgsauger]

when shaving the heads would i need to use higher octane fuel?

always!!!!!

[joeymcgovs]

at what compression numbers would you need to use higher then 93 octane?

[Merc 2.5]

Anything over 150 needs av fuel or similar or a mix ,140-150 93 is fine as long as ur boat isn't heavy as hell

[rgsauger]

^^^^^ what he said.

given your boat size, why don’t you just drop in some Chris Carson reeds and run it? No need to go nuts until you need to go nuts. 93 costs a helluva lot more than 87/89. And lower compression saves you from getting a bad tank of gas and melting down.

[joeymcgovs]

thats my plan, i just want to figure out 100% what this motor is, what parts it has on it, make sure its all 100% and rig it up! here is a pic of the boat in its current state

[joeymcgovs]

so upon further inspection, this motor already has carbon fiber reeds.. where would a serial # be stamped? i cant find one anywhere

[tlwjkw]

not all powerheads of that that time frame will have a serial number on it

its a 2.4 200.. all tha parts on it are from a 2.4 200.. did you look at tha base of number two cylinder on tha "block" half for a build date?.. its there.

[joeymcgovs]

i know this sounds ridiculous but which one is the #2 cylinder?

[joeymcgovs]

this all i can find at the base of the head on the block

[rgsauger]

i know this sounds ridiculous but which one is the #2 cylinder?

Standing at the back of the motor facing the bow, 2 top left, 4 middle left, 6 bottom left. 1 is top right, 3 is mid right, 5 is lower right.

So #2 is top on port side.

[rgsauger]

Be careful with this rig and wear a good life jacket and your kill switch lanyard. Take your time getting to know it. Don’t want to get wet, or worse.

[joeymcgovs]

thank you so much for helping me out, i have a couple pics of 2 different mid sections with lowers, not sure which to use...

the one with the hydarulic steering and the lower with the bobs nose cone and chopper prop came with the power head, it has a huge ram on it, with a pump that mounts in the hull, the nose cone came off and needs to be epoxied back on, there are also holes in the mid section which look like exhaust ports?

the other mid section and lower came from an 84 or 85 merc 150, that set up has the pump in the tilt trim bracket...

not sure why the one lower has a pin at the top of the drive shaft and the other does not...

any help would be greatly appreciated

[rgsauger]

I’m going to vote for the mid without the holes in the exhaust. Bump it with 12 volts and see if it works up and down.

If if you clean both parts thoroughly and scuff accordingly, you can use the black MarineTex epoxy to put the cone back on.

[joeymcgovs]

im glad you said that because i actually bought the mid/lower with the pump in the bracket to use because i wasnt sure of the mid/lower that came with the power head... not sure why the ram is so big on it, the guy i got it from kept trying to tell it it was the "larger" mid that was better then the rest, but i like the mid i bought because its compact and all one unit...

however to use that mid/lower i will have to take the exhaust tube? out of the one with the hydraulic steering right?

[tlwjkw]

tha mid with tha one big cylinder is either a early (pre '83) mid with a one piece adapter or is actually an early high performance bass mid..

think tha three ram mid will be better in your case.....

tha case with tha pin sticking out tha top of tha drive shaft is justa a early model pre-load case.. weaker of tha two.

#2 is top port (left) cylinder.. in picture below tha stamp will be kinda right behind tha "bend" in tha timin' arm...