1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane" Questions

[Jung4g]

I just picked this motor up from a local that had a number of motors left to him when his father passed last fall. He was trying to get me to by an old Super 10, but it had no lower cover, no carb, and some other pieces were obviously broken.

Basically, I wanted a bigger motor than the 3 hp I have, so I picked the Mark 28 up and it seemed to be in good shape and complete (a good thing compared to what I've seen a lot of in the last couple days). Now that I'm reading how difficult it is to maintain, I'm not sure it was the best move, but it matches the era of my boat (1961) and I got it for $150 (again, comparitively, it seemed like a good deal, and I know I can sell my 3 hp (1994) for around that).

What should I do before trying to run this? or would I be alright just cleaning the carb and trying to start it up (in a bucket, of course). I'm of the mind, if it runs, go with it, and if not it looks cool and is 50 years old, so why not display it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated (and yes, I'll buy the manual if it looks like it'll run).

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Without question, you'll need to have the waterpump impeller serviced. However, this is one of those things that you can do once you determine that the motor is worth putting time and money into. Do a compression check, check for spark, check hoses, check the lower unit oil condition, etc. Once you get that far, and the motor seems to be worthy, then tackle the waterpump. The OEM service manual is a must. Available new at oldmercs.com, and frequently find used ones on eBay. Will take some backyard engineering to make up the tools, or you might get lucky if you have a local Merc guru who has them and is willing to either let you borrow them or set things up for you...
Outside of the waterpump/transmission issues, they are good running motors and you shouldn't have to do it again for a number of years...
- Scott

 

[Kajun37]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

i have a good manual for it...bought from oldmercs..let me know if you want it...

 

[Jung4g]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to go through the motor this weekend to determine it's usability. I'm not to concerned about getting special tools and all that as I've been a mechanic for years and have found outboards to be relatively simple compared to cars/trucks. I make custom tools all the time while working on cars, so I'm sure I can toss something together to do the water pump impeller.



Kajun,

I'll PM about the manual, thanks.

 

[Jung4g]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane"

Well, I got her running today with a quick clean out of the carb. I discovered the secondary throttle control (Start/Run/Troll lever) linkage is broken, but that should be an easy.

My only concern now is that when I started it, I put it into gear (twisted into forward, is that all I need to do?) and rev'd it for a second, but the prop wasn't spinning at all, any thoughts on that?

 

[rblanc9000]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane" Questions

I hope you can save it my dad had a boat with a Mark 28 on it and aside from the fact that the boat should have had about 20 more horsepower it ran like a champ fo over 20 years with no problems. I gave it away and wish i still had it now to get me home when my Black Max quits.

 

[Jung4g]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane" Questions

It looks like I may have some tranny issues as well as the prop doesn't spin while the motor is running, but the shop manual, parts list, and owner's manuals are on the way. I'll get it apart once those arrive and assess the damage or malfunction.

I did find another one of these that I may pick up as well to have for either parts or to eventually build a custom little twin outboard boat. I think twin 22s would be kinda cool.

 

[EarthtoBarry]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane" Questions

I picked one of these Mark 28s up last summer. Anyone know the best fuelil mix for this engine? I think it's 24:1 originally but with today's oils 32 or 50:1 ? Any advice on adjusting the mixture screw would be appreciated also. Tx. B

 

[shaunw07]

Re: 1958 Mercury Mark 28 "Super Hurricane" Questions

I just bought a 66 starcraft and it hasa 58 mercury mark 28 super hurricane im not familiar with outboard motors i assume its not running what is it worth.