1976 Mercury 1150

[five20too]

I've been reading a lot on here and I have gotten a lot of great information, but now I need to ask a question. I am putting a boat together as a project. I picked up an old Sea Ark from a buddy for real cheap and then did some trading to get this (I believe 1976) Mercury 1150 SN: 4313322. It is just the motor and tilt or trim controller box looking thing. My problem is that I know nothing about boats whatsoever. This is my 1st boat ever and I'm worried I may have bit off more than I can chew. I don't have the external harness for it, or any controls, or any steering cables. The internal harness is definitely shot and of course it doesn't run. I was able to do a compression check on it the other day and cylinders 1-5 were between 109 and 114 psi. Is that acceptable? I couldn't access the 6th cylinder with it being so low in the housing. Also, I couldn't check the spark, which I'm guessing is because I was turning it over straight off of the starter stud. Is there anything else I can do to check and see if this motor is even worth repairing? I'm wondering if I should just part it out and buy new. Thanks for any help!

 

[Bob_VT]

I would pass on that motor. It "will run" with that compression but, my last inline 6 had 165 across all cylinders. It sounds like it needs allot of wiring and work........ I have rebuilt in-line 6 motors that needed less work and would avoid one needing that much

Parting it out may not be a bad idea and keep looking for used........ a new one with 115 hp will be around 10K!

 

[five20too]

Yes sir I know the new ones can be super expensive. I guess I will be stepping back from the project and possible scrapping the boat, selling the trailer and then parting out or selling the motor parts. Thank you for your quick reply and for your bit of wisdom!

 

[Chris1956]

Five, That motor has adequate compression. You will need a new engine harness ($100), plus a boat harness ($unknown) to run her. That motor needs has a distributor right? If so, she needs +12VDC to have spark. That motor was a very good one in it's time. At this point if you can find the boat harness for a reasonable price, and get yourself a Merc OEM Service manual, she could be worth getting her to run.

The switchbox ($250?) and trigger ($200) in the distributor, are expensive to replace, and the distributor rotor ($200) is non-removeable and fragile. There is a way you can jury rig the ignition and test everything but the trigger.

 

[five20too]

Thanks for your reply Chris. I really would like to go ahead with this project since I got everything at such a great deal on the motor and boat. Below I left some links of what I believe I need. I don't have a side mount, or any cables, or anything I need really besides the motor and the trim pump thing. The item from Ebay is one that I am hoping will cover what I'm missing from the controller to the motor and then the other item I'm hoping will take care of the known engine harness problem. I would appreciate it if you could take the time to look it over and give me any feedback. I don't know if those cables will even work with my motor, or if the 2 harnesses will even plug together. Thanks for any assistance you can offer.

Levi

http://www.crowleymarine.com/mercury-outboard/parts/463_8.cfm

(I'm thinking the second item #1)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FRESHWATER-M...fafae0&vxp=mtr

 

[Chris1956]

You can bet a better deal on the engine wiring harness. They are available from several places on the web. I would google the part number.

I couldn't tell if the boat harness URl you provided would fit. You need a engine connector like this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-FRESHW...05&prg=11353&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=271555689184&rt=nc

Most MERC control boxes and throttle and shift cables will fit, as they are pretty universal. The electrical connection is the hard thing to find, as they are old.

 

[five20too]

Good info Chris and thanks for keeping me from buying the wrong stuff. I went ahead and ordered the internal harness. While searching for the external harness I found this (link is below). I am in need of a console, steering wheel, cables and everything else like I said before. Would you happen to know if this will fit my motor? Having everything in one complete set up would be nice, and then I believe I would just need to find the external harness and plumb it in.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400824303022

Thanks again for all of your assistance!

 

[Chris1956]

That ebay link looks to be a pontoon center console. I have no idea if that will fit your boat. Your Merc engine will accept any standard steering cable (rack and Pinon or rotary), as is appropriate for your console. R&P systems take more side-to-side space than rotary steering systems.

 

[five20too]

Thanks for the heads up on that console. It sucks being the FNG but I will get it figured out eventually. I may just end up fabricating my own console since I have a bunch of aluminum sheets I pulled out of the boats interior.