Mercury classic 50

[Papafluff]

Hi all
Hope I'm posting this in the proper thread
I'm looking at a 1986 mercury classic 50 outboard. It's actually 45hp. The motor has electric start and pull and it's a tiller. My question is what's a motor like this worth? The pics of the motor look pretty good it's online so I can't see it in person. The seller says compression checks 140 across all 4 cylinders and there are no issues. It does have a small chip out of skeg. He's asking 1300.00 I'm just not sure what a motor like this is worth. Any input would be great

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Mercury classic 50

He is asking way too much! Around here an engine of that size and year would sell for around 800 - 1000 depending upon condition.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Mercury classic 50

I had a Mariner 45. Same motor different color. Best motor I ever had. If this one is running good I would think its a fair price. Nice and quiet for a 2 stroke and the best idling and trolling motor over 9.9hp ever made.

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Way overpriced.

That was a good/smooth engine-no doubt. But, if it was in salt-walk away.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Mercury classic 50

That would be the going rate around here.
Hard to find a bargain on a tiller motor of that size.
Even better if it has power tilt.

 

[Papafluff]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Thank you all for quick replies
The motor does not have tilt but that's not a deal breaker for me. There are many after marker ones or I could possibly find a used one. Does 140 seem high for the compression? Most of the time I see numbers around 120. The price seemed a little high to me also but I will say that it was listed as pick up only and he has agreed to pack it up and ship it to me. I would be putting this on my smoker craft 168 pro-mag What kind of performance should I expect. I have a 25 honda on there now which gets me to about 25mph on a good day. The honda is a great motor but I feel the boat is under powered. So I'm gonna sell the honda and repower with a larger motor. The boat is a tiller and around here the bigger ones are far and few between. Thank you all for your input. Your knowledge is priceless to me

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Mercury classic 50

No 140 is not high.......those older Mercury motors used to run 150+ from the factory. Yes it is OVER-PRICED for the year.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Mercury classic 50

FWIW I had mine on a Mirrocraft Agressor, 17' tiller and I got 30 or maybe 32 on a good day, three people and all the Salmon fishing gear.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Mercury classic 50

I bought a new Merc 50 in 77 and there was a tiller kit to add a tiller which I did.
Don't know if there was a kit for yours or if you could find one for a 27 year old motor.

 

[Papafluff]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Hey steel
The motor is already a tiller which is what I need

 

[Papafluff]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Hey steel
How did you like your 50? What kinda performance did you get out of it

 

[steelespike]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Right I was refering to if you needed to find a less expensive non tiller that may need a tiller.
Obviously there are lots more non tiller motors.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Mercury classic 50

I loved the motor! But I was coming from a about a 14 year old Gale 25 So performance difference was amazing and the 25 did do a goods job for a 25.I don't have any hard numbers but besides lots of power the 50 when driven at just slightly faster than the 25 actually used noticeably less fuel.The technology had moved forward that much in 14 years.The Merc was new and a little cold blooded, requiring plenty of choke and nearly impossible to hand start on a cold day.With the battery it started in seconds just a couple of punches of the choke to keep it running when started on a cold spring or fall day after sitting a week.
I feel that if it hadn't been stolen I would still have it.
I did replace it with a 88 50 Evinrude that was measurably faster and again slightly better on fuel.
I never fine tuned any of the setups so it is possible the Evinrude setup just happened to be better than the Merc.
also the Merc was rated at the powerhead and the Evinrude at the prop.A believe after 85 motors are rated at the prop for
a more accurate indication of actual hp.

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: Mercury classic 50

I never fine tuned any of the setups so it is possible the Evinrude setup just happened to be better than the Merc.
also the Merc was rated at the powerhead and the Evinrude at the prop.A believe after 85 motors are rated at the prop for
a more accurate indication of actual hp.

Yup, '83' to be exact.

The OMC product also swung a larger diameter prop.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Mercury classic 50

As others have stated, overpriced and I'm also a wee bit doubtful that a 28 year old motor is running exactly the same compression across all 4 cylinders.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Yup, '83' to be exact.

The OMC product also swung a larger diameter prop.

The Merc ran an 10 3/8" X 11 or 12" the Evinrude runs a 11 3/4 X 19. Only time it struggled slightly was getting a 180 pounder up on a single ski. Motors were /are on a 77 18ft Crestliner bare utility, 375 dry weight.

 

[Papafluff]

Re: Mercury classic 50

Hi all
Just thought I'd update
I purchased the motor. Got it at a fair price plus the guy had to pack it up arrange shipping and take it to the shipping depot. He did an amazing job packing it and it arrived unharmed. The motor is in really nice shape and has been well cared for. The compression checked exactly 140 across all 4 cylinders and that is what he told me before I purchased. I was a little skeptical myself as others noted here for a 28 year old motor to have those numbers but was delighted to see the results. The spark is also strong very strong across all 4 cylinders. The upper motor mounts are the only issue I see as they are getting bad but I would take bad motor mounts and a good strong power head than visa versa. It looks like I need to pull the power head to gain access to the upper mounts. Is there anything else I should look at while I have this puppy tore apart? Thank you all for your help and advice

 

[BrianVT]

Hi. Newb here. Thanks for having me.
Sorry to drag up an old thread but I didn't want to get flamed for not searching.
I have a Classic 50. I believe it's a 1986.
I went to Mercury website to confirm and the serial # says "not found".
Same result at the parts sites. What the heck?
The serial # on the mount and freeze plug both say A959445.
What the heck?
I'm just trying to buy a starter solenoid.

 

[jbcurt00]

@BrianVT after 7yrs, better off to start a mew topic and ask about your motor there.

After 90days w no new posts, best to avoid posting to an inactive topic

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