1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

ts · Apr 13, 2010

Okay, I know next to nothing about outboards, and especially two-cycle motors, but I am fairly mechanically inclined.

So, my '79 Starcraft Chieftain 18 came with this 1976 Mercury 1750 on it (I know, it's over powered, but it wasn't me :redface

.

MarineMax says they can't spin it fast enough to do a compression check, and suspect bearings "somewhere" (crank or lower unit). It has silly cone all over the wires that run to the stator, and it is missing the electric choke. A lot of the other wires have brittle insulation that is cracking, etc. They also say there is water in the lower unit oil, and has been there for what appears to be a very long time.

HELP! Is this thing worth the trouble? If not, how much should I try to sell it for?

Barnacle_Bill · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

You could buy a good used motor for what it would take to fix that one.

sschefer · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

bhile said:
You could buy a good used motor for what it would take to fix that one.

First off the motor is illegal. It can't be older than the hull.. Yep, federal smog stuff. I wouldn't sweat it though, I don't know how they'd ever prove it didn't have a newer powerhead on it.

But,,,,, there's the perfect excuse to get a better motor for a beautiful boat like a Chieftan!

ezmobee · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

sschefer said:
first off the motor is illegal. It can't be older than the hull.. Yep, federal smog stuff.

what?????????

ClassyGlassy · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

do you have a picture of it? EDIT

if you do want to build that motor here's a great guy to talk to about parts: http://www.marinepartsman.com/

ts · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

Thanks guys, I think I'm with bhile on this one. I'm thinking a nice quiet, newer 4-stroke

sschefer · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

ezmobee said:
what?????????

Yup, it's the law. The boat is legal with the engine that was installed at the time of first sale if both were new. The engine can be replaced with an engine of the same year or newer but cannot be sold as new with an older engine or have a replacement engine installed that is older than the original if the boat was origianlly sold as new.

They pretty much covered all the basis when they wrote. It was originally written in CA (we've been living with it for several years now) and adopted as a federal standard Jan 01 2010.

Interesting that you can buy an old piece of junk boat and put a new propshaft hp rated motor on it that exceeds the original HP rating and that's legal.

ts · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

The propshaft vs. "old way" rating I think is an excellent point. When I look for a newer motor I'll probably stick to 135 propshaft rating or lower.

What's the rule of thumb or "conversion" for the two ratings and about what year did it change?

ClassyGlassy · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

I believe it was around '85 or '86 when the rating changed to prop hp.....

EDIT

ts · Apr 14, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

Oh, sorry CG I've been reading through jas islander rebuild and haven't been reading this one closely enough. You are definitely closer than most! I'll try to get some pics up by this week-end. The up-side to this motor is that the trim system works great, so that might help my "new motor fund".

ts · Apr 16, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

some pics

ts · Apr 16, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

more pics...

manuelmercury · May 30, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

what was the outcome of this? do you still have the motor?

ts · May 31, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

manuelmercury said:
what was the outcome of this? do you still have the motor?

Yep, still have it. It's just sitting on a pallet waiting until I decide what to do with it.

I also scored a '97 Merc 150 EFI a few weeks ago that runs like a champ, so that is what will be going on my boat.

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manuelmercury · May 31, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

well i have the exact same motor. last year one of the carbs clogged and melted a piston, the skirt shattered and put two holes through the block. i havent had the money to fix it or get a new one.if you want to get rid of yours at a GOOD price and shipping to california is not too much ill take it off your hands.

ts · May 31, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

Oh man, that must have been a really bad day...

I honestly don't know what kind of shape this thing is in, and would hate to send garbage your way. What I do know is that the lower unit oil is milky, and the mech couldn't turn it over fast enough to do a compression check. That plus some miscellaneous stuff like it's missing the choke and a there's a bunch of silicone on the wires going up to the stator. By the sound of things I imagine you could probably get yours running with the good parts off mine though.

Are you in a rush to get something going? I wasn't planning on starting the exploratory surgery on it for a while, but I might be persuaded to open it up a bit.

Check out shipping costs and PM me. I can take some close up pics for you, and maybe open up the block to see if it would be worth it for you.

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shankforce · Jun 1, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

shipping will be more than the motor is worth I would throw both away you will just be dumping money into it or it will sit in the garage.

Faztbullet · Jun 1, 2010

Re: 1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

Yup, it's the law. The boat is legal with the engine that was installed at the time of first sale if both were new. The engine can be replaced with an engine of the same year or newer but cannot be sold as new with an older engine or have a replacement engine installed that is older than the original if the boat was origianlly sold as new.

According to US Coast Guard Marine Safety, TWRA (Tn wildlife resources ) they have never heard of such a law. This would kill marine dealers as they could not sell their last years stock and would not stock loose engines for sale. As Derrick @ TWRA said " Overrated hp boats they cannot ticket but CS can issue a citaition which is recorded and any accidents insurance company can deny any/all coverage"

1976 Mercury 1750 - is it worth fixing?

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