Re: Merc. Experts.............
Merc's "colorful" years began in the early 50's until around 1958 where you could find Merc's in orange/cream, green silver, green cream, blue/cream etc... In '59 - '61 Merc's color scheme was your basic white. 1962 saw the first Phantom Black Merc with the introduction of the 100 hp in line six cylinder (the original Tower of Power).<br />I believe 1964 was the first year to see the entire Merc line in Phantom Black. Primary colors returned in 1968 when Merc dressed up the cowling with an apple red band that housed the Mercury name. 1969 saw a slight change to the lettering outline. The red band changed in 1970 - '71 from a single solid red band to two red bands that ran above and below the Mercury lettering. 1972 (my personal favorite) saw the first blue band around the cowling. I'm fairly certain it was in 1975 that Merc first introduced their V-6 but I can't say for sure what graphics they used on those models. In '75-'76 Merc became a bit more fancy with the band stripes...opting for tri-colored bands that had turned down flags toward the back of the cowling. Blue remained the dominant accent color for some years to come, but in the early '80's Merc eventually went to a gawdy golden brown color scheme that I never much cared for. <br /><br />I think that about covers it...at least that's the best I can remember...<br /><br />Walt
