1974 Signa Echo - build + restoration

[lukecoomer]

I am new to the forum and just purchased my first boat. It is a 1974 Signa Echo with an 85hp Mercury 850 outboard motor. (fiberglass hull)







The boat also came with a trailer (1974 Shoreline) and title for both... you guys would not believe what I got this boat for.

I have big plans for this boat, motor, and trailer and will be posting my building process and everything along in this thread. I got the boat without knowing if it would run or not as I was told by the guy I got it from that he just purchased it and it sat in their yard... but they said it ran and was in the water a couple years ago and that the motor and boat was winterized and new cables were ran and that was about it.

When the cables were replaced, he said the guy didn't know how to put the MerControl system back together but all of the parts to do so were there. The engine was not covered for around 2 winter seasons and all the rain and snow got on it.

I hope you guys are excited for my build, I also want to help people out with the same boat/motor so I will be posting lots of useful information for people as I continue along with the build process.

 

[lukecoomer]

I first started with testing all of the wires as it was a huge mess and looked like a ton of people have been through them all... a lot of the wires were deteriorated and needed replaced. After I tested all of the wires with a multi-meter and power probe, I replaced and fixed the bad wiring spots to where I could get the boat turned on. The MerControl ignition switch was still in and working so I got the boat fired up within a couple days with using a gallon jug with the 50:1 fuel to 2 stroke oil mixture and ran it like that after testing the fuel pump and making sure all the connections were good.

I don't have any images of the MerControl disassembled but I found multiple older videos with the disassembly, assembly, and restoration of the MerControl unit by YouTubers: Steve Watroba & MerCSon L6
Steve Watroba video part 1
Steve Watroba video part 2
MerCSon L6 video 1
MerCSon L6 video 2

After I got the boat running though, I focused on the trim controller as the boat did not trim at all.


I removed the pump & bracket from the inside the back of the hull and it took forever as the back-bracket bolts were extremely hard to get to. I had to tighten down the pump lines, redo some of the wiring, and add more fluid.

I will attach the wiring guide and pump manual that was useful to me




I noticed the "trim limit switch" was missing and they just took the purple-white and blue-white wires and spliced the sleeves and connected them together so there is no trim limit switch and I will probably never install one as I don't see it being necessary. The pump part is #4560a1

These 2 forums have a lot of explanation on how the pump works and operates: unidentifiable mercury tilt/trim pump & Re: wiring harness part# and specs to go from dash board to the tilt/trim pump (merc

I got the pump and controller back in operable shape and still need to add more fluid, do some rewiring, and bleed the system but I will save that for a later date...

I also would like to relocated the pump as I can't access the fill port, or anything except the manual engage valve. Any recommendations on where to relocate? There is not many places without relocating wires or getting longer oil lines.

 

[lukecoomer]

After getting the motor to fire and run and fixing the trim controller & switch, I thought I should put back together the MerControl box and see if I can get it working so I can get my boat in gear and the throttle operable.

Throughout owning the boat now for a few days without any knowledge at all prior to boats (I have knowledge in car & truck engines, small engines such as mowers, etc.) there is no water at all coming out of the tell-tale so I am going to order a new water pump kit for the lower end in hopes that resolves the issue but I can not run the motor for too long for now because of that.

Back to the MerControl unit, I had found I have all of the parts to put it back together luckily, in another reply, I will post part numbers and some measurements for anyone that can find them useful. The videos I linked in the reply above helped me 100% understand the control unit and how to put it back together and operate it.

Today I assembled the box back together and got it working... somewhat
Those new cables they got seem to be rusted or something (I would assume from the boat not being covered at all for a couple years) because it does not like shifting into gear at all and the throttle cable is pretty sticky. I need to grease the 2 fittings that are on/near the distributor (I believe, will post pics later) for the throttle but that's not affected it too bad right now. I will probably eventually order both cables to reinstall or try to fix the other ones at a later date.

 

[lukecoomer]

Measurements & part #'s for MerControl unit





I measured the neutral dowel piece and it comes out to 5/16 x 9/32 (0.2820in x 0.3120in or 7.20mm x 7.82mm) for anyone wanting to make a custom one that lost theres or something... take the measurement with a grain of salt as I used the Harbor Freight cheap Pittsburgh digital calipers.


Control box cam (part #59369)


Control box shift lever (part #34682)


Control box throttle lever (part #34671)


Remote control housing (part #45939)


Throttle remote control box housing with neutral warmup lever (part #45880)

I will try to get more part numbers and such another day and update this reply

 

[lukecoomer]

I believe that my forward gear is having a much harder time shifting because the shift lever has that open spot where the cam gear connects




And the open spot is bowed and cracked open more than it should be and the cam gear slips and can't get back in without excessive force. Think I will order that part (around $40 on eBay...) and clean the unit up more and add grease for the moving parts and possibly rewire the ignition switch, electric choke button, and neutral safety switch in the future, but for now, I am happy that the box is put back together and somewhat operable.

In the future, I am thinking I want to relocate the ignition switch and electric choke button to the dash of the boat and make a custom shift and throttle assembly or find one online.



The four gauges (from left-to-right) are: engine hours & aqua meter, battery volt meter, speedometer, and fuel gauge. I want to add a tach since the MerControl unit has the hookups for it directly attached and easy to access. The 2 switches to the left of the trim controller turn the volt meter on and the bottom was illuminates the volt meter. I have no idea what the very left pull switch did.