1976 700 70HP Outboard Mercury I need some advice.

[pvh762000]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking of replacing my Force 90HP with a Mercury 70HP. I know this guy who is selling his 1976 70HP Mercury for $350 with controller. I tried to talk him to lower the price but this is the lower he will go. I started the motor and it sounds fine. Compression on all 3 cylinders are around 110psi. We couldn't run the motor for long because we didn't have a muff. But the guy told me it's in good shape. One thing I didn't like was that it didn't have power triim or tilt. Is this a good price to buy the motor?

Also I will be using this motor for a 18' bowrider fiberglass boat. Will I be able to go at least 25 mile per hour with this motor?

Any advice or suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1976 700 70HP Outboard Mercury I need some advice.

You should get 25 MPH out of the motor, based upon the weight and hull design of the boat. Why not get a more powerful motor? If you are willing to buy one that old, you may be able to get a 115HP for a bit more.

As for the motor's condition. You know it is capable of producing power because of it's good compression, provided the ignition, cooling and fuel systems are good. Running for a few seconds dry, does not indicate (reliably) how the motor will work on the water.

You can look up the price in a "blue book" internet listing.