"Master Gasket" is just Loctite/Permatex 518 with a can of spray primer. The primer cleans & enhances the anaerobic sealer's bond. But is not absolutely necessary. You can pick up a tube of 518 on ebay, Amazon, or places like NAPA. You'll need to scrupulously clean/degrease the block & intake cover flanges.
If you're somewhere kinda cold (not so likely this time of year unless you're around the Great Lakes!), the primer will help with curing time. But I've done lots of crankcase halves with just the 518 and it does a great job by itself of sealing.
BTW it's the same type of product that BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products, formerly OMC, Outboard Marine Corp) calls "Gel-Seal".
Here's some at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-51813-Anaerobic-Gasket-Maker/dp/B0002UEONM
BTW, the old manuals say to polish the crank journals with coarser paper (I think 320 is correct), and the rods with crocus cloth. Use a little Marvel Mystery Oil for lube while you're polishing. WD would work as well, but Marvel smells better and is cheaper for a big bottle of the stuff.
Both Mercury and BRP sell a tube of "needle bearing lube" or you can use Vaseline for loose bearings (works fine with caged bearings, as well).
I find the mfr's stuff doesn't melt so easily and holds the bearings better as you install.
Be very careful with installation of rods on the pistons. Don't pound the wrist pins in; heat up the piston with a torch and the wristpin should slide right in. If the piston is stamped with a "loose" or "tight" wristpin hole designator, start the wristpin in the "loose" hole and continue to the "tight" hole until the wristpin is seated against the previously-installed wristpin clip.
If you have to tap the wristpin in, don't beat on it. Make a cradle out of wood that has the same curvature as the piston; rest the "tight" side on the cradle, heat the piston with a torch and tap the wristpin in with a plastic or similar mallet. The cradle ensures you don't distort the piston as you're installing the wrist pin.
Use a drop of Loctite Red on each rod bolt. BTW, if your rod bolts screw directly into the rods, you MUST replace them. They are stretch-type and are used only once. Otherwise you risk the chance of your newly-rebuilt motor and all its $$$ parts flying to bits! Torque rod bolts to the specs in your manual. Probably 180 inch-lb but if your manual says other, do it. If you don't have a torque wrench, pick up one on sale at Sears. The small ones aren't too expensive.
Be sure to wash the cylinder bores with a scrub brush, in hot water and detergent. This gets all the abrasive from the boring/honing operation of of the cross-hatches in the cylinders. I find that a toilet bowl scrubber does a good job and is cheap. Scrub, Scrub, Scrub, until a cloth sprayed with WD-40 comes out clean when the cylinders are wiped-down. If there's any black residue on the cloth, keep scrubbing! Immediately after you rinse the block, spray or wipe down the cylinders with WD to keep them from rusting.
I like to use Permatex #3 gasket dressing on the exhaust manifold bolts, and also on the water jacket cover bolts (the cover over the back of the block). The layer of Permatex keeps out salt and other corrosion products, and keeps the bolts from seizing in the bolt holes.
Well, those are just a few fine points! There should be lots of Good Words in your tech manual.
HTH...........ed
