General questions, mid 70's 50hp Mercury

[Catwagon]

I'm considering buying a mid seventies 50hp Mercury locally but I have a couple questions I like to ask you first.

Are there any "problem areas" on this motor I should be concerned with? If no, were they generally a good design and fairly reliable?

Last question, Anyone have a ballpark guestimate as to what they might weigh? (Mid 70's 50hp short shaft that was running well before being stored three years ago is all the info I have, sorry.)

Thank you very kindly in advance for any help folks.

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: General questions, mid 70's 50hp Mercury

I think you can get the weight on NADAs site. Great motors, (I'm biased though: just look at my handle). In general: the late 60s to mid 80s Mercs were very powerful for their weight. They were very simple. They had a weak cooling system, (but simple to watch and fix if you catch it before it causes a big problem). They had weak fuel systems, (but again fairly simple and easy to fix). My $.02. JR ps They were very good looking motors too!!

 

[Laddies]

Re: General questions, mid 70's 50hp Mercury

The 50 HP 4 cyl mercurys were bullet proof if the maint was done and the gear lube kept clean, they used the some cooling system from 1961 till 1996 with no problems. Weight 180# for electric start engine

 

[Catwagon]

Re: General questions, mid 70's 50hp Mercury

That's exactly the type of information I was hoping for. thank you both very much for your quick and informative answers!