Old evinrude, Should i do it?

[jbjennings]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

JMO, the 6 is a great motor but pretty slow compared to a 10hp. I'd definitely not want to go back to a 6hp. They were o.k. when you're under 150 lbs. but not so great when you get over 200 like me. The 10 is just a really nice motor that will carry your fishin' gear and another person pretty well. I really like my 10's. And those newer motors have some pretty expensive ignition parts and it seems like lower unit stuff is more expensive too.
BTW, you should have bought the 15.
JBJ

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

ONe more thing,
You'd better know what you're doing before you get a mercury. In the 70's they made 9.8hp's. Before '76 they had cast iron driveshafts, after they used stainless steel. If you don't know why this is important, you don't want an old mercury. BTW, I have mercs and OMC's but you can probably see from my avatar which I like best, so I am a little biased.
Good luck,
JBJ

 

[cc67]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

You don't see alot of older Mercs around here any more. The ones you do see are usually running without the motor cover.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

ok, I'll bite, I've also seen Merc's with the cover off... why is that?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

'Cause the motors are always being worked on!

The biggest problem I would have with owning an older Merc is that a) I don't like them (sorry, couldn't resist) and b) parts are harder to come by than the OMCs.

 

[PW2]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

ONe more thing,
You'd better know what you're doing before you get a mercury. In the 70's they made 9.8hp's. Before '76 they had cast iron driveshafts, after they used stainless steel. If you don't know why this is important, you don't want an old mercury. BTW, I have mercs and OMC's but you can probably see from my avatar which I like best, so I am a little biased.
Good luck,
JBJ

I agree with this. I had an older Merc 9.8 and it was used in a salt water environment. While I thought the drive shaft was mild steel instead of cast, and even though I flushed it regularly, there was no way to keep it from rusting. Then when you needed to change a water pump, you had to replace the entire drive shaft assembly. At the time I had this motor, a stainless replacement was not available (or so they told me at least).

There is a reason that older Mercs tend to be cheaper than older J/E's of the same power range, especially if there is any chance they were used in a salt water environment. I never did any repair on that Merc that did not involve drilling one or more broken/ corroded bolts. I finally gave up on that thing and gave it away to an unsuspecting former friend

 

[cc67]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

'Cause the motors are always being worked on!
You got it. I've towed in several of those old hoodless Mercs with my old 66 Johnson.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

You're right----mild steel, not cast iron. It's such crappy stuff for a drive shaft that I just got accustomed to calling it that. Those mercs sure do purr and sound great/run smooth when they are "right", and have lots of torque,too. But I sure haven't seen too many good used ones. When they're bad, they're BAAAADDDDD!
JBJ

 

[mikesea]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

I guess is alot about personal preferance.I worked on a ton of the late 70's to early 90's 9.9 and 15's.The problems were usually carbs dirty from laying up too long with gas.many are portables that sit in the corner til used or kickers for sailboats,thus lack of use.also overheat probs because there is a rubber grommet under the powerhead that collapses into the water passages,the kill buttons wear out causing spark problems,thats the first thing to do is disco.the button if spark is lost,I also had older 50's engines,yes easy to take apart,but the newer aren't bad either,the newer are better performers,have thru prop exhust that helps quiet and performance,all round tightness of the cowls make rattles non existant,good fit,the later fiberglass cowls on the older made things better than he old alum.hinged cowls of earlier 50's.as for availability,I guess I should get back into the buying and selling of the 9.9 and 15.I did that back in early 90's and did well.moved onto other things.I live in the keys and saw a 9.9 for sale not long ago for $300,if I knew I could of made a few hundred I would have ebayed it.I'll look at the classifieds ,if its still around I'll post it.got a nautical flea mkt.coming upin a few weeks down here,there are always a few there.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Where are you in the Keys? I try to get down there to paddle every winter... it's harder with 2 little kids now though!

In fact, I just got in my latest paddling atlas for the Keys in today... It's gives me lots more places to paddle down there now...

 

[santander]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Went to check out the mercury and it was frozen solid, i live in st augustine, fl so it was strictly used in salt. The guy let it sit on the back of the boat with out running for 2 years and now it appears to be locked up. The evinrude is still for sale and they are asking $300, i am a little worried that the motor will be to slow but i usually fish by myself and i only weight 150lb. Will this get me on plane, i would like to go a least 15 mph? I have a small deck and trolling motor in the front of the boat. Anyone live around here with a decent 6-15 hp motor that wants to help a poor medical student out and sell him a motor?
thanks

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

How about a Johnson 6?

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/521546357.html

or a 9.9 for $650?

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/518124135.html

 

[santander]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

I had called both those people earlier in the week but with no response. I am unlucky with craigslist b/c i either don;t get on it quick enough or the seller isn;t to intrested in selling.

 

[wbeaton]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

That old 15 hp is powerful. It will get you on plane fine. It has more power than a 9.9 hp and should send you across the water around 22-23 mph.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

I would of gotten the 15. Good cheap power.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Old evinrude, SHOULD'VE DONE IT!!!!

--especially if it was as described---runs great, practically new.
JBJ

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Well...I've got a 62 Gale Sea King 15 hp lurking in the shop. Send me a PM. Did you look up the amoci.org (URL) chapter in your area? They have swap meets...might prowl one and pick up a motor and a bud or two, to boot. Check their website www.aomci.org Just an idea if the others fall through.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Santander, here's another cheap deal if you want to drive a couple of hours:

http://tampa.craigslist.org/boa/525381434.html

I'd even offer him $50 if I was there!

or

http://tampa.craigslist.org/boa/524316745.html

or

http://tampa.craigslist.org/boa/519271191.html

 

[frustratedboater]

Re: Old evinrude, Should i do it?

Sandander,
That is a good deal. That is true, there is no 57' for that hp. Model # 15916 thru 15919 is a 56'. 15015 is a 55' You are probably looking at a 56. I'd grab it!
"Frustratedboater"