want to know about mounting plate on merc 1979 115hp

[Georgesalmon]

OK, I'm new, not to bright, and have only been posting a few days. I have a question. On my 1979 and 1/2 115hp 6cly inline merc(no distb) There is a plate of cast AL on the stbd side of the eng mounted to the block. Its pretty big, the coils, switchboxes and rectifier are mounted on it. It narrows to 3" at the bottom and goes 3 1/2" forward under the starter motor. It has four drilled and tapped holes in that area. One of which is used for the neg batt wire. The other three are just open. My curiosity has gotton the best of me and I want to know what the heck its there for. Could it be some leftover having to do with the distributor used earlier in 1979? I can't find any pictures to give me a clue. This is no emergency and my engine runs good. I wonder if there is an aftermarket part for that, or an assescory(sp), or previous to me someone removed something. It's just driving me crazy to know why merc would spend money on a beautiful cast aluminum plate and not use part of it. Thanks

 

[gwukena]

Re: want to know about mounting plate on merc 1979 115hp

I understand your thinking on this overengineered piece of aluminum. That plate was new to the adi motors. Why would merc spend the extra on something that was never used? I just like to think merc was considerate to buyers to allow for aftermarket accessories to be added without custom modifications lol. Probably somebody had big plans for that plate that never materialized. I have never seen any factory components bolted to that extra space up front, but it is a great place for an after market regulator.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: want to know about mounting plate on merc 1979 115hp

Thanks, That's what I'm gonna do.