50hp blueband

[James]

I have been offered a 50hp blue band Mercury outboard engine without controls. Early 1970's. Not inspected yet, but informed that it runs well - no knocks or water in gearbox.
Anyone know if it is worth going for? At what price would it be worth it? I am prepared to work on it, but then would I be better going for a mercury 40hp 1990's model at £1000, instead of the old blue band for say £200?

Any views appreciated, Thanks.

 

[BarryH]

What you gotta ask yourself, can a 30 year old engine be trusted. If its got the Thunderbolt ignition system its probably closer to 35 years old. Spares probably still availabe for it, but at a price.

I would personally go for the 90's 40 hp. Smoother running, a bit more economical (as far as 2 stokes go!), spares plentiful, and probably more reliable. Still its your money!

 

[jfm]

Whether it's better depends on whether the £800 diff matters.

If you describe the decals or give the serial # I could tell you the exact year. I presume it is the 4 cyl model. BarryH is not correct on thunderbolt ignition - if it has a distributor under the cowl with 4 HT leads (yellow, if original) going to the plugs then it is 1972 or prior, whereas if it is solid state ign (no distributor) then it is 1973 on. The 1973 on is badged "Thunderbolt", and the engine will be called a "500" I spect. If the decals where it says "500" have silver/black italic typeface it is 1973 or prior, if the typeface is upright and blue/silver then it is 1974-on. I mean the smaller decals, not the "Mercury" decals which will have the StarTrek italic typeface.

The engineering is solid, will easily go for decades. But if anything is bust parts (and labour, if you use a dealer) are expensive. Wobble the propshaft to check there's no play in the bearings. Fuel consumption will be high, praps 4-5 galls an hour and highish speed. They work fine on unleaded fuel, by the way

 

[James]

Thankyou

 

[James]

Thank you