I need advice on rebuilding a Merc 500 from 1962

[AaronB79]

Mine is a 50 hp with a 400 face plate.



I also have plans to do a few more when the right engines come up.



It's starting to get a bit out of hand now

It looks like you have a few good projects in the works! I think these engines look great on a homemade Glen-l boat, I just can't wait to get started with mine!

[AaronB79]

Her are a couple of sites that have parts and service manuals. And a Merc. forum with a lot of information.
http://www.johnsoldmercurysite.com/phpBB3
http://www.johnsmcintoshvintagemercuryoutboard.com/
I used them to help me get my merc 400E 45 hp running.
Jeff

Thanks for the help, Jeff.

[AaronB79]

Compression test #1 job - if 120 psi +/- engine innards pretty good and worth further investigation, if low, the unless you want to tear down the engine, part it out.

Dropping the magneto and if not replacing, at least filing, cleaning and gaping the points, hopefully replacing the condenser, doable to try and get spark.

I'll give this a try. The previous owner told me he lost spark, but I didn't think it would be that hard to fix. I didn't realize the parts were so hard to come by. Thanks

[gdcarpenter]

Points and condenser should be relatively to find, but even cleaning/ filing them might let you know if that's the problem. Those parts shouldn't cost that much, and if you are going to drop the magneto you may as well have new ones on hand. If compression is good it might be worth a shot.

[Mhick22]

It's a straight swap on any of the wrap around cowls blue,red and brown but it won't work on the clamshell cowls. The engine must also have the same number of cylinders as the one the cowling came off.

So the older top cover piece lined up and fit right onto the newer engine flywheel with no problem? And the wraparound cowl is the same size? I'm trying to do the same thing!

[fergal butler]

I just know about the red, blue and brown bands not sure if the older white merc's .

[Mhick22]

I just know about the red, blue and brown bands not sure if the older white merc's .

Ok. So you took a blue band 50 hp and put the cowl and top cover from a merc 400 on and it lined up and worked just like that? No other modification required?

[BillW]

This is a little hard to follow, but if your first priority is to get it running, then:

As mentioned above, check the compression.
If it's good, get a service manual. As a minimum, plan to service the carbs, water pump, ignition, & gear case lube.

The folks at http://www.johnsoldmercurysite.com would love to help you thru it.

After it's running, then new decals can make it look like a different model/year, if that is your goal.