Just got my first big outboard!

[joemallon]

Hi all, so for the past few months since I got into old outboards I have been hounding my father in law to let me bring his 1960’s Starcraft runabout and 1968 Mercury 650 (SN: 2167008) up to my shop for me to get back on the water and he finally gave in this past weekend! The boat, motor and trailer have been hidden under a tarp for the last 10 years next to his shed and all are in need of some TLC at this point. I gave the whole setup a good thorough cleaning and was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was very intact and original, I did find that the transom is completely rotten tho, I am thinking of going the Seacast route for that repair. The motor turns over freely and has good compression, however I did notice that when I went to change the LU oil the first bit of fluid that came out was mostly water. I am worried that it may have frozen in there over the last 10 years and am planning to completely rebuild the LU as a precaution before I try to run it. Is there anything that I need to look for on this motor before I do anything more? My father in law said that it ran great but had a tendency to flood when he would try to troll with it. I am not sure if that might indicate a problem of if it simply wasnt meant for that kind of use. Also, do any of you have any experience with Seacast or Arjay? Will it hold up to the 65hp outboard out on Lake Erie??? Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Joe

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[Eric McNett]

These big mercs werent made for heavy trolling, best to have a small tiller for that kind of use, so it would make sense that it would load up and run like crud. not much knowledge on the transom repairs but im sure someone here will. If the water that came out was a small amount then i wouldnt be worried unless you see crack somewhere in the lower. A good start of course would be the water pump and seals and give the bearings and gears a good once over to make sure theyre not heavily pitted. Its in really good shape looks like, what took him so long to come around,lol!

Eric McNett
Seattle AOMCI Member

[bobw]

Motor sure looks good on the outside anyway! Good luck with getting it going – keep us posted on your progress.

Bob

1937 Champion D2C Deluxe Lite Twin
1954 Johnson CD-11
1957 Evinrude Fastwin 18
1958 Johnson QD-19
1958 Johnson FD-12
1959 Johnson QD-20

“Every 20 minute job is only a broken bolt away from a 3-day project.”
"Every time you remove a broken or seized bolt an angel gets his wings."

[crosbyman]

good looking motor a touch of black Merc paint will make it look like new !

hopefully the gear case is not cracked . if the gears feel ok why not just fill it up with oil and try it out

this book has a pretty good write up on transom restoration

https://www.amazon.com/Runabout-Renovat … 0071580085

the folks at Fiberglassics can help to but I think you need to sign up and be member cost $$$ ????

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[rapier]

Looks great. Is a 1967 model though. I like the decals..had a 350 of that year.

[20mercman]

The 650 was a very good motor. Many of the techs considered it one of their best, and without saying, they were head and shoulders above the later 3 cylinder motors. The later large in line 4, 800 & 850 were prone to out of round cylinder wear due to folks trolling them. Other than that, they were not bad, (full disclosure, I have a 1971 800 that I bored +.030 and I really like it) but I have not heard that the 650 were prone to the same condition. That said, the addition of a proper trolling motor is good advice.

Steve

[Steve A W]

Tinboats.net has good info on restoration of aluminum boats.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/
We’ve got a 72 eighteen foot Starcraft on our someday list.

Steve A W

Member of the MOB chapter.
I live in Northwest Indiana

[amuller]

I have the Runabout Renovation book and it’s useful. Worth getting. I’ve never done a transom. It’s a big job, and if you have a rotten deck and stringers you are looking at mucho time and effort.

Curious: Why would trolling wear the cylinder walls?

[dave-bernard]

motor runs to cold. the pump is oversized for the 4cyl same pump is made for the 6cyl.

[amuller]

quote Dave Bernard:

motor runs to cold. the pump is oversized for the 4cyl same pump is made for the 6cyl.

No thermostat on these motors?

[Author]

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