1960 Merc 300 No Spark - Little help?

teewhy

Cadet
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
23
Hello everyone, and thanks for taking the time to try and help me.

I've got a 1960 Merc 300 E that I'm trying to resurrect. I got the motor as a project and, despite it being an 'E' model (indicating electric start), it did not come with a starter, interior wire connections, or even a flywheel with teeth to accept a starter's pinion gear. It's almost like it has always been a manual start motor. At any rate, I'm trying to pull start it but I'm not getting spark on any of the cylinders. (using new J6C plugs in all cylinders)

Most of my experience has been with smaller Johnson/Evinrude 2 cylinders w/simple magneto setups. This is the really the first time I've worked with a Merc. Am I missing something simple? Kill switch? Tests I can perform . . . Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!
 

Motor Boater Bill

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
488
Re: 1960 Merc 300 No Spark - Little help?

Have you cleaned and gapped the points?

It may be helpful to use a half-inch drill with a socket on the flywheel nut as an "electric starter" while you are testing it, so you don't wear your arm out!
 
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