1973 850 Mercs any good?

[Spivy30]

I am going to look at a 1973 Starcraft Superspot with a 1973 Merc 850 later this week and I was wondering if these motors are any good? The currant owner is the second owner and he purchased it in 1975. He said he changed the water pump every 2 years and always winterized it. The boat and motor look very clean and obviously have been taken care of. Ive never owner a mercury motor before so I dont know what to look for, I am going to do a compression test any other things I should look at?

Thanks for the imput

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: 1973 850 Mercs any good?

Drain a little oil out of the L/u and check for water intrusion. Check the condition of the motor's wiring.

 

[Spivy30]

Re: 1973 850 Mercs any good?

I will check it out thank you

 

[rtpassini]

Re: 1973 850 Mercs any good?

what part of SE are you from?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1973 850 Mercs any good?

Spivy, A 1973 merc 850 is a 4 cylinder inline motor with battery CDI ignition and a distributor. The ignition systems are pretty good, but expensive to repair if any of the parts break. if the motor was used in salt water, you may have deterioation of the exhaust covers and exhaust baffle.
The wiring harnesses are usually pretty bad by this point, if they haven't been replaced. They are available aftermarket for about $100. Spark plug wires are also available aftermarket for $6 Ea. The dealer will want twice that.

Hopefully you are getting a deal on this 36 year old motor.