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I finally got my recently purchased 1965 16' Starcraft onto the lake. It's powered by a mid-70's Mercury 500 outboard (2 stroke, 4 cylinder, 50 horse). It starts easily and idles well, smoothly advances to WOT and runs well at speed (about 20 MPH with two full 6 gallon fuel tanks, fishing gear...
This is my first outboard. It's a 1974 Merc 500. When I first brought it home and fired it up there was no water coming out the pee hole (garden hose and muffs used to supply water).
I dropped the lower and inspected the impeller. Sure enough the impeller vanes were fragged. Just finished...
First time I've owned an outboard. Was wondering if this mid-70's Merc 500 charges the starting battery as the motor is running or do I need to recharge the battery each evening as I return from the water?
What if I use a deep cycle battery as both starting/trolling motor? Will the Merc motor...
I'm sure this is a really stupid basic question and many folks will read it and think "Duh!" but...
My recently purchased mid 70's Merc 500 is my first experience with 2-cycle motors and my first outboard. Does this thing have a charging mechanism like a generator or alternator that recharges...
Just picked up an old '65 Starcraft runabout with what I've decided is a mid-70's Mercury 500 (S/N 38XXXXX, marked Mercury 500 and Thunderbolt Ignition).
Problem is I can't figure out how to release the latch on the mount to lift the motor. When I bought the boat the motor was tilted. Got it...
