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Both symptoms point to an overflowing carb. Make sure the carb float is set correctly. Replacement of the carb inlet needle valve and seat is a maintenance item, as is replacement of the float. Also, the motors in the 70's had foam floats that dissolved in today's alcohol fuel mix. Those foam...

A backfire means that the ign system is working. Why do you want to change it to a CDI unit? Generally, it is hard to upgrade ot a CDI unit, and unnecessary. However, in the 70s, we had points/coil ign on our car. However, my father installed a CDI unit that was wired between the battery and...

Of course, a better question is why you want 1/2 the HP you now have?

Hydraulics will change over. The throttle cables and controls will work. The only question is the electronics of the control. What years are the two motors in question.

A picture is worth 1000 words.

Does it hold high RPM or does it vary at wide open throttle? After carb rebuild, did you check the throttle movement to see that the carbs do open all the way? How much speed was lost? Are all cylinders firing?

You could graft the old wiring to a new control box, however, from your description the quick disconnect plug is bad/getting bad, so that does not solve the issue. A new control for $150 or so will come with a new boat harness and a round plug, different from what you have now, but the wire...

That motor will be a multi carb, 2 cycle engine with or without oil injection. When maintained they are pretty good. However as was said, you will likely need to do your own maintenance and repair, as shops will be reticent to work on them. Compression and gearcase health are the two most...

On a related issue. Not sure what year your motor is, but the 80s and 70s Merc engine wiring harnesses tend to go bad after this much time. Look for insulation falling off the wires. New engine harnesses are avail after market for most motors. Heck, your choke wire could be broken at the...

You did not mention the age of the MerControl. The MerControl wiring I had on my motors since 1978 lasted up until a year ago. At that point the wiring was pretty bad throughout the control, but the mechanicals were fine. I had extra wire in the boat harness, so I cut away the bad stuff and...

If you do end up replacing the ignition switch, take the existing one and make sure to match its size. Those MerControls do not have a lot of extra room in them. It is likely that a Mercury OB dealer can get one for you.

Good stuff. See if you can bring that therobred motor out of retirement. They were the most HP from 300LBS , for along time I had a 1500 for decades Really good motor

A 1987 IL6 motor will have ADI ignition. The battery is not used to generate spark. If you had an ignition issue, the motor would not start at all.

You can, however, those choke switches last a real long time. I would open the control and see what the issue is. Maybe the wiring is bad. Your other option is to change the ign switch to a push to choke model.

Most Mercs have the neutral switch in the control box. On thing you can try is to hold the key in the start position and rock the throttle. Often that will help the neutral switch work properly. You can test for +12VDC on the solenoid, when the keyswitch is in the start position. Also check...

Mooring whips work on a large variety of boats, yours's included. As was suggested, you will want to use spring lines, plus bow and stern lines, in addition to the mooring whips. The mooring whips are used to pull the boat away from the dock. My dock is exposed to the NE wind, which is...

3/8" is fine for that Jon boat. I moved from 3/8" to 1/2" on my 21 footer out of fear. Some years ago, I broke down in the inlet. While waiting for a tow, the anchor got caught in a rock. When we pulled hard on that 3/8" line to retrieve the anchor, it sure thinned it out and it looked...

If she gets to full throttle and then dies suspect a fuel delivery issue. Have someone pump the primer bulb while accelerating and see if that fixes it. If so, rebuild the fuel pump, clean the fuel filters. If the primer bulb collapses, the fuel tank vent is likely clogged.

Even with an original wiring diagram, I would trace 'em out. A lot can happen in 28 years.

Gee, I bought 300' of 1/2" 3 strand nylon line on the web for $40. You can find some bargains on the web. I am able to splice in the thimble myself, so I did not need to buy a package from a marine store for a lot more $$.