Re: 50's OMCs in Saltwater
I've heard that 50's Mercury outboards should not be put in saltwater even if you flush them with fresh water and/or saltaway because they were not built for it. Is this true for OMC outboards from the 50's too??
I don't care what anybody says, ANY motor put in salt water will have a greatly reduced life. You can reduce the effect by faithful flushing, but it is still going to suffer.
As for the Mercury motors, let's be fair. Their salt water testing facility was right here in my home town during the '50s. They ran boats up and down Sarasota Bay 24-7. So, it is unfair to say they were not built for it. They were "built for it" according to what Mercury viewed as to just what that means. One glaring example was their steel drive and prop shafts. Mr K said that you couldn't make a stainless steel shaft strong enough. Funny, OMC, Chrysler, Scott-Atwater, and a bunch of other brands had stainless shafts that were strong enough. I've seen Mercury motors just a couple of years old the had drives shafts rusted away to pencil-size.
OMC also dipped their engine blocks in a red sealant stuff that coated the inside of the cooling system. Nobody else did that.
