Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

[Texasmark]

This is a separate thread as I am addressing the engine design, not the shifter as in the Dock Buster thread........and I'm specifically looking for Laddies comments.

Laddies, sir............

Having stated that you worked on 1000's of the 40 cu in 4 cyls, I guess you also had your fill of sixes as well.

Curious as to how Merc designed the engine to reverse using the dock buster F-R scheme.

1. How did the cranking mechanism turn the engine in two directions? I can see turning the voltage around to turn the starter motor in the opposite direction, but the bendix wouldn't work. How'd they do that?

2. I know that engines have spark advance so when you reverse the direction of rotation what did they do with the spark advance cause advance cw is retard ccw.

Thanks,

I'm sure that there are others out there that share this curiousity.

Mark

 

[jimmbo]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

2 bendixes, one above the flywheel and one below, direction of starter determined which bendix engaged.

Retared timing in normal rotaion is advanced timing when running backwards. modified linkages did the job.

A water pump had to be designed that could pump water while turning in either direction. That caused Charles Strang the most grief.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Hey jimmbo, thanks.

So who was Charles Strang? Designer of the engine? You know, I forgot that part.....about the centrifugal water pump direction of rotation.

On the linkages, were they tied to the shifter so that the timing position was controlled by whether or not the shifter was in F or R?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Charlie Strang was the chief engineer at Mercury and often butted heads with owner Carl Kiekhaefer about how things should get done. Carl was the one who said the motor had to run backwards - Charlie wanted to build a lower unit that would shift. Got to the point that Charlie was designing things behind Carl's back and giving the designs to others (see Jim Wynne and the Volvo Penta outdrive development)

The entire 6-cylinder project was semi-behind the scenes until Carl discovered the prototype was actually a functioning motor and said that "it spoke with authority - build it!". The prototype was essentially two 4-cylinder blocks, one with the top cut off, the other with the bottom cut off, welded together and mounted on the 4-cylinder lower unit. Charlie eventually left Mercury and went on to head OMC in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here's a pic of Charlie Strang on our deck about fifteen years ago. He was our guest during the first Antique Raceboat Regatta in Clayton, NY in 1992. Had a chance to pick his brain about all sorts of miscellaneous hows and whyfors on old Mercs. Great guy! He's still around - last I knew he was the commissioner of NASCAR.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

"it spoke with authority - build it!".

And it still does!!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Thanks Chine; enjoyed that as I'm sure others did too. I can't say that I blame him for leaving Merc when he had something that would solve a problem and the boss wouldn't let him apply it.

Mark

 

[jimmbo]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Charles didn't leave Mercury over the gearcase issue. He stayed several more years and left in 65 or 66

 

[MikDee]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Amazing technology back then, I remember watching a few neighbors operating those motors, always wondered how they did that? Thanks for the info.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Laddies, Comments please on "Dock Buster"

Well, to have your engine running and shift gears to stop your forward movement is one thing.

To turn your engine off and hope it starts when you attempt to restart it (under load) when you are in dire need of stopping is entirely something else.

I'm glad I missed that era of Merc history. Otherwise the decals on my engines would still say John or Rude.

Mark