Merc 35a thunderbolt

harrison10

Cadet
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
9
Hello all, I just picked up a Merc 35a Thunderbolt i think its a 59. Seems like a cool engine. I'm having a hard time finding parts or information about the motor. Its all white. I notice it has electric start and its a 4 cycle. I got it for free when i bought a trailer off a guy. It does not have a external wiring harness so im trying figure out if i can make one or try to find one for a cheap price. I would rather turn a key and try to start this beast then pull start it. Thanks for any help, ideas, and info for me.
 

Chinewalker

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Aug 19, 2001
Messages
8,902
Re: Merc 35a thunderbolt

Head over to www.oldmercs.com for manuals and hard-to-find parts. They may also be able to set you up with a proper throttle with wiring harness. They turn up on eBay from time to time, too. Not a bad idea to head to your local marina, either. They often have a back room with old control boxes hanging on the wall, or if you're not that lucky, they'll be a tangled mess in the corner. Showing up at coffee time with a box of good donuts is often a good way to get them to let you paw through the "junque" - a skill you must acquire if you wish to have old outboards and not spend much on them.

- Scott
 

zolty

Recruit
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
3
Re: Merc 35a thunderbolt

Hello all, I just picked up a Merc 35a Thunderbolt i think its a 59. Seems like a cool engine. I'm having a hard time finding parts or information about the motor. Its all white. I notice it has electric start and its a 4 cycle. I got it for free when i bought a trailer off a guy. It does not have a external wiring harness so im trying figure out if i can make one or try to find one for a cheap price. I would rather turn a key and try to start this beast then pull start it. Thanks for any help, ideas, and info for me.

i also have a 59 35A, it is a neat looking engine and does it ever sound nice when running at almost full throttle. mine is on an old Aroliner-restored.
i'll tell you it has the neatest shift/throttle control i've seen so far,,,, mine is el. start too and fires up instantly, (as it does manually), but i'm having trouble with the key doing anything but killing the power when i want to shut it down... soooo i hooked up a push button (from a horn), to start it until i can figure out what is wrong .... works perfectly.....
i got some free parts by running a 'wanted' ad locally,
hope this helps....
 
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