Merc 650 S/N location

[matt167]

I have an older 650. I think is a '64-'65 but I'm not sure. Where do I locate the S/N to determine what I have?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Should be a tag between the clamp brackets, on the front of the saddle bracket. Motor does indeed appear to be '64-ish. If the face plate says Silver Anniversary, then she's a '64...

I'd be wary of that transom - looks like someone scabbed on some plywood to mask a transom issue... inspect the core closely.

 

[matt167]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Found it. Thanks Havn't written it down yet.. The plywood is a repair from about 15 years ago that my grandfather did, but I'm restoring the boat so the transom will be new when I'm done. It is a mess tho. Carraige bolts and fiberglass both hold that PW on... Front plate say's 25 years of progress on it. I just wanted to see what I have and if I could breathe some life into it, before I pulled it off the boat.. I was reading online and it said that "Panther" marked on the right side of the head signified a '67-later engine. This powerhead is marked "Panther, but the motor does not match the '67-later engines. I know my grandfather had quite a bit of work done to the motor before he last used it, but I don't know what that included.

 

[matt167]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Ok, stupid question I know. I lowered the motor so I could pull plugs and put some oil in the cylinders ( TCW3 ).. Now I can't get it back up into the transport position. I flipped the levers down to lower, but taking weight off of the engine, the levers still seem jammed enough to not come back up.. What do I do?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Motor needs to be in forward gear to tilt up.

The "25 Years of Progress" does indeed denote it as a '64. Mercury was founded in 1939...

 

[matt167]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Cool. I'v had it in neutral. Never thought about that. I tried to get the S/N but once I got in the boat, and got behind the axle, the boat tipped up, so I'll have to buy a sandbag and throw it over the tongue or hitch it to the truck, so that I can get both the motor S/N and the boat HIN.

Oh yes, as far as the transom. It's shot. Even with that patch, the transom shook while I pulled the motor over with the recoil rope.

 

[matt167]

Re: Merc 650 S/N location

Took a picture of the S/N in hopes to read it, and I can make out the "167" in the S/N, and according to the Iboats chart, that is within the '64 S/N's, so it's a verified '64 motor.