need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

[nagel88]

I'm looking for a motor to replace my worn out Evinrude. I found a 1977 70hp Mercury for $800. The seller is under pressure to clear the garage of his projects. It is complete with control box, cables, wiring and prop. Compression is 115 in every hole. All maintenance is up to date including water pump, etc.<br />I've spoken at length with the seller and he seems like a knowledgeable and up-front kind of guy. Does this sound like a good deal, and is there any advice on what to look for before I buy?

 

[joblo33]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

They seem to be pretty good motors. I'm working on a 1973 3cyl 65 at the moment, which is basically the same engine, but have never run one myself. Hopefully I will soon . <br />The '77 should have solid state ignition, which is nice. Check for metal filings in the leg oil and on the spark plugs. There's sometimes a little metal dust in the leg, which is decent, but if there are big filings be concerned. <br />Have you seen it run?<br />Good luck, and welcome to the dark side!<br />Eric

 

[nagel88]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

I'm going to hear the motor run on muffs, and possibly see the compression results duplicated for me.<br />By the way, Eric, I'm curious about your boats. My other boat is a 1955 Trailorboat runabout with a Merc 25.

 

[joblo33]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

Awesome! Is that an aluminium boat?<br />You can see my boats here: http://photobucket.com/albums/a101/joblo33/ <br />I don't have any up-to-date photos of my 14' but I'll get some when I go fishing this weekend.<br />If you want to discuss the boats start a new thread in the boats section. JB won't be too happy if we talk about it here. In fact he'll probably call this post off-topic and move it anyways. <br />Eric

 

[nagel88]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

Eric,<br />We don't want to upset the moderator. I've reposted in general boating category. See you there.

 

[SeaKaye12]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

I'd take a good look at the wiring harness inside the cowling. Also check out the wires that run from both the stator and the trigger.<br /><br />On my '77 850...all those wires were so dried and corroded that the insulation just fell off when they were touched.<br /><br />Hopefully yours are OK or better yet... new.<br /><br />The wiring harness is no big deal to replace...and will cost about $100.00 through the aftermarket. The Stator and trigger wires are another story...they are molded right into the stator and trigger. Replacing those completely will require replacing those expensive components. I spliced new wires onto mine...but the shoddy wires made that very difficult indeed. I really don't have a lot of confidence that those splices will hold up over time.<br /><br />Good Luck, Chuck

 

[nagel88]

Re: need buying advice 1977 70hp Mercury

Chuck,<br />I'll look at that wiring closely. Thanks.