Short to long shaft conversion kits?

[Caddy_Kid]

I have a 60's vintage Merc inline 6 80 hp direct drive outboard. It worked great on my short shaft boat, but I now have a long shaft boat I want to put it on.

I know there used to be kits that would convert a short shaft to a long shaft (I have a 100 hp merc of the same vintage that has one installed) and I was wondering if they still existed. Anyone know of someplace that makes or stocks them? Thanks!

 

[Laddies]

Re: Short to long shaft conversion kits?

Bay Pattern in Ohio use to make conversions for the older mercurys

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Short to long shaft conversion kits?

Hi Caddy Kid, I run both short and long shaft Mercs. I dunno about a "kit", but those vintage engines are available on Craigs list etc., (and not very expensive). I bought a good 1969 Merc 1000 inline six (short shaft) for $350 in Vancouver WA a couple of months ago. There are mid 60s to mid 80s long shaft engines there all the time, at very reasonable prices. The drive shaft on your lower unit would need to be lenghtened for a 20 inch shaft and that would not be cheap, (I would think). You could probably pick up a dead engine with a good lower unit and mid section if you wanted to convert it yourself. Hope this helps you. JR

 

[Caddy_Kid]

Re: Short to long shaft conversion kits?

Unfortunatly I live in the high desert area of Oregon, and boat motors seem to be less than common around here. I will keep a lookout on Craigslist though. As far as the longer shaft, the kits that I have seen have a 5" section of shaft with a collar that fits over the origional shaft. Pretty cool system really.

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Short to long shaft conversion kits?

Hey Brian, I dunno how far Portland is from ya, but when I was addicted to Craigs list for a bit in November and December 2006, I saw stuff there 60s - 80s 50 hp to 150 hp all the time, very reasonable. The shorties like yours were much more rare, that's why I drove from Seattle to Vancouver to grab that 100 short shaft I found. Decided to stop looking at it because I was buying stuff too much. Seattle has even more stuff, and maybe if you had two or three good prospects ya could throw the ol' tool box n' muffs in the rig and take the wife for an overnight run ta check it out. I bet you could get a real solid motor for less then $500, which makes converting yours more problematic. While your at it you could look for a short shaft boat in good condition for your existing motor. Just a thought. JR ps One bad thing is the Portland and to a greater extent the Seattle rigs may be salty. Phone 'em first: obviously.

 

[Caddy_Kid]

Re: Short to long shaft conversion kits?

Portland is about 4 hours away over the pass. Not too bad, and an overnight run would be fun. Its just that I only have sedans, and I dont really want to tow a boat all the way up there and back. I figure the fuel cost would offset any savings. But I hear what your sayin'! Just might come to that. Around here long shafts are rare and shorts are common, go figgure.

I do have a line on two matched 65hp 3cyl mercs that you could make one good one out of. Asside from possible electrical and overheating issues (just guessing, common to these I have heard) they should make a good, light motor. We'll see what happens!

On another note, I'm having trouble locating any info on Bay Pattern out of Ohio. Anyone have any contact info? Thanks!