year of Merc 50

[wolfie-uk]

hi, first post, need to find out year of the merc 50, 4cyl i have bought, i have read through loads of threads on here, and followed the links in some of them, but i can not find my serial number listed, hopefully you guys out there will point me in the right direction.

number is 9310574

thanks in advance

Neal

 

[mthieme]

Re: year of Merc 50

If it were US, I would say 1985, but the numbers are too far out unless they produced 3 times as many that one particular year.
One of of the guys down under might be able to help when they wake up later.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: year of Merc 50

That motor was built in Belgium in 1981. Most mercs in the UK originate from Belgium. BTW, great little motor.

For future reference, The first number denotes country of origin.

United States - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Canada - 7

Australia - 8

Belgium - 9

When they started using letters, the serial number system became international, including Japan.

 

[wolfie-uk]

Re: year of Merc 50

Thank you for the very quick replys, armed with this infomation i have just been able to renigotiate the price down by ?100, as it is 10 years older than i was told it was, so as long as when i go to collect Wednesday morning it is running sweet , then i think i might have a bargain, is there anything special i should be looking for, i have already insisted that he runs it in a bucket of water and not use muffs, as they force water through an engine, and i want to see the impellor actually doing what it is surpose to be doing.

again many thanks for the advice on here.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: year of Merc 50

I personal like these motors a lot, especially the 4 cylinder blueband. They were a smooth running and revvy motor. At the time, it seemed like they had more than the stated '50 hp'. Is it electric start?

The early ones had a problem with the driveshaft spline seizing in the crank (especially salt water motors) but that problem was overcome in 1979 by using an upgraded SS shaft.

Check the pump and do a comp test. That's about all you need to know. If it starts and runs smoothly, you're on a winner.

 

[wolfie-uk]

Re: year of Merc 50

hi Dunaruna, yep its electric start, its about $650 Aus dollers, is that what you would pay for one of these ? Always had old Johnsons / Evinrudes before, as i knew i could strip them down and easily replace main bearings, big ends etc, as they are like car ones, split units, should i ever have to change the main bearings / big ends little ends are they easy enough to do on these ? are they 2 part split bearings as on the Johnson / Evinrude units.

What pressure should i be getting on each cylinder ?

if you send me an email address then i can send you a couple of photos of the one i am getting.

Neal