TOPIC: 58E Super Thunderbolt on my Grandfather's boat

Hello everyone,

Recently my grand father gave me the boat he built in 1955 from a set of drawings. It is built out of plywood and the hull is wrapped in fiberglass. About 15-20 years ago he sold it to a man that had it stashed away in an old warehouse. Last month the man told my grand father I could have it so I rushed down to rescue the boat. The downside was some crackheads had gotten into the warehouse and started stripping the metal parts off the boats. They got grand dad's 2 blade braze prop, the took some aluminum trim and some of the cleats. Worst part of all is they stole the external wiring harness, well mostly the bastards left me a stub under the dash. I was told the gas tanks had been gone for a while, but I managed to get a couple off ebay with out to many tears, I got a 3 blade prop too.

I am going to have to refinish all the wood as the spar varnished has flaked off and I will have to re-glue a lot of joints for me piece of mind. We took the top cowl off the motor and sprayed some Kroil in the spark plug holes let it sit. We got the pull start gears (retractable teeth on a wheel with the rope wrapped around it) moving freely and gave it a short pull to see if it would move and it did so the motor does not appear to be frozen. I have the parts list and service manual (another ebay find) and I am diligently reading through all the threads on this forum to determine the best practices for reviving a sleeping giant. I am posting this here because I need all the help I can get. My grand father is a 93 years old WWII navy vet and I would very much like for him to see this boat running in the water before he cashes in his chips.

I am not rich so I can't just hire an army to make this happen over night, but I am capable of paying ebay prices to get parts if I must. I have zero experience working on boats or motors, but I have plenty of experience with wood working and I understand mechanical objects fairly naturally so I am hoping I can make this project happen. What I am currently most desperate for is the proper external wiring harness that goes from the side of the motor to the control box. I have seen many that have a similar plug but none that are a perfect match. If I am going to have to re-wire the whole harness I am curious if anyone has any leads on a newly manufactured plug for the wiring harness that matches the old receptacle? Anyone ever swapped the wires and connectors out of one of the molded plugs?

I am in Central North Carolina so any leads on local resources would be much appreciated.

OK I am going to try a different browser

Dr_Frankenmerc I would really love to hear from you concerning which wiring harness can be swapped between the Mark 58E Super Thunderbolt and other motors. In particular the pattern of the pins.

commodore,

WELCOME ABOARD. = Wishing that I could find the ski-boat/motor/trailer of my boyhood in the early '60s.

yours, satx

Thanks Satx! I am glad to be a part of the crew.

Welcome aboard and nice boat. I have my grandfathers boat that's been in the family since he bought it new. Having one that my grandfather made would be "WOW". Unfortunately I can't help with the wiring harness, that will have to be DR. Frankenmerc or some of the other Merc folks. I'm a rank amateur when it comes to Merc's.

Some close ups of the hardware you still have can help with identifying the brand, with help from the group here so you'll know what to look for a E-bay.

Bob

Hi mates,
I too have my grandfathers boat, it's just a little 1955 Shell Lake G45, but when my grandson grips the tiller this summer, he will be the fifth generation of my family to have been at the helm.

I'm thinking "Family Boats" would make for an interesting thread title.

I will have the Shell Lake, and a few more of my boats at the AOMCI meet on July 30, 31, & Aug 1st, & 2nd. Look for the HYDROCON it lives!!! The wet SWAP MEET is in Tomahawk Wis.

Commodore, Welcome aboard!

I just finished rewiring my 69 merc 650 inside and out. Is this what youre looking for? store.oldmercs.com/product_p/84-822253t20.htm

Or the internal harnesss--->