TOPIC: New to Mercs... A little help please..

As you may have seen in the main forum, I am the proud owner of a 1978 1400 "Blue-Stripe" Thunderbolt.

When I test-drove the boat, the cables and steering were very stiff. I have to replace the cables anyway- since I know they are not long enough for my Fabuglas.
I was able to find the wiring diagram for the engine online.. but I need a parts diagram, Part numbers, and wiring diagram... for the control shown below. I can't find any documentation for this control online. Of course, I know what the tilt/trim, choke, tachometer harness, and trailer buttons do... but what does the button in the center of the throttle-arm do?


I will be lubricating all the cables, etc... tommorrow, paying close attention to the grease fittings.

Steering? The steering from the Hydrasport bass boat will not be suitable for installing on the Fabuglas. It's too short and too "modern" looking for the Cruiser. The Fabuglas already has a really nice Ride-Guide setup, but it's set up for a 1977-1991 Jhsn/Ev (those engines not to be mentioned here ).
Anyone done this swap before? Is there a Ride-Guide cable made for the Merc interface?





Any help with page-scans or pdfs.. appreciated.

Ray

the ride guide cable will slide right into your mercs tilt tube
you will no longer need the ride guide transom mounting bracket that you have installed on your boat

I dont know about the button, Im going to guess though....it may be to allow you to warm up rev the motor without going into gear
I have an OMC inboard that you depress the button & pull out on the control arm , this disengages the gear shift and allows warm up with the throttle control

You push that center button in and push the throttle forward for your warm up lever so you do not engage the shift. It is a simple single lever control for throttle fwd, neutral, rvs but when you press that button it allows you to use the lever as the warm up throttle without engaging the gear shift part of the box.

Wow Jim, you know yer stuff buddy!

Doesn't that Ride Guide cable need a special fitting on the motor to work? It did for mine.

Frank