TOPIC: Stting at the feet of the master

I had the pleasure of going to see Dr. Frankenmerc on Saturday. He had mechanically restored another one of my horses, a Mark 55E. While the obvious delight is receiving a motor that has been lovingly rebuilt to almost factory fresh, the real treat is seeing Thom's shop and watching him work. He has suffered some physical setbacks but you would never notice, he is still as excited as a schoolboy when it comes to working on vintage Mercs. He is absolutely meticulous when it comes to his work habits; everything has it's place, he can put his hands on anything he wants in seconds. His floor is so clean that when dropped, a tiny piece of plastic can be found with little trouble. He has the right tools for the right job and if he doesn't have a part (which is very rare) he makes it. His creativity combined with his enthusiasm and knowledge makes him one of the coolest people I know. I am privileged to live so close to him.
I took one of my buddies down with me to see his place and I was telling him how his posts on this forum are usually the last word on any given subject. We all chime in on a question or plea from a member but stand back when Thom chimes in with the definitive answer complete with pics and notes. We are so lucky to have Thom as a resource.
One other note, I have posted before about the Mercury Stern Light of the mid-fifties, I received no replies. It turns out Thom was not even familiar with it. I saw one in an illustration years ago and pursued it. I have found 3, 2 incomplete and one with the works including the crystal.
They hang off the back of the top cowl and activate via a ball switch when it swings up to a standing position. I am sorry I don't have a pic of it installed but I did include one with it sitting on the bench. You can see the pivot mechanism above the housing. This one is going to be restored and put on the Mark 55E.

First of all, you are a lucky fellow living so close to the merc guru.

Secondly, man o man, those are cool stern lights. Yet another great idea of Carl's!

Frank

That is one cool idea with the light. How do I get ahold of one of those?

I too have had the honor of visiting Thom. Thanksgiving of last year I was in the Portland area and Thom had just came out of the operation on his back. I was looking at a couple of 64 Merc 1000's and I had called Thom about some information regarding them. He was more than willing to answer my questions. With his guidance, I feel that I did well on my purchases.
Neil

Thom is truly a great guy and wealth of knowledge when it comes to Merc's. He has been a great help with my 800FGS and I'm sure I'll be asking more questions as I get into the powerhead.

Bob

Thanks guys for the kind words. I really appreciate the thoughts, but must make point that there are several other gents that frequent this and other Merc forums that remind me that I am but a lowly grasshopper at the feet of Masters.
Many things that I do write-ups on are originally from some of these other fellows.
As I adopt their insight - so too - I'm sure they grab tid-bits from my experiences.
Together, we ALL make up an excellence 'set of encyclopedias' in respects the the workings and quirks of our favorite outboards, the Mercury.
Flash back to the early 1990s when we didn't have the world wide web at our finger tips and how difficult it was to find parts or answers to our many questions.
We are ALL so fortunate in this respect nowadays with these forums.
I thank you all for sharing your expertise and although I am having extreme difficulties these days in my attempts to continue to use my hands to bring old Mercs back to life, I have every intention of continuing to share and consequently help others with their Mercs.
Thom

headley wrote:

I had the pleasure of going to see Dr. Frankenmerc on Saturday. He had mechanically restored another one of my horses, a Mark 55E.

I was over at Thoms a bit ago, and saw that Merc sitting there pretty well together. BEAUTIFUL!
My first post here, but lurker years, was mostly years ago IBoats, now mostly Scream and Fly, and have known Thom for years. I'm lucky to live 25 miles away, and stop over there a lot, and he built my crank up 135 for my Flatbottom. If its Mercs, its Thom, and some others, that REALLY .."know there stuff"..we would be lost without them! Robby in Olympia.

yep Thom is good man! Not too bad with a wrench too.

milkdud wrote:

yep Thom is good man! Not too bad with a wrench too.

Hey Milkdud, how ya doing? Yep, same Robby from S+F..(Thom, I get back on my feet, I might be yer way next week..email ya first like usual)

Yep I figured that was you Robby. I think you have the same avatar on SandF.
Conrad

milkdud wrote:

Yep I figured that was you Robby. I think you have the same avatar on SandF.
Conrad

Yep..I been lurking here years, figured might as well join the Merc crowd here. Besides Thom having some back problems, I pulled a muscle in my back, then the Sciatic nerve decided to give me grief, so I'm "keyboarding for a bit". Be well, summer is a coming!