TOPIC: merc 850 start up

about a year ago i recieved great advise on this forum on restoring my 1963 Merc 850.
It is almost finished now and i think it looks good.
yesterday i tried to start it but nothing and after a few seconds a loud bang! oops! something wrong with the timing?
After i reversed the wires coming out of the distributer it started in a second and idled perfectly. I made mistake when i replaced the wires in the distributer.
This motor was used on salt water and was very hard to take apart,
i drilled out about 20 broken bolts.
i replaced a lot of parts: crankseals, upper and lower crank bearings,opend up the crankcase to replace the sealant, flywheel, distibuter cap, plug wires etc. etc.
now i am looking for a boat to use for a test ride

Ed from the Netherlands

Top of the morning to you Ed! How about a video of that baby running?

Frank

Hello,

I have a short video but have some troubles uploading it.
I will try again later today.

Wow! That is one pretty motor you have there Ed. Good luck with the video!

Frank

Looks Great!

Is the black circle on the cover the waterpump indicator???

yes,

it was already there, and i didn't want a large hole in the cover.
I know it is not necessary on this model.

Ed

here is a link to the video.
It is a bit noisy because of the wind




Ed

Boy Ed, running great. Good for you. Thanks for the video.

I'm about to install a water tube out of the top of my '63 1000 as well, but not sure where I am going to put the discharge (high or low).

Frank

it sounds the same as yours Frank.
I would install it in the lower cowl just because it looks better.

Frank,
In my humble opinion, put the discharge where it goes and buy a water pressure gauge. Unless you are looking at the tell tale stream at the moment of trouble it's useless as an indicator of proper water pump operation. A gauge you can glance at while running along and can also monitor pressure level changes which may indicate impending trouble. These motors will overheat instantly if not getting a good supply of cooling water. A gauge is cheap insurance.
My two cents,
Randy

Randy, I got the same advise on my '62 700 on my Cutter, recently installed the gauge but haven't had a chance to get her out on the lake since then. If everything works out with the Glastron, I'm going to put a gauge on that boat too! $50 to make sure you're pride and joy behind you is not melting down seems like good sense to me.