Mercury Twister 1 ...E-Bay

[STEVE FRENCH]

Wow!....Looks cool!....Kind'a big for FE?......

History on these?....Iron fist must'a been in his glory?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCU...QQcmdZViewItem

Lot'a other neet stuff in background!!!!

[John Sherlock]

Mercury Twisters (T1) were built for racing members in 1971 (Red Stripe) and 1972 ( Blue Stripe). About 508 engines were built in 1971 and 78 blue stripe twisters were built in 1972. That makes them rare engines!! They produced about 155hp. The orginal cowlings ( two piece) are very hard to find in orginial condition and cost a bunch!

The engine in this auction is the 1972 Blue Stripe,, VERY RARE .........

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

[sam]

The Iron Fist was on his way out the door when the closed exhaust 3 carb Twisters were running.

The corporate guys at Merc saw the environmentalist's writing on the wall and discontinued the big open stack "BP" race motors. I think it was the father of a member here on Hydroracer.net ... LANPHEAR who developed the closed exhaust Merc that made the same top end power, but more mid range acceleration as the previous open stack racers. Everyone here knows it takes a lot of top end power to catch back up with someone who passed you coming out of the corner. These motors had equal or slightly better power on top so the older open stack motors were done.

Merc called second production variation motors -1 and third variations -2. 1959 Merc 30H's and 55H's are 30H-1 and 55H-1's and differ slightly from the 1956 versions. The first version of the side exhaust Twister was not assembly line produced, maybe 12 or so hand made and the exhaust went down the outside and vented out the bottom of the "silo" thru 2 stubby rectangular megaphones ... nicknamed "cowbells" because that is what they looked like. It might also be that the exhaust tower on the side got the "silo" nickname because one of Merc's main plants was originally a huge dairy farm that used the actual original dairy barn building for decades.

Back to the Merc Twister race motor ... the 508 production Twisters had the silo on the side and connected back to the lower unit so the exhaust exited below the cavitation plate and met 1971 European OPC rules for exhaust noise.

These motors were making about 155 hp and using Mercs "Super" Speedmaster racing lower unit that was designed back in 1964 when the biggest production motor was 100 hp and a good modified motor was 125 hp. When the left hand rotation Super Speedmaster was used with motors over 135 hp they were weak and would not hold up for the length of all day or multiday marathon races; at 160 hp the right hand rotation Super Speedmasters were doing fine. Merc's first solution was their old solution: just run the powerhead backwards on one motor of a pair and use a right hand rotation Super Speedmaster spinning backwards due to CCW input. The Super Speedmaster still had the both rotation water pump carried over from the original inline 6's from the mid 1950's and 2 stroke motors run the same way CCW as they do CW, so all that was needed was a different starter drive and some special distributor linkage to synchronize the distributor's advance rotation with the motor rotation. These parts were sold as a kit to set up 1970 and 71 motors for marathon racing ... but not used on the Twister motors.

Merc had a different solution for the weak left hand Super Speedmaster under the Twister ... back in the mid 1960's they made a Super Speedmaster lower unit for the Mercruiser Sterndrive that was too weak to use with V-8 car engines in offshore boats (early sterndrives were not used with V-8's, so it was not obvious that bigger stronger units would be needed). It came off the market faster than it went on and following Merc's "dash" designation protocol, the second (or possibly third) Mercruiser SSM was called the MC-2 SSM and became the first popular racing Speedmaster for offshore boats. Both the right and left hand rotation MC-1 SSM's were strong enough for use with a 160 hp motor so it came back to life as an option under the Twister outboards; you could get Twisters with either a regular left or right SSM for short heat racing or MC-1 SSM left or right if you were going to run long races.

Along the year of Twister production they discovered some water routing problems cooling the silo and some changes were made ... resulting in a production change ... the "-1" variation of the Twister, about the time of the model year change between red 1971 decals and blue 1972 decals. It is possible that a very few "-1" variation motors came with the update from the factory with red decals, but it is certain that many red decal Twisters made not as "-1" motors were altered in the field with the -1 update parts. All blue decalled silo motors are Twister-1's.

In 1973 the Twister and Twister-1 racing motors became obsolete by the T-II, the third (not second) customer motor in the closed tuned exhaust inline six racing family. The T-II used a shorter tuned exhaust and a different "chest" with separate external reeds for each cylinder and six carbs. The six carb front had been used on experimental factory racing motors since about 1969, but were not combined with the closed tuned exhaust unit the T-II.

John's motor is one of the very rare blue decal -1 Twisters. It has a regular SSM, not the MC-1 here is a pic of the bigger MC-1 to compare. Look closely a the tapered exhaust outlet and back of the skeg right below the prop shaft for visual clues of the difference. In person the size difference is obvious as well.

[mercguy]

nice!

The Iron Fist was on his way out the door when the closed exhaust 3 carb Twisters were running.

The corporate guys at Merc saw the environmentalist's writing on the wall and discontinued the big open stack "BP" race motors. I think it was the father of a member here on Hydroracer.net ... LANPHEAR who developed the closed exhaust Merc that made the same top end power, but more mid range acceleration as the previous open stack racers. Everyone here knows it takes a lot of top end power to catch back up with someone who passed you coming out of the corner. These motors had equal or slightly better power on top so the older open stack motors were done.

Merc called second production variation motors -1 and third variations -2. 1959 Merc 30H's and 55H's are 30H-1 and 55H-1's and differ slightly from the 1956 versions. The first version of the side exhaust Twister was not assembly line produced, maybe 12 or so hand made and the exhaust went down the outside and vented out the bottom of the "silo" thru 2 stubby rectangular megaphones ... nicknamed "cowbells" because that is what they looked like. It might also be that the exhaust tower on the side got the "silo" nickname because one of Merc's main plants was originally a huge dairy farm that used the actual original dairy barn building for decades.

Back to the Merc Twister race motor ... the 508 production Twisters had the silo on the side and connected back to the lower unit so the exhaust exited below the cavitation plate and met 1971 European OPC rules for exhaust noise.

These motors were making about 155 hp and using Mercs "Super" Speedmaster racing lower unit that was designed back in 1964 when the biggest production motor was 100 hp and a good modified motor was 125 hp. When the left hand rotation Super Speedmaster was used with motors over 135 hp they were weak and would not hold up for the length of all day or multiday marathon races; at 160 hp the right hand rotation Super Speedmasters were doing fine. Merc's first solution was their old solution: just run the powerhead backwards on one motor of a pair and use a right hand rotation Super Speedmaster spinning backwards due to CCW input. The Super Speedmaster still had the both rotation water pump carried over from the original inline 6's from the mid 1950's and 2 stroke motors run the same way CCW as they do CW, so all that was needed was a different starter drive and some special distributor linkage to synchronize the distributor's advance rotation with the motor rotation. These parts were sold as a kit to set up 1970 and 71 motors for marathon racing ... but not used on the Twister motors.

Merc had a different solution for the weak left hand Super Speedmaster under the Twister ... back in the mid 1960's they made a Super Speedmaster lower unit for the Mercruiser Sterndrive that was too weak to use with V-8 car engines in offshore boats (early sterndrives were not used with V-8's, so it was not obvious that bigger stronger units would be needed). It came off the market faster than it went on and following Merc's "dash" designation protocol, the second (or possibly third) Mercruiser SSM was called the MC-2 SSM and became the first popular racing Speedmaster for offshore boats. Both the right and left hand rotation MC-1 SSM's were strong enough for use with a 160 hp motor so it came back to life as an option under the Twister outboards; you could get Twisters with either a regular left or right SSM for short heat racing or MC-1 SSM left or right if you were going to run long races.

Along the year of Twister production they discovered some water routing problems cooling the silo and some changes were made ... resulting in a production change ... the "-1" variation of the Twister, about the time of the model year change between red 1971 decals and blue 1972 decals. It is possible that a very few "-1" variation motors came with the update from the factory with red decals, but it is certain that many red decal Twisters made not as "-1" motors were altered in the field with the -1 update parts. All blue decalled silo motors are Twister-1's.

In 1973 the Twister and Twister-1 racing motors became obsolete by the T-II, the third (not second) customer motor in the closed tuned exhaust inline six racing family. The T-II used a shorter tuned exhaust and a different "chest" with separate external reeds for each cylinder and six carbs. The six carb front had been used on experimental factory racing motors since about 1969, but were not combined with the closed tuned exhaust unit the T-II.

John's motor is one of the very rare blue decal -1 Twisters. It has a regular SSM, not the MC-1 here is a pic of the bigger MC-1 to compare. Look closely a the tapered exhaust outlet and back of the skeg right below the prop shaft for visual clues of the difference. In person the size difference is obvious as well.

good info here Sam!!!!!!

[John Sherlock]

The Iron Fist was on his way out the door when the closed exhaust 3 carb Twisters were running.

The corporate guys at Merc saw the environmentalist's writing on the wall and discontinued the big open stack "BP" race motors. I think it was the father of a member here on Hydroracer.net ... LANPHEAR who developed the closed exhaust Merc that made the same top end power, but more mid range acceleration as the previous open stack racers. Everyone here knows it takes a lot of top end power to catch back up with someone who passed you coming out of the corner. These motors had equal or slightly better power on top so the older open stack motors were done.

Merc called second production variation motors -1 and third variations -2. 1959 Merc 30H's and 55H's are 30H-1 and 55H-1's and differ slightly from the 1956 versions. The first version of the side exhaust Twister was not assembly line produced, maybe 12 or so hand made and the exhaust went down the outside and vented out the bottom of the "silo" thru 2 stubby rectangular megaphones ... nicknamed "cowbells" because that is what they looked like. It might also be that the exhaust tower on the side got the "silo" nickname because one of Merc's main plants was originally a huge dairy farm that used the actual original dairy barn building for decades.

Back to the Merc Twister race motor ... the 508 production Twisters had the silo on the side and connected back to the lower unit so the exhaust exited below the cavitation plate and met 1971 European OPC rules for exhaust noise.

These motors were making about 155 hp and using Mercs "Super" Speedmaster racing lower unit that was designed back in 1964 when the biggest production motor was 100 hp and a good modified motor was 125 hp. When the left hand rotation Super Speedmaster was used with motors over 135 hp they were weak and would not hold up for the length of all day or multiday marathon races; at 160 hp the right hand rotation Super Speedmasters were doing fine. Merc's first solution was their old solution: just run the powerhead backwards on one motor of a pair and use a right hand rotation Super Speedmaster spinning backwards due to CCW input. The Super Speedmaster still had the both rotation water pump carried over from the original inline 6's from the mid 1950's and 2 stroke motors run the same way CCW as they do CW, so all that was needed was a different starter drive and some special distributor linkage to synchronize the distributor's advance rotation with the motor rotation. These parts were sold as a kit to set up 1970 and 71 motors for marathon racing ... but not used on the Twister motors.

Merc had a different solution for the weak left hand Super Speedmaster under the Twister ... back in the mid 1960's they made a Super Speedmaster lower unit for the Mercruiser Sterndrive that was too weak to use with V-8 car engines in offshore boats (early sterndrives were not used with V-8's, so it was not obvious that bigger stronger units would be needed). It came off the market faster than it went on and following Merc's "dash" designation protocol, the second (or possibly third) Mercruiser SSM was called the MC-2 SSM and became the first popular racing Speedmaster for offshore boats. Both the right and left hand rotation MC-1 SSM's were strong enough for use with a 160 hp motor so it came back to life as an option under the Twister outboards; you could get Twisters with either a regular left or right SSM for short heat racing or MC-1 SSM left or right if you were going to run long races.

Along the year of Twister production they discovered some water routing problems cooling the silo and some changes were made ... resulting in a production change ... the "-1" variation of the Twister, about the time of the model year change between red 1971 decals and blue 1972 decals. It is possible that a very few "-1" variation motors came with the update from the factory with red decals, but it is certain that many red decal Twisters made not as "-1" motors were altered in the field with the -1 update parts. All blue decalled silo motors are Twister-1's.

In 1973 the Twister and Twister-1 racing motors became obsolete by the T-II, the third (not second) customer motor in the closed tuned exhaust inline six racing family. The T-II used a shorter tuned exhaust and a different "chest" with separate external reeds for each cylinder and six carbs. The six carb front had been used on experimental factory racing motors since about 1969, but were not combined with the closed tuned exhaust unit the T-II.

John's motor is one of the very rare blue decal -1 Twisters. It has a regular SSM, not the MC-1 here is a pic of the bigger MC-1 to compare. Look closely a the tapered exhaust outlet and back of the skeg right below the prop shaft for visual clues of the difference. In person the size difference is obvious as well.

I need to go lay down, got a headache.....

[Sonny]

The Bell of the Ball

That Twister is a very cool thing. I wish I had the extra cheddar to reach out for it. I have always wanted one. here are some pics of a stacker I built a few years ago for my 64 Switzer shoot'n star. The Twister Lower unit was the only one that would bolt right onto a stock 15 inch tower so I ordered a brand new one from Dave Steckbauer for long dollars and I never ran it. The entire motor is brand new. I have offten wondered how many racers here involved with the bigger ladies like this. Maybee a 75H, Or a T2X ?? On the motor rack... Little dusty maybee.. lets see'm Sorry about the mess, I fired the maid

[John Sherlock]

Reach out for it, hell I see you are from NY, you can owe me..

John (was from Kingston, NY)

[Sonny]

Good guy

Oh yea... Kingston isn't far, It's nice there. John very good of you sir to offer a payment arrangment, and I am very tempted. But I just got back to work and I have a few things to catch up before I can persue any toys. It is a great piece, It would look out of control on my Switzer. I bet it jumps up to 7 or 8 G's. Any Predictions on what kind of paper it will bring?

[John Sherlock]

Oh yea... Kingston isn't far, It's nice there. John very good of you sir to offer a payment arrangment, and I am very tempted. But I just got back to work and I have a few things to catch up before I can persue any toys. It is a great piece, It would look out of control on my Switzer. I bet it jumps up to 7 or 8 G's. Any Predictions on what kind of paper it will bring?

Lets see how it ends up. I know what it should bring but times they are tuff (OBAMA)
I am looking for it to help me get back into racing. I have a CSH and looking at a 2.5 stock Inboard Hydro.