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6 Cylinder Mercury Question

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  • 6 Cylinder Mercury Question

    I am looking for some incite on a Mercury engine I have been struggling with. So I'll start by saying what the engine is and all I know about it with regard to internals etc and how it was when I got it.

    - Merc 700 block (1961 serial number), no pads have been welded in
    - Opened reed blocks
    - Opened intake and exhaust ports: however, looking at the intake ports it does not look like the person who did them was careful to have them uniform across all intake ports as they are different from cylinder to cylinder in some cases.
    - 2 out of 3 rings deleted on pistons
    - Open exhaust: Pipes are short in comparison to my Bayer stacks on my 55H mod.
    - Electrical Ignition Box driven ignition system, i think it's the standard Thunderbolt box
    - Engine runs on a Speedmaster lowerunit

    Also, the engine originally had KA-2A carbs adapted with alky jets for running the engine on alcohol. I removed them and installed regular KA carbs to run the engine on gas. The engine also has surface gap spark plugs which I am replacing but have not had the chance yet. Engine had 3 fuel pumps installed and i went back to a more standard fuel pump and fuel line setup. I also through Doug Kay (and after 2 years of searching) installed a new refurbished water pump (it was deleted when I received it). Unfortunately the pump would not clear the midsection swivel pin so I had to fabricate and insert 1/2" of aluminum adapter plates between the foot and tower. That problem is thankfully solved.

    Initially the engine was not timed properly the first time I ran the engine on my F Sidson hydro. The throttle response was non existent from about 30-40% throttle squeeze. I had a hard time getting up on plane (and was even more worried because of no water pump). I got it up on plane but probably didn't exceed 35 mph. A few months later I retimed the engine. Had it on the garden hose and it was much better. However, (and carefully) I ran it without a prop, then engine still was dead after about 80% throttle squeezing. The engine should have had the potential to scream with no load correct? Or are 6 cylinder engines different from 4 cylinders. Without a prop they should be able to rev to what they would do when cavitating on the water, no? I have not had a chance to run the engine on the boat since that test tank session, i moved on to my stock 55H.

    Again, I haven't tried the new standard J6C plugs. Remember, it appears this is a mostly stock block, so it should run on gas, are the ports altered so badly, is the timing still not right? Looking for some opinions here.

    Some additional info. The engine builder suggested this engine "has as much top end or more than a padded six". Also he suggested the "need to use two small batteries wired in series to feed it 24 volts, that fouls the ign. box and lets it rev. over 10,000 rpms". Thoughts on those statements?

    Thanks a lot,
    Brandon

  • #2
    I would say Steve Dunn could give you some info.. He had a 6 cyl that was real fast
    sigpicWayne DiGiacomo

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    • #3
      motor

      Im sure you will get plenty of replies. It may take a few days as most are on the way to Nationals, getting ready or already there.

      Todd

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      • #4
        Thanks guys. I'm currently talking to some people, but just looking to get as many opinions as possible. Looking forward to it.

        Comment


        • #5
          Check linkage

          Brandon,
          Ckeck your throttle and ignition linkages. Make sure that as the ignition is advancing that the throttle pickup is too. Sounds like you're running out ignition before you run out of throttle, the throttle should stop a little before the ignition does. The butterflies on the carbs should be full open and still a little more swing on your distributor. This is all adjustable and fairly easy to do if you have a shop manual.
          Last edited by PROPDOC; 07-27-2012, 01:13 PM.
          Gardner Miller
          Lone Star Outboard Racing Association

          "Water is for racing. Asphalt is for the parking lot."
          Rember....Freedom isn't...."Free".......

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          • #6
            Interesting you mention this as it was the first thing I thought of. However, this ignition system is NOT hooked up to be attached to the throttle linkage. It's completely electrical. There is an ignition box, and coil, and the box hooks up to the rotor. But the rotor does not advance, it is locked by an allen key screw.

            Here is a picture of it. It's not the most zoomed in picture of the system, but it's the best I can do as I'm not near the engine. It runs off a 12v battery i received with the engine.

            Thanks,
            Brandon
            Attached Files

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            • #7
              timing mite hsv slot to do w ith ur problem. an using the oold school merc pack convert it over to the new cdi or go msd. try to get aholde of lomnie morris hey may b able to help. ssn try s new ko1 nny gear case less lift we run one on ours an if u like to c how it runs ask sum1 tha went to the stock mod nationals in orivlle.

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              • #8
                Since your distributor is locked I would still make sure that it is locked at full advance and then time your engine accordingly. If that is all ok then I would start looking at the switch box. As someone else pointed out you may want to upgrade to the Rapair CDI box and rotor. This setup is far more superior to the original Mercury switch box. Try that and I suspect that your problem will go away.

                Couple of more things that thought of. You might not have enough advance in your timing. You did not mention what timing you have the motor set at. This is critical, especially with raised ports. You need to be advanced more than stock. How much more depends on how high the ports have been raised. Also with bigger ports you will need to increase the jet size in the carbs if this hasn't been done yet. Again jet sizes depend on how much the ports have been raised. Start with the ignition first and then move on to carburetion. Feel free to send me a PM if you do want to discuss setup's openly. Some guys don't like to talk about these things in public.
                Last edited by PROPDOC; 07-27-2012, 07:48 PM. Reason: More info.
                Gardner Miller
                Lone Star Outboard Racing Association

                "Water is for racing. Asphalt is for the parking lot."
                Rember....Freedom isn't...."Free".......

                Comment


                • #9
                  I don't mind talking about setups in the open. I'm not racing this on a modern hull in sanctioned races. I timed the engine to 40 degrees BTDC. My carb and timing settings I feel need to be worked on a little. I'm hoping to get my hands on it this weekend and report back with results.

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                  • #10
                    Alky vs Gas

                    You mentioned it was an Alky when you bought it. And changed the carbs to convert it to a gas engine.

                    There might have been some other things done to it to race it in Alky. Someone else is more knowledgable than me on this, but maybe the head was crushed to a very very tight tolerance for Methanol. This would be to tight to run on gas. Being you mentioned it was run with surface gap plugs, this may be true ? Just another thing to look for to help out.
                    Dave Mason
                    Just A Boat Racer

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Dave M View Post
                      You mentioned it was an Alky when you bought it. And changed the carbs to convert it to a gas engine.

                      There might have been some other things done to it to race it in Alky. Someone else is more knowledgable than me on this, but maybe the head was crushed to a very very tight tolerance for Methanol. This would be to tight to run on gas. Being you mentioned it was run with surface gap plugs, this may be true ? Just another thing to look for to help out.
                      Thanks, I will keep that in mind

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