TOPIC: Need some info on a 850

Hello merc fans. I ran across (what I can figure by serial no.1464099)a 1963 Merc 850 6 cyl and controls today. One of the white motors. I'll be the first to admit I know but nothing, notta about a mercury. So if you guys would bear with me, I have a dumb question...Was the '63 85 hp what you guys call a dock buster and if so,what is said "dock buster"? Thanks from a (gulp)OMC guy.

That would be a Single Lever Gear Shift motor.
Jim

Yes jim, so it would shift like a manual shift johnson,correct?edit; newer syle single lever. sorry,I'm used to electric shifts.

If it is a Dockbuster it will have a single shift lever on the side of the lower motor cowling. There is no nuetral on these motors. Only forward and reverse. You need to be pointed in the direction you want to go and untied from the dock when you start the motor.The motor will start and run backwards when it is put in reverse.These motors are really a work of art in the way they were designed and take abit of fast learning to get them to operate correctly. One other thing is they have to be tuned up properly and kept tuned up to work. All this said they are a great motor. Skip.

A '63 850-6 would be a Full Gear Shift (FGS) model. It should have a "tin" sheet metal wraparound under the lower cowling, fastened by 2 panhead screws each side at the front.

You'll note (2) arms sticking out the Port side of the lower cowl, those are for shift and throttle.

The shift arm goes all the way back for Fwd; Reverse is all the way forward, with Neutral somewhere in between.

Your single-lever control should have a shift and throttle cable, an easy way to tell them apart is to raise the fast idle lever and watch which cable moves.

The control cables have threaded ferrules so you can properly adjust the cables; on the throttle cable adjust so there's a bit of tension pushing the distributor against the "idle stop" screw, at the front of the dist. Adjust the shift cable so it'll consistantly shift from Fwd-Neutral-Reverse then back to Neutral without any 'clicking' in Neutral from the lower unit gears being partially engaged.

Note you can shift without running the motor but you'll need to rotate the prop a bit for Reverse, otherwise the Reverse clutch dogs may bind.

Mix is 50:1, plugs are J4C, points gap .008"-.010" but the dual-point dist really needs to be set up to the proper dwell to make things right. If you get into it that far, we can help you along, it's not like a JohnRude!!!!

Count on changing the impeller before you run it on a boat, these are not as forgiving as most OMC impellers; the short blades take a set then don't pump well if at all. Impellers are inexpensive and dropping the lower unit is pretty straightforward (no pesky shift couplers to mess with!).

Welcome to the "Dark Side" & have fun with your "new" Tower of Power!....ed

p.s. post a pic or 2 when you get the chance!

Jim
That is one of the last Cloud white motors. With the white hood/mid/lower and the black wrap, it is one of the best looking Mercurys. Long or short? I searched high and low and finally found one for my collection in the short shaft. You will be delighted. Get her in shape, keep her in a high state of tune, and she will stand tall, look great and push hard for years and years. (A bit of Mercury cheerleading there)
Have fun, post some pics.
Neil

It's a friend of mines. He just bought it. It's on a 61 aristocraft still on the original Wesco trailer. She's been neglected (outside), but I think the motor could run again cause I got it to turn just a little.I really like the look of the "albino Mercs". I'm gonna see about trying to talk him out of it. Boat needs a transom and complete redo.Some genius shot red primer on the blue & white boat and motor,but the trailer is in decent shape. I'll try to get some pics.jim

That is what I have on the back of my Thompson. A great motor. The previous owner was our next door neighbor at our family cottage on the Mississippi. He bought it in about 1970 and pulled us skiing throughout the '70s. He pulled 6 of us up 2 different times, once without power trim and once with. Of course we were all a couple pounds lighter back then!!!! I have had it for about 5 years now and it runs great. I agree with the others on the looks. It looks fast even before you start it. I get between 35 and 40 MPH on my 17 ft Thompson, but can't afford the gas to run it like that for long. Especially this year since I run premium that doesn't have alcohol in it.
Bill

I brought the boat to my house this afternoon to check compression and clean out the forest and dump in the floor. The compression from top to bottom reads 110#,110#110# 100#,95#,95# with oil added to the cylinders and being pulled with the pull rope. Plugs were still oily when first taken out.Wiring is in bad shape.LU shifts as explained here,(thanks ed). Some pics

Just curious.What is the compression supposed to be on one of these engines? jim

I'd say 110-120 would be pretty good for one of these old beasts. Pretty hard to tell, though, pulling it over with the recoil starter. Maybe you were getting tired on the bottom three!

The most accurate test would be with the electric starter. Be sure to open the throttle butterflies fully.

Most important is to have even compression readings or less than 5 psi difference between; usually if there's than 10 psi difference between cylinders it's indicating internal issues. The values you got with the rope are certainly good enough to try running it, maybe you can clean the haze off the points, hotwire 'er and get 'er crankin'!

Once running and warmed up, do a Seafoam carbon-cleaning treatment then check compression again. I'd wager the readings will improve.

Just gotta do something about that orange paint, makin' me queasy!!!

Cheers..........ed

I like that read and white Ford in the back ground of the first photo

Don't fire that baby up until you replace the impeller or in just a few short seconds you could have a red-primered boat anchor! If the impleller is shot she'll overheat quick. And if it comes apart, the pieces could end up in the water passages and she'll never run cool again or you could lose a cylnder or or or or.....

Been tied up,but did check the compression with the starter and no oil squirted in the cyls. Of course the values went down some,so I brought the pistons up close to the spark plug holes on the weakest cylinders,tilted the engine up and added some PB blaster and trans fluid cocktail. Letting it set until this afternoon and will recheck them.Drained the LU of it's 50/50 water oil mix .The aristo has a 20" transom so I guess it's a long, Neil. Bill, what year is yours? The face plate looks different. Thanks Peter,the truck's a 65 and you can bet the merc will get a fresh water pump before I start it. I don't know what my friend is going to end up doing with this rig, but I'm already having fun figuring this baby out. One thing I think is a great idea is the tilt locking when put in reverse. Looks like there was bright ideas on "the dark side"

Mine is a '63. I have checked the numbers. I don't think it has the right faceplate. It is the same faceplate that has been on it since about 1970 when the neighbor bought it. I have thought about looking for the right one, but haven't gotten around to it.
By the way, I am the hotdog on the left with the rope handle between my knees. I can still hear my sister screaming at me something about killing me if I fell.
Bill

I have a 1963 850, love it.

Mine is a 63 shorty.
Holy Moly that is the WRONG color.
Neil

Neil wrote:

Mine is a 63 shorty.
Holy Moly that is the WRONG color.
Neil

I guess to a Clemson Tigers fan, it is a work of art It has tiger paw print stickers around the top lol. Could be the mascot's personal ride..