My father in law bought a used boat a few months ago. Yesterday, he informed me that his wife would actually like a different one and asked me if I was interested in buying his. I told him I would give him what he has in it and he agreed.
So here I am, with a 16 foot (I am pretty sure it 16 foot) imperial v bottom, a trailor, and 2 outboard motors. The boat is in pretty good shape for its age, the trailor looks to be in great shape. It's the motors that I'm not sure about. Neither one runs. The one on the boat is a mercury 850, not sure how old, but I'm guessing mid to early 70s. He was told when he bought it, the motor runs, but needs a starter. He has since replaced the starter, but thinks there might be some issues with dry rot wiring. The other motor, I assume, is more for parts than anything else. It's a mercury 800, 80 hp. I'm not sure where to look for some sort of an ID plate with a date of manufacture, but it looks to be about the same age as the 850.
Do any of you work on, or know someone that works on, older outboards? Ideally, I would like to get the 850 running. Maybe someone would be willing to work with me to get it running and take the 800 as some sort of a trade? Or take both in exchange for a decent running motor.
So here I am, with a 16 foot (I am pretty sure it 16 foot) imperial v bottom, a trailor, and 2 outboard motors. The boat is in pretty good shape for its age, the trailor looks to be in great shape. It's the motors that I'm not sure about. Neither one runs. The one on the boat is a mercury 850, not sure how old, but I'm guessing mid to early 70s. He was told when he bought it, the motor runs, but needs a starter. He has since replaced the starter, but thinks there might be some issues with dry rot wiring. The other motor, I assume, is more for parts than anything else. It's a mercury 800, 80 hp. I'm not sure where to look for some sort of an ID plate with a date of manufacture, but it looks to be about the same age as the 850.
Do any of you work on, or know someone that works on, older outboards? Ideally, I would like to get the 850 running. Maybe someone would be willing to work with me to get it running and take the 800 as some sort of a trade? Or take both in exchange for a decent running motor.
