Nice report Ridge, be careful out there bro!

I don't want to step on someones thread but I just want to coment on the old inline 6.Out of the box WOT is 5800 rpm.And for the merc 1500's you can bore the cylindars to .040 over .That equates to ovey a quater inch more displacement.There not called tower of power for nothing.I'll admitt there not easy on fuel

Please, step away all you want, all comments appreciated.
I agree on the tower of power. They made a few that would spin to 6800 and higher. I think the race models were the 1500XS.
I had the opportunity to put a couple pistons in a 1984 90 hp Inline for a friend. That motor absolutely screamed on the back of his 17' Aquasport Osprey.
For nostalgia, the twin tower of power would be so cool.

hard part is getting those old 6's to run on the crap gas we have today

btw, sorry I missed your call, your ears must have been burning as an unnamed person from the upstate and I were talking about your engine crate building abilities when you called

With my 1977 merc 1500 I use some aviation fuel mixed in the crap and she screams on it.

Only inline I ever saw that wasn't a little tempermental was the 90 my friend had. I hated the distributor models to work on. I was reaching in to grab some timing and got nailed once. Tore the hyde off my finger somehow and made me forget my name for a couple minutes. The carbs would drain if you tilted them all the way up. To love them you had to get to know it's quirks. Many a boater swore off Mercury motors forever because of the hard start of the old inlines and bass boaters would try to run huge props and toast powerheads. They don't like to be lugged. My old boss raced them in the 70's. He ran Allisons and homemade kneeler hydros. He was a firm believer in propping them to run 5800 to 6000 on fishing rigs, he claimed they would last longer turning up and all but eliminate the devastating pre-detonation. He never came out with much but when he did I listened.

Sorry I missed your call. I had the phone on the charger in the truck. As for the crate building -- good or bad? I know I screwed up the angle by a couple degrees. What are you cooking up?

That bold thunderbolt ignition can really straitin your hair out if your not carefull

we were quite impressed with the crate, its now a motor stand, just added a few more boards. I had to explain the face on the flywheel to reel... here's the eyes, here's the mouth, here's the nose. It took him a minute or two to get it. man that merc is clean, you did a nice job on it.

As the Merc on that crate rode around in the back of my truck for about 4 weeks, it had the opportunity of being observed by many...all were inpressed w/the construction of the crate!!...:clap:...

And when trying to figure out Vic's painted message on the flywheel, I was looking at it upside-down and holding the crate up VERTICALLY from behind it...NEEDED some explanation...post up a pic of that when you can Dave...!!...LOL!!...

When I painted the flywheel I had just stuck my third set of pistons on a 96 2.5L 200. Just so you know my frame of mind. I stopped with the 2.5L motors and Weiseco Pistons then and there.
Spare, the 2.4 sits atop a 25" mid from the same 1996 motor that went south so it has the 1996 cowl and skirts. Makes it interesting when ordering parts. The 25" mid with the window in the leg is the original midsection. Welch plug on the top of the engine block gives the year, not the serial number. Replacement powerhead??
The motor pallet was a last minute deal. LOL.. The next one will be even better.
If the cowl looks streaky it is because it has been hit with PolyGlo. If you clean it up and apply 4 more coats it will have some luster. Floor wax stripper works great for removal. So does a DA. Just go thru the carbs repair the leaky trim and a few cosmetics. Would be real nice as a 20". BTW- The mounts in the 20" leg are probably solid.