I need some advice any opinions welcome TIA!

I have a 86 16ft bass tracker tbe boat its self is solid needs some floor work in few other things. But my problem is my motor lost compresion in the number two cylinder it is a 2 stroke 50hp 500 seriess merc with thunder bolt ignition. I was told by my shop guy that its not really worth spending money on such a old motor reason being difficultty finding parts and not paying a fortion! I have tought about repowerin with a new merc 40 jet would I be foolish to put it on a older boat would it b a beter invest ment to find a packge deal

i would take a hard look at the boat first...that vintage tracker was a thinner gauge than the newer ones and was a riveted boat..it is also loaded with wiring and switches for every device known to mankind..if it has been exposed to any weather or has not been meticulously maintained then i would venture half those gadgets dont work... its 30 years old and overdue for loose rivets..also get under the boat while its on a trailer and check for pitting on the rear middle of the boat near the transom...it is a good running boat if all is ok and performs well with a 50 .....excellent mileage and speed and light enough to be perfect with launching and retrieving when fishing alone..

a new tracker 16 foot with a 60 merc will run about 20k by the time you add taxes and shipping and prep...

i know nothing about running a jet on this boat..

Inspect all the wiring on the motor as some years were bad.------------Mechanical repair of that motor should be no problem at all.

While the 16ft Tracker was not a super heavy boat by any means, I think you would be sadly disappointed with a 40 jet on it.

The 50 horse prop was probably the smallest you would want to go with and even then you are talking about (practically) the bare minimum horsepower to get any kind of performance from the hull.

A jet is inherently "less powerful" than a prop job of the same horsepower. You lose upwards of 30% of your horsepower just converting your horsepower at the crank to thrust at the (prop) end.

So your 40 jet becomes the equivalent of a 30 horse prop motor - so unless you are looking for a "trolling motor", you should look at another re-power option.

The prices on package deals are only attractive (initially) because they provide the minimum of equipment and usually significantly under-power the rig.

Once you get it dressed the way it "should be", then you are up in the price range of all of the competition. I would estimate that we easily "re-power" 25% of all the packages sold in any given year because after running them for a bit the owners realize that, NO, a 25 on a 15 footer or a 40 on 16 footer is nowhere near enough unless you are going to use the rig all by yourself on very small water.

I suspect a good chunk of the rest sit around driveways/garages until the significant other makes them get rid of it.

Find the (tag) on your boat and power with "minimally" 80% of the max horse rating for the boat. If the max power is 90 horses then go with a 75 (90 x .8 = 72 horses minimum).

Otherwise, your boat will likewise, sit in the drive or garage until you are "told" to get rid of it because it's never used.

a 50 will move this boat above 30 mph..my fishing partner for years had this exact boat with a 50 evinrude...we often ran two boats...not a speedball but sufficient...

Thank you all for your input I was running a 50 jet on the boat already and with me and two light people i was geting up river fine around 20 mph. My boat says on the hull info tag says 50 hp is the max hp.I alwAys thought the new 40 jets are really 75 just marked down hp because the jet. Thanks fr that info. But in regards to the boat it is thinner guage aluminum but as far ss rivets they seem ok. I have already re wired all the gadgets and put new switch pannel