1976 50HP Merc 4 cyl or '76 50HP OMC 2 cyl ?

I was given my mother inlaws pontoon boat which I am in the process of re-doing... along with it came a 1976 Merc FOUR cylinder 50HP (500) with many many hours and a few issues that I can fix.

HOWEVER today I scored a 1974 Johnson TWO cylinder 50HP with LOW hours on it that a fella was going to use for a race boat (but he died) so now I aquired it.

In your "opinion" whats a better outboard for the pontoon?
'76 50HP Merc 4 cylinder
'74 50HP OMC 2 cylinder (short shaft)

More power?
Less issues?


Thanks for any help-
Riggs

Re: '76 50HP Merc 4 cyl or '76 50HP OMC 2 cyl ?

The torque band on the Merc is far superior to the OMC, by a significant amount in the entire lower half of the curve.

So just from a "get up and go" point of view on a (boat) which is really nothing more than a mobile "dock" and has more hydrodynamic similarities to a rock than a ski boat - I would go with the motor that has the "guts" to move it along.

That 4 cylinder Merc block could be argued (successfully) to be one of the best powerheads that Merc ever produced.

In general parts for the OMC are somewhat less expensive than the Merc, but the Merc parts - particularly the ignition system, is far more durable (and superior) to that on the OMC's.

So it's a bit of half and half - I carry extra coils and powerpacks for my OMC's because they are cheap (compared to Merc) and they do fail with some regularity so a spare is always handy.

I have never replaced a single part on any of my three Mercs so it kinda hasn't mattered that a switchbox (powerpack) is 3x the cost of one for my OMC's.

I have nothing against OMC, own 2 of them, but given these two models to choose from, in my eyes, the Merc is the ONLY choice...

Re: '76 50HP Merc 4 cyl or '76 50HP OMC 2 cyl ?

Thanks for the input... I did notice that one of the coils on the OMC has a 1" hairline crack in it. I'm gonna epoxy it tight and order 2 new coils (soon). $35 each.

SO what I might do is run the OMC for this summer and "restore" the Merc back to perfect (mechanically & even cosmetically) for next season???