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Mercury Mark 58A..keeper or throw away?

J

Jackwagon

New member
Hello all,

This is my first post and hopefully I have this in the correct forum. I apologize if not. I recently acquired a 1980 Bass Tracker 3 with an Old Mercury Mark 58A EL serial # 1230738. I was told beforehand that it just needed a new impeller. After getting it home and getting a better look at everything I am wondering if I should even mess with it. A couple things come to mind.

1. I am almost positive it isn't the complete original motor. The model I have is the EL however the motor is pull start. Correct me if I am wrong but shouldn't the EL model start with a key switch?

2. There is no way to shut the motor off once running. I do not see a kill switch. Then again I am new to all of this especially old vintage motors. Also once I pulled the wrap around cover off I instantly noticed a wire was cut in half and was once possibly spliced into something.

3. The age of the Motor itself. This thing is almost 60 years Old! I want something that is going to last me awhile with just regular maintenance.

So my question is if I should sink some time and money into this engine or should I just set it off to the side and get a newer but used outboard? I am just a casual fisherman and plan on getting it out at least once a month.

I welcome and appreciate everyone's input!

Thank you!
 
First thing is run a compression test on her, Plugs removed, try each cylinder 3 separate times and average readings,cylinders should be within 10% of each other. I would do this before spending $$$$
 
The kill wire is the single wire coming off the distributor and is just shorted to ground to kill the engine. That is a 1959 55hp electric start, long shaft model number unless you have sentimental value to it dont waste the money. You can probably find a nice 60hp complete with controls you can actually find parts for on craigs list. Is that a long shaft transom 20 inch? Have you checked the transom for dryrot is fairly common. There is a new product that you just pour in after removing the rotten wood. Just make sure you hear the engine run and check the compression before handing over any money. If the seller wont do a compression test for you run away.
 
Thanks for the input guys! I've been searching for the parts that I know i need and have had some luck finding them. Just worried maybe a few years down the road that wont be. Thanks for the diagram kimcrwbr1. I'll look over it again when I get off work. If I can remember correctly it was a red wire that was cut. If I go the route of getting a newer motor does anyone see a benefit of taking up my side console and switching to a tiller motor? I'm easily able to find tiller s around my area for a decent price unlike the console motors. Not only does a tiller seem simpler to me but it would also clear up some deck space.
 
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