"86 by the serial, but could j
"86 by the serial, but could just as easily call it an 87 if it was sold that year - at least that's what Merc would have done.
They went to the alpha-numeric serial for 2 reasons. First off to indicate part of the "new line" which they began to introduce during the 85 model year.
Secondly, so unlike other makers, they would never have "last year's model" in stock.
If the motor was produced in say 1986 with a serial of 0A123456, but it didn't sell by years end, then it automatically became an 87 model. Even if it sat for 2 years unsold, it would be sold as a "new" 1988 model.
The dealers loved it - they didn't have to discount a motor because it was "non-current". It didn't matter to Merc whether the warranty coverage started in 85 86 etc and since all the models of the same horsepower, during the same production run over a number of years were either absolutely identical, parts wise, or simply had a part replaced with the "new part number" what did it really matter what year you called it...."