In January, I bought a 1975 Mercury 65 HP outboard on Craigslist. While it has been mounted and connected, I still haven't proven to myself that it works. The seller claimed it ran fine, but you just never know. I had tested all the connections and verified the compression was equal in all three cylinders. But it still hadn't been started.
Well, Sunday afternoon we received a warm front and the temperature was in the 60's. It was time to test. I wheeled the boat and trailer into the driveway. Earlier in the month I was in out-state Missouri and bought 5 gallons of non-ethanol based premium gas. (You cannot buy this anywhere around St. Louis due to EPA regulations.) So, I put in new plugs, added oil and the gas to the tank. To run the motor I put a trash can under the lower unit and filled it with water.
This was the set-up. I had one problem with the fuel connection. The Mercury fitting that connects the fuel line to the engine leaked when I tried to pressurize the line. Fortunately, when I bought the motor, the guy threw in a second short fuel line which had another fitting. I swapped out the fitting and it did not leak.
The moment of truth. It started right up and ran well. I made sure water was coming out the hole, which you can see in this picture.
It accelerated smoothly and idled well. It also restarted immediately when shut off. I didn't rev it way up nor was I able to attempt to put it in gear. I'll have to save those for my maiden voyage. But, at least I know it runs.
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