TOPIC: For Doc, Merc 1000 face plate explained

Recently I had a Post where Doc saw a Merc 1000 in the back ground and was interested in a face plate. SO I asked him which one he wanted? I briefly explained that there is 3 for 62 and 63. SO to all the merc guys that didn't know this here is the explanation of the 3 and the when and why Merc made them.

First is the 1962 Phantom merc 1000 embossed, Metal stamped and chromed face plate used only in 62. Reason it was changed later, to spendy to make and heavy. They did make a big splash I am told when they fell off. lol I am sure it was the bright shinny thing to go along with the womans point of view and as we all know that the reason for the black motor came from Carl's wife. She commented that if a big woman wares a black dress it makes her look thinner. That motor was a big girl for sure in its day.

Second was the 1963 which was embossed the same with Merc 1000 but made from stamped aluminum and anodized, Lighter, cheaper and made less of a splash lol Which was the replacement for the 62 when they got lost. Thus also making the 62 one year only and really hard to find.

Third was the Replacement for the 62 and 63 motors and including the 850 which was still stamped Aluminum and anodized but was not embossed with any numbers, Mercury offered Decals for the 850 and the 1000 instead. Guess he was thinking one size fits all.

For some reason face plates got lost a lot as I am told but I have never lost one myself. Below are pictures of them from left to right starting with the 62, 63 and the replacement 62-63. Also note the back side pics as the 62 is starting to rust at the top.

The chrome 62 merc 1000 is rare to find but the 850 is even more rare. Any of the 850 ones are super hard to find because when the embossed ones ran out Carl just used the decaled version to complete the year. SO you could get a original motor that did have 850 0r 1000 decals if the motor was made late in production. I am sure the reason was that the 64 was going to be totally different and it is. 64 was the 25yr anniversary motors.

SO there ya have it. Doc
I have owned over 50 of these and still have about 10ish so I learned this over time and talking with people to get parts to restore them. Just more useless knowledge in the ol' coconut.
SO Doc what flavor do ya want? LOL
Bob

Very cool Bob, and a great explanation.

If I can ever find one, I'd be happy with the 1963,embossed the same with Merc 1000, but made from stamped aluminum and anodized.

I had what appeared to be a rare '62 1000 cowl wrap a few years ago.
I purchased it at an estate sale consisting primarily of a huge outboard collection.
It had the smaller font like the '62, but what was unique was that the decal on one side was a negative of the one on the other side.
In other words, the gold on one side was black on the other side, the black was gold. See attached pictures.
I don't think it was just a case of unusual after-market decals, but I'm not sure.
Have you ever seen anything like that?
doc

I will do some checking on my motors tomorrow and see what I find on the decals. I do have some NOS merc 1000 decals too so I have to check them. Interesting stuff. Carl did some odd stuff thats for sure. I believe it was all about building the motors cheaper for more profit. He was a very frugal man and as many said very unpleasant to work with. The guy that taught me a ton of stuff was Bernie Drier that owned Aeromarine here in town and he said he and Carl got along great. He was instrumental in fixing the CDI box problem in 66 so he said. Carl gave him a award and I have seen it in his basement. He has so many cool stories that he tells about the mercs. I sit there like a little boy when he talks about the old days, totally hanging on his every word. Oh and I will look for another face plate for ya too. I am sure I have one in the huge stack I have in the shop. I have wraps too but finding perfect ones is tuff.
Bob
I had a heck of a time finding 3 good face plates and wraps for these 3 kids.

Whoa, Nellie!

That baby must flat-out fly with 18 cylinders and 300 hp!

Very cool information and history. I also agree that WOW - that tri-merc rig (What looks to be a Powercat)commands attention and respect!
I have heard the sweet sound of twins of this era running, but have never heard a triple rig of that vintage (nor seen one).

May I ask if you might have a good 1965 Merc 1000 faceplate? Mine is original, but center badge is cracked with a chunk missing. I will live with it if I have to as it shows the boat was used for 51 years...but a replacement badge of faceplate that is clean would be nice.

Tanks - Mark

Bob,
Holey Moley,...You are a very lucky guy to have the opportunities to visit with ECK's staff!
I would love to be there sitting beside you - it doesn't get any cooler IMHO.
doc

Ed,
It does have a lot of torque to the point of no turning left at wot. She is a point and shoot ride. I really never got the trips set up the way I wanted them. It had twin 86 115 mod motors on it when I got it so when I went to trips I gained 44lbs but gained 70hp too. I have to tie the motors down or adapt TnT to the outside ones before I push it for top speed. Plus adding power steering would be a plus.

Mark,
I looked for the face plate but must have sold it. I only have the one on my 65 1000 now. Not sure of its fate yet. As for commanding respect it did turn some heads and it caught the attention of the lake patrol too. I was actually asked to load it up and take it home or else. No tag on max HP but I have one now Thanks to Danny L. Here are a couple of Pics with the twins and then the trips. People do stop as stare with the trips way more than the twins. It does have a unique sound I will give it that. One thing I learned from Dick Davis was to put a short shaft in the middle so it would not spray all over and that was good advice. Now that Doc brought up the serial # issue I found that my middle motor is a 62. Guess I never paid attention before.

My Dad's 1966 Powercat 15T had a HP tag. My 1965 Powercat 15T does not. I thought I read where that HP tag stuff came along in '66. Sad that a modern 20' outboard boat can get an unlimited rated tag (note show ski boats of 20' have up to (3) 300hp outboards). It all is a matter of how you handle your equipment knowing your limitations and the equipment's limitations. I can purposely wreck or sink and underpowered boat, yet also respect a highly powered boat as many can and do daily. I highly doubt you drank all day and then aimed it at a beach at wide open throttle hoping to do a Bat-turn 10' off shore. I would bet you most likely would be one of the most trusted drivers on the water that day. Sending someone home doesn't seem right. Was there a law that could be pointed to that you were violating? The guy with your boat in Louisiana can go 105MPH with his same version cat with 2 V-6 mercs...maybe they allow that for safety to ensure you can outrun alligators and Poisonous water snakes

Thanks for the response regarding the 1965 faceplate...if your motor happens to be a short shaft and you decide you want to sell an expensive faceplate with a free running short shaft 1000 attached behind it, please let me know...I have been searching for one for 2 years now.

Doc,
I took some time to go through all my NOS decals and the only ones I found that had gold centers were merc 700 and it was not uncommon to use another decal when doing replacements as for after market I can't answer to that much but there is only one guy that does Gold foil so not sure what ya got there. It is possible that the first 206 motors were different and Carl K was using up stuff like always. I have a bunch of these motors and wraps here so I saw none that were with gold lettering. As for Carl K's staff I would not call Bernie one of his staff but a brilliant dealer he can get that award. The only staff I ever met was Mel Riggs from Eldorado Wi and he ran Carls offshore racing effort. Mel was amazing to learn from and he had a buddy that was a engineer for Merc that hung around a lot he was really cool too. Tom T was another one that I met and he was on contract with Carl to hide all Carls experimental cool stuff from the Board of directors in Huge pole sheds until the day a museum could be a reality. A few years back that did come to pass. Carl was one brilliant man, though the Dr's were a engineering marvel in there day I really think not having them FSG was a big mistake. Well as for the 62 1000 its only real flaw was the water pick up that cost them a lot of powerheads thus the 63 having gilled gear cases.
Bob

Thanks for checking Bob!
doc

Mark,
Please send me a PM,
doc

Mark,
I have a 66 1100 short shaft and a 65 1000 long so if you want a custom motor built let me know I am sure I can whip you one up. lol As for the powercat decal badge get a hold of Danny he had some made up because some of us were getting hassled. When I had this on the Mississippi river it was no problem only when I went to the local lake was it a issue. I felt I was being picked on as it was but didn't need to argue with some punk sheriff half my age. They didn't even know what a power cat was. Good thing I didnt have the 15x with the mark 75 stacker that would have got impounded on the spot. Don't know if I ever showed that one off here but there is vid I should put up on utube of it running. ITs so cool!

Doc - PM sent regarding faceplate.

The Toy Box - I will send you a PM regarding motor options/thoughts. I see where you are coming from regarding hassle and lack of Powercat boating history. How much HP rating could you get on a tag? Looks like you have the 18'...I would need 200hp rating for the 15T (I am sure you know why by now).

I know what rig you are speaking of and I would LOVE to see a link to a freshly posted youtube video. At least at Tomahawk,Wi., they have permission to run stackers, quincies, konigs, etc. at full race speed/noise for their National Antique outboard event so one can see the real history of some powerboating. I missed the year that Mercury had their 2 seater tunnel boat for demo rides.

Mark
Here is the beautiful thing Danny sends them blank so fill in the blank yourself. LOL I sent you a email with my cell in it so we can talk. I have to get to the shop now so were done here for today. I finally figured how to down size a picture of the mark 75 and got that posted. I know my 69 1250 super BP is on utube but can't remember if I ever put up the mark 75. It takes way to much time to get done but I am going to do more vids. I have just aquired a magnolia barracuda so I want to make a vid of that one for sure. Here she is. OH WAIT can't post that here is has a omc on it. ya Know Outdated Motorized Contraption motor LOL

I will probably need one of those tags when we get the GT-150 done and throw the '77 Merc 1500 on it. Can you send me the info?

I would also love to swing by the Toy Box sometime to see what you have going on - if you are open to showing off your toys! The girlfriend's family lives in La Crosse, so periodically I am in the area

Thanks. I will catch up with you maybe within a week. Lots of stuff going on right now.

Those tags are for a powercat only. I am around most of the time I work a lot of hours.

63SLtriton - Maybe you could consider the 115 or 90 HP decals to resolve that HP "issue". Not the 1st one to do that...so I have heard.

Hello Bob,

Thanks for the lesson. I have two 61 800 Mercs and apparently neither have correct plate. Doc explained in an earlier post that this is the original generic replacement part.

Its mentioned here Mercury also used them on new motors if they ran out of stock.

The other 800 came with this plate in this condition. The boat burned down and the front of the motor saw some heat but damage was minimal. It looks like the 1000 plate doc showed.

If anyone has one of those nice shiny original 800 plates to offer I would be interested.

Terry

Hello Bob,

Thanks for the lesson on the plates.

I have two 1961 800 FGS motors and apparently neither have the correct plate. Doc mentioned in an earlier post that this was the original generic replacement.

Its aluminum and the 800 is a decal and it appears to be identical to what you show to be the 62-63 version.

The other 800 has what looks like the 1000 that Doc showed here. The boat that this motor was on burned down and toasted the plate a bit but damage to the motor was minimal.

If anyone has a shiny original 800 plate to offer I am very interested.

Thanks,
Terry

the one with out decals and emblem is 1965 and newer the quiet motors.