TOPIC: talk about swapping

i have a 1961 merc 500, and was wondering if the carbs from my red strip parts motor which is a 500 merc will fit the 1961? i do not know the year of the red strip, i can get the ser # off of it, if that will help. any thoughts. thanks. frog

Hey Frog . Thats funny I was wondering the same thing .I rebuilt the carbs on a red stripe then it broke a ring not long after . I picked up I think it was a 62 (( First year for black I remember )) and was wondering if I could swap the carbs out I rebuilt for the red stripe
Larry

larry, let me know if you do find out that they will work. and i'll do the same for you. greg ps really like your cabin cruiser take care

I'm pretty sure the red stripe carbs will bolt onto the '61 500 okay, but you will want to compare the way the carburetors are opened by the distributor and whether or not the choke linkage looks the same or not.
If the distributor pick up is different you may need to swap out the top carburetor's butterfly shaft and the carburetor's pick up link - if you find that you can't simply swap out the pick up link.
Thom

and,...Although it isn't part of this question - the '61 500 powerhead and a red stripe powerhead ('68-'71) can not be swapped as a lump - like the two 500 powerheads discussed in another post.
T

doc, thank you very much, i will just rebuild the 1961 carbs. frog

Thanks Doc ..