79 Merc 80 HP

I would run it at 32:1, I don't believe in anything lower than 40:1 tho. It was actually Mercury who did a study not long ago that showed that the more oil you mixed in, the more hp you got out of the engine. They did this testing on outboards, and I think they went all the way down to 16:1. Someone will probably come on here and say that you will foul plugs by mixing richer than the factory recommends, but I have never fouled a plug because of oil, you foul plugs because of incorrect jetting or some other reason.

 

Is there a switch that will not allow it to start if there is not enough water in the lower end? I have it in a tub but it wont start and it ran before. Turns over fine.

 

Now you know why I got rid of mine. This could turn into the neverending thread of continuous Merc problems, and it's always something like that. Mine was just the opposite, I had mine purring and starting great, in a barrel of water, because I wanted it running right before I put it and the electric tilt and the steering cable and all the controls on. Get it to the river and in the water, won't start. Get it started, won't stay running, float down the river five miles cursing and beating on it to no avail, get towed back, work on it some more. To answer your question, tho, I don't think so, my '83 didn't have anything like that.

 

I have it running now. Need new wiring harness. I'm building a 20' Hartley Voyager, have frames 1- 6 (of 9) on the jig now. Will send ya a pic as it goes.

 

Hope all goes well, congrats on getting it running!

 

Well i have to back up a bit. Frame 4 is wrong. I had to pull it today and will have to rebuild it. The angle on the keel cut was wrong.