1975 Mercury 45, 4.5hp

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Rapier
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1975 Mercury 45, 4.5hp

Post by Rapier »

Not exactly an antique, but this is the 3rd I've owned of these single cylinder Mercs. Produced from 1964 in the guise of a 3.9 (39) with underflywheel coil and points, to the late 80s through the 40 and 45 (with Thunderbolt Phase Maker Ignition and Perma-Gap plugs) and back to the 40, when re-rated. This one is a very, very clean 41 year old shortshaft motor (is longer than the 16in-ish shortshaft though) that would have cost it's owner £130.80 from South Western Marine Factors, new in '75 - a proper longshaft would have cost an extra £6. The 45 is a 5.5cu.in motor (about 90cc) that shares the same gearbox as the 75 (7.5hp) and 110 (9.8hp), with 2:1 gear ratios. Fuel mix is 50:1. These motors (up to the 9.8) have a smaller female (engine side) fuel connector that is hard to find and very expensive new these days. Even though it's a single cylinder, it does have full FNR gearshft. They're free revving and powerful, but quite heavy in relation the 2-stroke single cylinders produced by Nissan/Tohatsu; it's heavy cast aluminium cowl doesn't help. This one is Belgian-made.
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Fasten bra straps and remove dentures...

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