1964 Evinrude Boat 1986 90hp Mercury Tower of Power on an Alumacraft boat Part 1

[@donc4372]

Even if I didn't have a boat I would have a merc tower of power in my backyard just so I could fire it up and listen to it. I love the sound of a merc in the morning.

[@1crustyoldmsgtretired870]

I had an 85 HP Merc (4cyl). The big issue I had with it was the wiring had corroded under the insulation over the years. It started and ran fine in the afternoons, but wouldn't run at all on damp mornings due to the moisture in the wiring. It ran great any time after I made a new harness for it. Loved that thing - it gave you the sensation an engine was chasing you across the lake LOL

[@darylhaack7752]

Good day Michael. Thanks for posting as always. Your excitement on the Merc was so real. Like a kid opening a present at Christmas time. When the boss came to help you and you got shocked, l felt your pain as a retired electrician, l know that feeling. I wondered why you were considering doing the motor swap. Reading your replies to the other viewers comments, l understand why now. I prefer Mercs anyways. But thats all l ever have owned too. Looking forward to the next video in this series. Cheers

[@mikeholley2035]

That Merc is a beast!!! #6 plug = 1 1/2" hole saw, thin strip 3" x 1/4" of metal with three holes, rivet plastic plug to center hole, loosely rivet one hole to lower cowling and use a screw for the third hole, 3 and 9 pattern.. Rubber grommet or tubing around outside of hole for sealing. A lot of people now are spinning their props when gear oil starts to come out, seems to work. Also I carry a small crescent wrench when using screwdrivers that have a square shank by the handle. Love your channel.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Thanks for the tip, thanks for watching

[@shinytopgeezer]

Michael!!! Really glad you're back!!!! Yeah. I know you didn't REALLY go anywhere but..... Glad the "tower of power" is in such great shape. I'm a lot older than you, but back in the day we called 'em "towering infernos" (old movie title) and the v-4 OMCs were "fat 4s". But brace yourself. If you put the merc on the Evinrude boat and put all that on a different trailer, listen for thunder 'cause a lightning bolt is getting aimed in your direction. Jus' sayin'😬

[@donc4372]

Power trim for the first few seconds then power tilt the rest of the way. I had a 21 foot whaler with a 140 evinrude. Repowered it with a 90 merc like yours. No loss of speed. I think those mercs are actually under rated.

[@johnmccarthy7931]

Thanks for posting the show.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

You bet, thank you sir for watching

[@MsJon52]

Good to hear the tower of power run, they always sound like racing outboards, got to love the two strokes, looking forward to seeing you enjoy it on the water fishing,

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

You and me both! Thanks for tuning in.

[@emfelling8384]

love how those older mercs sound! sweet motor.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I really like it to, I can's wait to see it on the boat, thanks for watching

[@ryanburke4868]

I saw you just posted part two so I jumped on and found part one

[@mpfla8095]

Hey Michael. Love your new addition. All you need is some marine epoxy for your small hull repairs. And then you could try shooting a good three part epoxy paint would finish off nicely. Great work. Mike

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Thanks for the tips and thanks for watching

[@daddski1]

it's not a head, it's just a water jacket gasket. Just change the gasket or black riv and good to go. The cylinders in these are a mold. No head of any kind on them.these are sweet engines when you have one with good wiring. . don't believe the haters. fantastic and stable engines. just huge compared to new 90's that are three or four cylinders. Been a marine mechanic for 54 year now. Have build literally hundreds of these engines, always (almost) operator failures of one kind or another.

[@jonnooney7102]

Lost foam casting blocks. The pistons are installed attached to the crankshaft from the crank side. All six pistons three rings each to align and compress simultaneously. Probably the most challenging engine to rebuild I've ever laid hands on because of that. The special ring compressor tools they made for the chore are pretty useless. I ended up hanging the crank from the ceiling with a light rope and working the rings in one by one until they were all in. There is some taper at the bottom of the cylinders to help them go in but it is very easy to break a ring.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Hopefully with some care and good two stroke oil, I can make this one last a while, great compression, thanks for the information and watching.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Sounds like a challenge, I will have to do it someday, I'm hoping many many years from now. thanks for watching

[@randybarnes8454]

I had a Glasstron boat with a Evinrude 90s, I installed a 3 way switch on the dashboard so I'd have neutral before going to reverse or forward. Worked just fine.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

That would be a better spot and fix for sure, thanks for watching

[@k6outdoors]

Looking forward to seeing the 1964 Evinrude back on the water. Not sure whats better, a kid in a candy store or Michael with an inline 6 cylinder! Glad to see its just a head gasket.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

LOL, I'm so stoked about this tower of power for sure. Thanks for watching

[@earlwilliams2889]

Love the looks of that boat I would paint it and redo the hold thing .

[@OBC-radio]

Those OMC made Evinrude/Johnson boats were sort of an experiment in taking the power and might of a major corporation’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities to produce boats (which are normally produced by smaller companies with very manual processes). They were expensive when new, and very unique with lot of custom components and accessories made in-house by OMC. Very original except for the seats (those are modern replacements). I wouldn’t paint it, you will regret it down the road when it starts to peal. My first boat I purchased when I was in high school about 20 years ago had a 1966 Johnson 80hp with the electric shift. A great engine, but VERY thirsty. The first generation electric shift parts are unobtanium, but are nice when they work. I ran mine for about 5 years without any trouble, but the electric shift made me nervous. I still have an old video of my 80hp Johnson running the lake on my channel. That Evinrude is a very cool boat (and trailer!) 😎

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I'm going to try to buff it first and see how that goes, thanks for the information and for watching

[@nicdewet4058]

Greetings from South Africa! Love your channel. I follow a guy called Son who has a channel similar to yours but specialises in 4 to 6 cylinder Merc Towers of Power. He goes by the handel MercSon L6. Yours runs beautifully. If you can get the Evinrude 90 going I would keep the boat and motor together as a unit.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Not sure that is in the cards for the 64' 90 hp but I will see if it well pop and fire, thanks for watching

[@timconklin8489]

I think it’s great to re-power 64 Evinrude boat with the 1:00:19 1:00:22 1:00:24 tower of power. When you move it the Evinrude boat check the seals on the lift cylinders and if you put new seals in it should make the lift cylinders work better. Mcguaries . Makes a one step gel coat restore/wax should bring back the gel color of the gel coat Thanks Tim

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Thanks for the mequires tip and thanks for watching

[@jonnooney7102]

That is in amazingly good condition. If the wires are going to have a problem it's going to be worst right where they enter the stator.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching

[@dougr3715]

I had a 1967 Aluminum Starcraft with a 1967 40 hp Johnson With Electramatic shift with a small red lever for giving it advance throttle enough to start it, with electric choke. I never liked or trusted it, and I was glad to get rid of it!

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

good to know, thanks for watching

[@TerrificFlow]

I understand the idea of putting another engine and trailer on tha evinrude boat, but i still think the whole vintage package looks so cool together. How many of them can still be found? And as you said, in the car world, this would be a gem. But unfortunately for boats, people don't care that much. It will be a cool idea to keep the boat original, with the sweet trailer and engine. Bring it back to a decent shape, and then send it on its way. Someone with an old school truck or car could have a period correct boat and trailer to go the lake or shows. That would be cool. Plus, you will keep the alumacraft together with its engine which seems in good shape. You would have to manage to repair the dent and then send it on its way. Otherwise, once the engine is off the boat, then the haul will get scraped. Too much work, and time to repair the dent, then the floor, all the wood around the cockpit... lots of people are rebuilding aluminium boat with aluminum tubing and angles to create hatches, someone could be interested in this boat for such project. Remove all the wood, and rebuild the interior to create a decent bassboat, with a working engine and good trailer.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Lots of good suggestions, thanks for watching

[@lars9631]

Love that sound!

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

It's got an awesome bark don't it, thanks for watching

[@dirtybuzzard5977]

Awesome video. 👍👍What a great project the Evinrude boat is gonna look amazing after new paint and it’s gonna steer like a Cadillac with the upgrade merc tower and controls .. The tower sounded Awesome . What are ya gonna name it after it’s finished how about the GRAY BANDIT , But I still would like to see the Ol Starflight running . Can’t wait to see the process 👍👍Stay safe and As always Sir thanks for the ride along and Keep’em coming

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I like that name, I will see if it sticks, thanks for watching

[@badwolf1795]

On your Merc tower of power the top cover does come off with a latch in the front of the motor to get to the top spark plug and flywheel.

[@danielrobert7181]

The problem with those Tower of Power engines was with their head / block mating surfaces warping from uneven cooling. With the length of that cooling circuit, the engine needed an optimal working cooling system. This explains why so few 6 inline engines survived up to these days, unfortunately!

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

got to keep em cool for sure, thanks for watching

[@lars9631]

That Mercury would be one to restore. Paint and such. I'd like to see you weld up that skeg.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I will most likely weld up the skeg. Thanks for watching

[@lighthouse7ry]

Very nice boat . I would pull the carpet up and paint. The carpet will hold water and rot the floor out

[@L2fish]

I got a 50 four cylinder that was sitting for a while. It started right up after a new alternator and trigger. Been chasing problems though. One is a leak like yours.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

The leak should be easy, thanks for watching

[@sfpulley]

Since you want to keep the same color, don’t sand it. First try some 3M Hi cut gel coat buff compound and a DeWalt variable buffer. It can really bring back oxidized gel coat. You can always sand and repaint if it doesn’t bring it back.

[@edwardhogsed3027]

Can’t wait to see the old girl with that 6 cylinder on the water!

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Me too, she is gonna rip for sure, thanks for watching

[@CryptoGhostie]

Wondered if you still had the boat the tree fell on and if you had done any work to try and get the gunnel pushed back up That Evinrude would make a great fishing rig with all that open deck space and super stable since it's a tri hull Body filler and paint would be much faster. Interesting trailer I had an ol Johnson V-4 that would drink gas like an alcoholic Nearier spit my coffee on my monitor when you got zapped ... LOL

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Spark surprised me too, we shall see what the future holds for the old tri hull, thanks for watching

[@JL-hy7ve]

I have had both of those motors, the tower of power had one problem cylinder 1 would tend to run lean and snap the crank, and replacing the crank is not fun. The Evenrude those and Johnson motors of that era other then heavy as all get out where rock solid the power head from 75 to 90 Hp were all the same, bore and stroke they changed the lower end for different hp. It could have been 65 to 85 I would need to look in my manual. I can’t wait for the follow up video

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Thanks for the information, thanks for watching.

[@cambo1200]

Yes, you can fix that dent.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I'm going to give it a try for sure, I think I have a technic that will work. Thanks for watching

[@fatboy54100]

What about the stringers in the boat? could be rotten.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

the floor would have soft bouncy spots if that were the case, the floor is very solid. Thanks for watching

[@anthonylatronica5108]

Mike I disagree with you regarding the numbers match. It does add value to the right person. I would indeed keep it all Evinrude and this kscoming from a long time Mercury guy. Ain't on oldgelcoat is definitely the way to go. Use an epoxy filler for the scars and cracked areas.

[@nikoskag816]

Definitely polyurethane paint !

[@rieangillespie1524]

I love the tower of power but I'll be honest that gear oil was pretty milky I know you'll eventually pull the lower and do the service but take care of that sweet sweet motor/engine

[@richardcranium5839]

my 1966 MFG Niagara has the same cam lock holddown straps and the trailer is the same style tilt nose. wet sand with600 it will buff out nicely.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I think I'm going to cut and buff for sure, see how that turns out. Thanks for watching

[@petemartus6712]

Take that Mercury and put it on the Evinrude boat

[@petemartus6712]

I would bet that transom when you take that merc of that boat which I think are the best motor by far.anyways when u do get the motor pop a part of that transom cap and I bet its all dryrot.

[@robertrabhudsonhornet5869]

I believe gelcoat is much better than paint I think the gelcoat last longer. That's definitely a heavy boat. I do have a question way don't you want use that trailer?. My opinion is champion plugs are junk out of the box I think you would be better off using the old plugs

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

The old plugs are staying for now, they looked fairly new, I'm still a bit on the fence about the trailer, time will tell, thanks for watching

[@faronmastin8683]

Stay with the Gelcoat stay away from paint will not hold up and easy to scratch on a boat.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I'm going to try and buff it out, thanks for watching

[@robertrabhudsonhornet5869]

I think the water pump needs to be replaced it not all the way war out but if it was mine I would put a new one in it

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

I already have it on order, I thought the stream was a bit weak when idling. thanks for watching

[@frogcassady]

I’d go find a late 80’s to late 90’s Evinrude 90.

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Next step would be a 4 stroke, old meets new sort of thing, need a four stroke sponsorship.

[@MichaelSummers-ko2fj]

Water pump no good or ports are stopped up

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Yep, got the new one on order the same day, thanks for watching

[@danconner9380]

Thoes old mercs dont use heads the there is a gasket for the wateer jacket lol

[@todd7486]

How can you not keep the original engine when everything else is original?

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

Well, it was a tough choice, those 4 fours are not very economical to run and it needs more than the merc does, also like power trim. thanks for watching

[@todd7486]

wow, that thing is hideous! lol

[@Michaelsbackyardmarina]

it's so ugly I can't take my eyes off it, LOL, it will be the only one like it on the water for sure.

[@petemartus6712]

15%

[@aaronduman6087]

I WOULD KEEP EM BOTH ORIGINAL. IF YOU SPEND YOURE TIME WITH FIXING DENTS, FLOORING, ETC INSTEAD OF SWAPPING MOTORS AND ALL THAT I THINK YOU WOULD BE BETTER SERVED. BOTH RIGS SEEM ORIGINAL AND FAIRLY COMPLETE. JUST MY TWO CENTS