THE MASTERTECH'S
ANTIQUE OUTBOARD ADVENTURES PAGE 6
WHAT WE WERE UP TO IN 2014.
(Click on thumbnails for the full size picture)
1952 Mercury KG-9, the price was right followed me home. Even though I have several better examples of this, my "fave" old Merc, This one was a challenge I was faced with and I set out to return it to "AS NEW" condition.
PICTURES OF THE MOTOR COMPLETED |
PORT SIDE COMPLETED MOTOR |
CLOSE UP OF GAUGE PANEL |
FRONT VIEW NO FLASH. |
FRONT VIEW WITH FLASH
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THE MERCURY SUPER HURRICANE "DEATH CRUISER".
You never know when its gonna hit you. It was a humbling experience!
IN early April of 2014 I was contacted by a gentlemen in Cary North Carolina for information about a Mercury KH-7 Hurricane Cruiser "Super 10". Back story was that his dad had bought this motor from the Mercury Factory back door in 1952, been in the family ever since. To back this up, the motor serial number is 500019(R). Here's what I replied.
"THE SERIAL NUMBER ON THIS MOTOR WITH AN "R" SUFFIX INDICATES "REFURBISHED" OR "REBUILT" AT THE FACTORY . ADDITIONALLY IT IS THE 7TH PRODUCTION MOTOR, STARTING SERIAL FOR KH7'S IS 500012. SO IT MAY HAVE BEEN USED BY MERCURY AS SOME SORT OF A DEMO MOTOR. B4 YOUR DAD BOUGHT IT THEY REFURBISHED IT TO NEW SPECS. AS BEST WE CAN DETERMINE 8000 SERIAL NUMBERS WERE ALLOTTED TO KH-7'S BUT NOT NECESSARILY USED.
THE "GREEN TANK" MOTORS AS A HURRICANE KG7 - WERE AVAILABLE AS A "Q" OR "H" MODEL SUFFIX WITH RACING QUICKSILVER LOWER UNIT. THERE WAS NO MECHANICAL DIFFERENCE IN THE POWERHEAD. THE SPARK LEVER HAD A CUTOUT TO ALLOW ADDED SPARK ADVANCE.
CRUISER WAS BUILT FOR ONLY 1 YEAR, 1952 AND WAS REPLACED WITH THE MARK 20 IN 1953 THE SERIAL NUMBER ON THIS MOTOR WITH AN "R" SUFFIX INDICATES "REFURBISHED" OR "REBUILT" AT THE FACTORY . ADDITIONALLY IT IS THE 7TH PRODUCTION MOTOR, STARTING SERIAL FOR KH7'S IS 500012. SO IT MAY HAVE BEEN USED BY MERCURY AS SOME SORT OF A DEMO MOTOR. B4 YOUR DAD BOUGHT IT THEY REFURBISHED IT TO NEW SPECS. AS BEST WE CAN DETERMINE 8000 SERIAL NUMBERS WERE ALLOTTED TO KH-7'S BUT NOT NECESSARILY USED.
THE "GREEN TANK" MOTORS AS A HURRICANE KG7 - WERE AVAILABLE AS A "Q" OR "H" MODEL SUFFIX WITH RACING QUICKSILVER LOWER UNIT. THERE WAS NO MECHANICAL DIFFERENCE IN THE POWERHEAD. THE SPARK LEVER HAD A CUTOUT TO ALLOW ADDED SPARK ADVANCE.
CRUISER WAS BUILT FOR ONLY 1 YEAR, 1952 AND WAS REPLACED WITH THE MARK 20 IN 1953"
Now we agreed on a price, the deal was he would bring the motor down to Birmingham while visiting his son at Christmastime I would drive up and pick it up there. As it turneed out we had to drive up to Richmond in September as Sandys brother-in law was having a relatively serious operation. This would take me right thru that area. I made a call and we arranged for me to view and pick up this motor the following week end. The operation went well so, being early, I called to tell them I'd be there on Friday. Phone was answered - "is Mr ++ there" Whos calling? "Bill about the Mercury outboard" Well, this is his son. Dad passed away from a Heart attack on Monday".
So this certainly was not the answer I had expected - I expressed my condolences and was told in reply, Dad was excited about your picking the motor up. We still want you to have it. And I feel honored to have it. Currently the motor is cosmetically unrestored. I feel that having passed thru 3 generations and being this well preserved only a mechanical requirement if needed will be applied to this engine.
PICTURES OF THE CRUISER |
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MERCURY KH-7 CRUISER
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500019R
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IN NORTH CAROLINA
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New challenge for 2015!
1960 Duratech S-14 aluminum boat
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Looks like war surplus, covered inside and out with crusty green paint. |
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