Mercury Classic 50 45hp

Any one have any thoughts on a 88 Mercury's Classic 50 45hp? Good motor? Dependable? Notorious for any problems? Looking at a boat with this motor. Appreciate any feedback. Never have owned a Mercury.

The oil injection system or whatever it is called on this motor has been removed, so you do premix gas and oil.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  It seems like a good motor. Starts good, runs strong. Impeller was replaced  recently pees good. Only thing I didn't like was it quit if you turned the throttle too low, but with no kill switch maybe that's how you shut it off?

Had a few of those from the 70’s to the mid 90’s ! As long as nobody ran hot because of bad impeller or wrong oil, they were VERY SOLID MOTORS. IMPELLER CHANGE IS CHEEP AND EASY, CARB KITS ARE INEXPENSIVE AND AVAILABLE! Probably have to do those 2 things,plus use NON ETHANOL GAS AND YOU SHOULD BE OK. PS if it has an auto blend,throw it away and just mix 50-1 

Was great motor in its day.  When it first came out it was rated as a 50 hp.  I don't think they did anything different to classify it as a 45, except maybe measure the HP at the prop shaft.  4 Cyl motor so it trolled super smooth, no vibrations at all, and never skipped a beat.  Only drawback to this toiday is it's carburated, and the card may need  some cleaning and possibly rebuilding

MP We used to fish for brown trout in door county,as soon as the ice let us mostly in march and one crazy trip be for that.I can not remember having a hard time starting my 50 or a friends.He had the same rig only his was a year newer.Both on 16ft lund mr pikes.That was a great time from Algoma to the tip and both s ides of door county.Won thing for sure that 50 was THURSTY.But then again know it was hard starting compared to an Etec.

drummer boy,

I knew that was probably the case. I've never personally run the 'Classic Fifty,' but I have run or been in boats rigged with similar vintage Mercs and they all had one thing in common...all were VERY COLD BLOODED! Once you got them started, they usually were good. Premium no ethanol gas, good oil, SeaFoam...didn't matter. Maybe the Classic Fifty was THE motor in that Era from Merc?!

piker your right you can not compare a 2 cylinder to a 50 with 4cy.I run a 75hp etec now great engine.But it will not troll any near as well as that old classic 50.I sold to a friend that is still running it.

I had a 1974 65HP Merc, that ran up until I got rid of it in 2007, when I bought a new boat.  The only things we had done to the motor over the years was replace all of the fuel lines, impeller, thermostat, Carb rebuild, and a bent lower unit drive shaft from hitting a rock.  The motor ran great up until the end. I will admit Mercs always seemed that they struggled to start, but did. I was a big Merc fan, until dealer talked me into a  4 stroke Yamaha.  The Yamaha is a fantastic motor!  I will get another if I have the chance. 

Used to have a 35HP Mercury from that same vintage (1985/1986)...it was bar-none the WORST motor I have ever owned (that is counting 5 others). I have owned 5 OMC / BRP engines since that one and my next one will probably be a Yamaha now that BRP stopped making the E-Tec line, although if I get a good deal on one, I may still consider an E-Tec if parts are available at the time.

Those old Mercs were COLD BLOODED, idled very rough (even with tune-up - mine was a 2-cylinder, so that may be part of it) and were a turd to get the RPM's up with. Ditched that motor REAL quick, and hung a 70HP Evinrude on that 16' Alumacraft, which was WAY too much motor for that tin boat, so I traded a buddy even up for a 50HP Johnson which was a truly great motor! Like I said, those 1980's Mercury 2 strokes were dogs and I still have the Mercury bad taste in my mouth! I have a couple friends that have mid-range (90 and 115) Optimax motors that have been alright, so I'm not saying they haven't made improvements since then, but I wouldn't touch a 1980's Mercury with a 10-foot pole! Also had a buddy that had a 50HP Mercury from the early 1980's that was so unreliable, he added a 36V trolling motor so he would be able to go upriver to get to the launch...