Motor? Gotta be a Merc!
The Sande Boat Works was also a Mercury Outboard dealership at the time they made the Ace. Although some people used other brands that they already owned, the ideal motor was a four-cylinder Mercury, such as the 45 horsepower 1959 Mark 58A or 1960-61 Merc 400.
Ned Hamlin's Motors
Ned's Merc 400
Ned Hamlin's 1961 Merc 400, a freshwater motor, had a scored cylinder so it was totally rebuilt.
It now runs like new and pushes his Ace at an indisputable 42 MPH with a 12" pitch bronze prop.
The lower portion of the motor has been repainted Cloud White but the rest is original.
The chrome and stainless steel are nearly flawless.
Ned's Mark 58A
Ed saw a freshwater 1959 Mark 58A behind a business in Missoula and asked the owner if he would sell it for $50. Ed told him that it was for "this fellow" in Idaho (Ned) and that he might go up to $60. The owner pondered a bit and said "OK, $50 it is." Guess he didn't need the extra $10.
Ned Hamlin's Mark 50
Ned's Mercury Mark 50 was rescued from a boneyard in the back lot of an old boat
shop in Twin Falls, Idaho. It was complete and had been sitting on its back and
was the home of mice and bees for at least 18 years. The shop owner did not
even know the motor was there, but they bickered back and forth for a while.
After hauling it home, Ned replaced the timing belt and water impeller and had
a mechanic convert it for use with a modern fuel tank. After painting, it looks
like a million bucks. It shows compression of 95-98 psi on all four cylinders.
After a carb cleaning, it fired right up. The motor is a work of art but Ned's
wife is not yet buying the notion of hanging it from the beams of their
living room as an object d'art.
Bob Parks' Motors
Bob's 1963 Merc 500
Bob's first motor since becoming an Ace fan was this 1963 Merc 500. A previous owner had painted over the orginal Cloud White with rattle can black. It is shown on his first Sande Ace rebuild.
More Merc 500s for Bob
Bob then bought two Merc 500s which illustrate a major development in Mercury outboards. The exhaust on the 1961 Merc 500 (on the right) exited the lower unit through the snout just under the powerhead and underwater just behind the prop. The 1963 Merc 500 (left, not yet with decals) had through-prop exhaust. The powerheads were the same.
1961 Merc 500
Bob's Second 1963 Merc 500
Bob's Mark 35A
Bob's 1959 Mark 35A was in rough shape cosmetically but the master restorer, Dr. Frankenmerc, had already completed the mechanical work. Bob had it painted and finished it with new decals and lots of polishing. The stainless steel wraparound could not look prettier.
Bob likes highly polished props. Just look at these!
Ed Waali's Five Cloud Whites
Click
here
if you have not read the story of how Ed acquired a bunch of old Mercury outboards.