because there are distributors, dealers, OEM'S that all are entitled to make a small profit from the pie. You, the enduser are not entitled to any profit, you are the buyer. Can you imagine what would happen if you were able to buy your new car direct from Detroit? Talk about screwing up the economy!
This subject could really get nasty...

easy answer one people pay the price , two they have no competition in the race market and can lay claim to all the onwater testing they do in the harsh enviroment of racing. simply put they put a monopoly on the market.
but dont take this wrong that is what business is all about controling the market.
but it leaves no real choices either. thats why those that build the better mouse trap such as imco, bravo shop, weisman and so on need to continue in thier ways and give the average performance boater options.

It's the Mercruiser mafia ! :cool:

You pay what they say !

Ford is looking to get into the Marine engine business soon. We all will see a huge jump in price when the EPA starts to mandate catalytic converters on boats. (That will suck)

I was just at my engine builders on Friday and he was doing a rebuild on a pair of 900SC Mercs. To my suprise everything in those motors was the very best, no expence spared. Even cleaned up the blocks of all the imperfections and burrs that are a result of casting. I have never been a fan of merc engines but you are getting what you pay for.

When you build a motor for xxx dollars that is different than building them and selling them!! Where's the cost of the equipment to do the work and the cost of marketing it. That's not to justify a cost from Mercury. What is the cost of a Mercury to a Cheif engine or some other high performance engine builder all things being equal?? Is there a huge cost difference?

Good question!
Can anybody post similar engine packages from Merc and another source with prices for comparison?

Someone with a big name and very deep pockets would need to enter the picture. Merc has the advantage, they have the manufactures by the nards, they have the dealer network in place, they make a reliable product and they have never gone away (at least in my life time) ala OMC or like Volvo is doing now on the bigger engines.

It will be very hard to unseat them based on their huge head start. If Bill Gates bought OMC and comitted the resources hired well know names and gave a kick butt warranty until the product was proven, then you might have a chance. Maybe a Honda, now that they have a lot of years with outboards, small engines, cars and an overall good reputation. Or someone needs to build a better mouse trap such as a hi-performance fuel cell like the current concept for cars.

I don't know the right answer to how, but I think we all agree that competition is a good thing. Look at all the 4-cycle and 2-cycle marine engines, Honda, Merc, Suzuki, Bombardier/OMC, Tohatsu, Yamaha or diesel's, Cat, Detroit, John Deere, Yanmar, Cummings, Detroit, Faribanks. With out these competitors, do you think Merc outboards would be a little higher priced?

And at least Reggie tried, he takes a lot of crap and may lose his company someday but I respect people who take a shot. I also think that average boater or entry level boater is swayed by the advertising. Just like computers, if you don't know anything about AMD you assume it's inferior because it doesn't have the Intel stamp and the swanky commercial on TV or Linx vs Windows.

KE600 Engine Keith Eickert
Engine Specifications

Complete engine with exhaust to be coupled to Mercury Bravo Drive
540 Cubic Inch / 4.5 Bore / 4.25 Stroke
J.E. Pistons
4340 Forged Steel Rods
4340 Forged Steel Crankshaft
Roller Hydraulic Camshaft
Iron Dart Cylinder Heads
Iron Dart Tall Deck Block
Holley Throttle Body - Programmable E.F.I.
Holley Ignition (programmable)
Keith Eickert Power Products Accessory Package
Includes:

Cast Aluminum High Capacity Oil Pan
Belt Drive System
Oil Temperature Control
Raw Water Pump
Engine Mounts
Etc.

1 Year Warranty
$29,500.00

525 HP Blue Lightning

World Products Cyl. Block (509 cu.in.)
World Products Cyl. Heads
Steel Crankshaft
Manley H-Beam Rods
Weisco Pistons
Eickert Oil Pan 10 Qt.
Professionally balanced
Edelbrock Intake Manifold
Custom Tuned Holley 800 cfm Carburetor
Flame Arrestor, Linkage, Fuel Lines
Crane Roller Rockers
Premium Valve Springs
Roller Timing Chain Set
Stainless Crossover kit & Cooling Hoses
Custom Hyd. Camshaft
Oil Cooler, Lines, Adapters
Alternator, Sea Water Pump & Brackets
Pulleys & Belts
Mercruiser Thunderbolt Ignition system
Stainless Marine Exhaust System
$15,500 Complete


Upgrade Options:
550 HP: Cylinder head modifications, Holley 950 Pro-Series carburetor.
$16,800 Complete
600 HP: Ported cylinder heads, hyd. roller camshaft, holley 950 Pro-Series carburetor.
$19,000 Complete

Completely dyno tested before shipping.
Engines do not include: Coupler, bell housing, engine mounts, p/s parts.

All of our Sport Boat series engines are smooth running at idle and include a 1 year limited warranty.

[ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: Vonbongo ]

I was just talking about this with my friend/engine builder. He is a former Cosworth employee, building the Bush Grand National motors. He will be building my next engine, BBF, he is estimating he will have approximately 100-150 hours in complete assembly, pan to manifold. From duburing the block, blueprinting oiling system, assembling-measuring, disassembling and re-assembling and measuring again. All the way up to matching chamber size in the heads, etc. This is still not costing me anywhere near what Merc charges for their stuff. I'm not exactly sure what Mercruiser does inside their engines, or how many hours they have in the assembly. It does seem like they charge an arm and a leg though. Who knows? :cool:

I usally just got the 7.4 put Edlebrock oval port ported heads on it then went through the bottom end and replaced everything with forged parts after the warranty ran out. This was cheeper than the magnum up grade from most manufactures. The parts were closer to bulldog standards studded everything and pushed more hp and torque than most modified 502's. The 454's also had full water jacketing which I like better.