1972 Mercury 7.5 hp - White block electrical thingy?

[markhaas42]

I am trying to bring an old '72 Merc 7.5 hp back to life. It has been sitting for over 20 years and the first thing I noticed was that almost all of the wiring is severely corroded. Replacing the wiring to the coils isn't a problem, but two of the wires attach to two white plastic blocks that are connected to each set of points with a nut. I am told this white block part with the wire to the coil is NLA, so I'm not sure what to do. I could probably clean up the metal part and maybe solder a new wire to it, then reinsert it into the white plastic block but I don't know enough about the electrical systems in these engines to know if that will work. I plan to re-use the coils, points, condensor, etc., and only replace the spark plugs and wires for now. I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I know nothing about these motors. Any tips about this part, or other do's and don'ts, would be greatly appreciated!! I'm doing this for a friend's son and I would love to see his face when this motor roars back to life.

[boats.net]

Yes you can replace just the wiring by cutting and soldering without any major consequences.

[markhaas42]

Great! Thanks for the reply. I'll give that a shot.