It was time to tune up our 351 Mercury…again. The idle was rough and uneven, the power had dropped off, and the fuel economy had steadily gone from bad to worse. Frankly, we're tired of that routine.

Despite it's diminutive horsepower rating, the little five-oh was the fastest thing on the road, bar none. Every year saw improvements culminating in the '87 through '93 5.0, which boasted 225 horses ...