1981 Bayliner Victoria 2750 - Restore or Bust

[bruceb58]

Too bad a 454 doesn't fit in this thing. Not sure why Bayliner made the engine bay so short. It really needs a big block. I know because we wanted to do it.

 

[GWPSR]

So, after removing the outer layers of shrink-wrap, and then the side of the wooden crate, I ended up face to face with a small-block Chevy in its pupal stage:

And after shedding the cocoon, it appears:

 

[GWPSR]

Spent yesterday wrenching:

gwpjr taking a rest from torquing everything to spec.

Primed a few misc. parts and pieces (fuel pump plate, alternator bracket, coil mount) and ordered a new alternator last night. The PO had a non-marine alternator on the old engine. Surprised he never blew himself and the boat up.

Riser gaskets also on order. Carb rebuild kit has arrived, so that'll be the next task.

Will need to get this off the engine stand and mounted to the pallet soon as the combined weight is getting close to capacity. Can't risk adding the risers and alternator til we do. We'll get it tuned and the first hour of break-in sitting on the pallet where we can work on it easier.

US Composites order of fairing filler (micro balloons plus silica) and tint arrives today.

I need to find 'affordable' tires for the trailer sometime between now and when I decide to get this thing wet.

 

[tpenfield]

Very nice . . . now with the black and red color combo . . . would we be calling it a Merc-Penta ?

 

[GWPSR]

Very nice . . . now with the black and red color combo . . . would we be calling it a Merc-Penta ?

Both Mercruiser and Volvo-Penta are boring and lack imagination with their monocolor-ness! Let's mix it up a bit. I also brought brass parts and aluminum back to shiny bare metal, so it's a rainbow.

 

[Hoosmatroos]

Nice, I was waiting for the next update.

 

[saginawbayboater]

Spent yesterday wrenching:

gwpjr taking a rest from torquing everything to spec.

Primed a few misc. parts and pieces (fuel pump plate, alternator bracket, coil mount) and ordered a new alternator last night. The PO had a non-marine alternator on the old engine. Surprised he never blew himself and the boat up.

Riser gaskets also on order. Carb rebuild kit has arrived, so that'll be the next task.

Will need to get this off the engine stand and mounted to the pallet soon as the combined weight is getting close to capacity. Can't risk adding the risers and alternator til we do. We'll get it tuned and the first hour of break-in sitting on the pallet where we can work on it easier.

US Composites order of fairing filler (micro balloons plus silica) and tint arrives today.

I need to find 'affordable' tires for the trailer sometime between now and when I decide to get this thing wet.

Looking good gw!!

 

[GWPSR]

Almost ready to fire up:

 

[zool]

Looks great GW, Did you repaint the exhaust manifolds?...I like the red lettering ...but im a proud VP fan!

 

[GWPSR]

Looks great GW, Did you repaint the exhaust manifolds?...I like the red lettering ...but im a proud VP fan!

Thanks!

Every part bolted onto this block has been stripped, wire brushed and painted. Manifolds and risers with 500 degree primer and paint. The red lettering was an afterthought, but I'm glad I did it.

 

[GWPSR]

gwpjr posed the engine for a portrait this afternoon:

Couple more parts still to be delivered (coil resistor, points, rotor, condenser and fuel/water separator cartridge) and we'll be ready to fire it up.

 

[mfsb]

What a fun build you are doing! Looks amazing. I had a Volvo in a boat I did, had a water flow problem that kicked my butt, it wouldn't flow water through the pump. I thought too easy, new impeller. I ended up after two impellers just biting the bullet and replacing the whole water pump for the raw water pump. If you have any issues those bad boys aren't cheap, but are easy even in the boat. Might be worth the effort to put a new on one on regardless.

 

[bruceb58]

Hopefully, those aren't stainless steel bolts I see on the manifolds.

 

[GWPSR]

Speaking of fun ... what I have not yet posted progress on has been the work going on for the exterior surfaces. I mentioned we had filled a number of screwholes on the bow, transom and cockpit. gwpjr has also been sanding, sanding, sanding and more sanding, and has removed almost all of the PO's heavy rolled-on paint along the port side, and has faired the transom and an area of "bollard rash" on the starboard side of the bow. He plans to spend this week sanding and fairing the rest of the hull. It's starting to look like a boat.

 

[GWPSR]

Hopefully, those aren't stainless steel bolts I see on the manifolds.

They are whatever material Volvo-Penta supplies. Both they and the riser bolts are a fairly white metal. I believe they were marked as being grade 8 however.

 

[zool]

They are whatever material Volvo-Penta supplies. Both they and the riser bolts are a fairly white metal. I believe they were marked as being grade 8 however.

VP seems to be VERY proud of their bolts too ...every time I price an OEM outdrive bolt, I look for "per dozen" after the price, but its never there lol

One day I hope to have a pair of those blocks on my stands

 

[bruceb58]

They are whatever material Volvo-Penta supplies. Both they and the riser bolts are a fairly white metal. I believe they were marked as being grade 8 however.

That's good.

 

[GWPSR]

I found pics of gwpjr sanding on my security cams

and caught a glimpse of his Starcraft after we got back from an afternoon on Lake Ontario and in Sandy Creek.

 

[GWPSR]

I'll just put this here:

The belt squeal was from slightly low belt tension and a light mist that was falling. Later we tightened it up and it went quiet. Idle is still a bit high, but we are only one hour of runtime into the break-in, and it seems to be settling down nicely.

Small leak from a hairline crack in the fuel pump casting, so I ordered a new one last night. In the meantime, it leaks less than the Coast Guard maximum (though I would still not put it in the boat with ANY leak in the fuel pump...), and we can continue to break it in and tune.

Stoked!

 

[nurseman]

NICE!!! Interesting to know that the Coast Guard actually has a minimum allowance for fuel leakage!!! One would think that NO leaks would be the standard...