Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Hello people. Although I have been reading iboats for a while and have enjoyed reading so many of your threads, this is my first post, and is intended to detail my first boat restoration project.

Earlier this Summer, I recently had the "boat itch" again. I spent several days on craigslist before I ran across this gem. Actually, more of a diamond in the rough.

It didn't look bad in the pictures, and looked even better in person to me. (Bear in mind, although I have worked on cars for years and restored several, I really didn't know anything about boats.) I mean, how bad could it possibly be?

The boat is a '73 18 ft. Arrowglass Cheetah with a 225 inline 6 and mercruiser stern drive. Sure, the floors were spongy, and the upholstery was shot...but no big deal, right?

A $100 bill later I had the title in hand and was headed home with a smile. I felt like I had stolen something. I mean, the way I see it, trailer is worth $100, right?

Below are pics of the boat pulled into my driveway in May. Enjoy!!!

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

If the engine and outdrive are shot, could be $6-10K to replace.
If engine is ok then its just gut and rebuild the hull inners.
With a soft floor I'd fully expect the stringers and transom to be long gone at that age. I'd test the engine then decide.
Does it turn?

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Hi jonesg, and thanks for the reply.

The boat had set up for 10-15 years, but the engine and sterndrive looked to be in good shape to me. It took me nearly a day to get the engine to break over. Had to put a huge cheater bar on it and work it inch by inch. Then had to troubleshoot an ignition problem, (bad switch) but finally got it busting off.

Then I rebuilt the carb, changed the oil, plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, coil, fuel filters, fuel lines, and swished the gas tank.

Within seconds, the engine fired up and idled. Sounded like a V-8. Sweet!

I don't know much about the sterndrive, the prop did turn so I'm guessing it's good. (?) The original-looking prop has no dings or scratches or anything, so a buddy who owns two boats said it may not have been used much.

That being said, I was confident enough in the mechanical condition of the boat to go forth with the restoration.

Since then I have made a little more progress, and am about to make another post to catch up with the progress.

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Now that I was somewhat comforted knowing the engine wasn't a junker I could get to work.

Time to find out how far that rot goes. I started by pulling up the carpet. I was hoping to find a rotting plywood over rock-solid stringers. Throw some new decking on and hit the lake, right? Guess that's never the case.

"Cutting" an inspection hole in the deck was easy. Actually I just grabbed a corner of the deck and ripped up about a 2x2 section with one hand. What I found was a somewhat novice attempt at replacing the deck over 15 years ago. The previous owner had slapped new plywood over completely clapped-out stringers. Gotta give them some credit, they did at least try to glass over it, but it seems like they didn't use enough resin, because the cloth could be pulled up off the deck in sections. I am sure this only trapped water and accelerated the rot.

Anyway, my hopes of a quick 'n easy resto and a 4th of July spent at the lake were fading away. Some of the stringers looked like the pine mulch I just threw down in my flowerbeds. The area under the openbow was soft too, so it seemed to me the only way to do it right would be to pop the cap and gut it. So that's what I did.

With the help of a drill, screwdriver, some vise-grips, and my dad's forklift we had the cap off and stored under a shed.

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Howdy Neighbor,

Always had a special place in me for those Arrow glass boats. Back in the seventies I almost owned one. My best fishin buddy then and I spend days and years fishin out of his Cheetah up at lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I really think if you got the motor then the rest is just rebuilding wood and glass we rebuilt my buds in 79 and although it was still fairly new it was just a 2 month of saturdays and that baby was back on the water. We made the open bow a complete fishing deck with pedestal seat and foot operated troll motor. Wish I had some pics but no puters back then in the day of true analog.

I fish Livingston for stripers and largemouth when I can get here. My Sea Rays is not ready yet but hope by Labor day.

Good luck with you rebuild.

LR

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Hi LR, and thanks for the reply and the stories. Sounds like you and your buddy had some good times.

There was something about this boat that drew me in the first time I saw it. My goal was to have it in the water by Labor Day, but the way things are going right now, I don't know if that's going to happen or not!

Good luck with your Sea Ray and take care,
Z

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

HELP!!!

Ok, so today I ran into a frustrating little snag. I've been working on gutting the hull, and originally planned to leave the engine in and work around it. The more I thought about it, I realized it would be way easier to yank the engine and have space to work.

Not to mention I just got a 2 ton shop crane from harbor freight and can't wait to use it. he he

Today I tried to pull the sterndrive. Got the hydraulic cylinders off, six bolts off, but the thing wouldn't break free from the mounting plate. I did some searching online, and read that it has to be in forward gear to release. Not having my gearshift (I pulled the cap and set the shifter and cable aside) I wasn't sure which way to work the lever. I think I got it in forward, feeling the prop lockup, but it still won't budge. I even tried it with the gear lever cocked the other way with the same result. Am I missing something? Like a bigger hammer? Or is it just that hard to break loose on a boat this old?

Any help would be appreciated!! This wasn't supposed to take this long!

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Well the sterndrive is off. I woke up early this morning thinking I should try it again with the gear lever flipped the other way.

I also found a trick for separating the sterndrive from the bellhousing. I put a screwdriver handle (then eventually a thicker wood block) in between the sterndrive and the bellhousing and pushed down on the tail of the drive. (see pic) After a few pushes, I realized this wasn't getting anywhere so I had to raise the drive and quickly drop it against the block to get more force. After a few times the seal broke loose. I don't think it had ever been separated.

Thanks to the guys at sterndrive engineering for the screwdriver idea.

The driveshaft bellows was also shot, and had let a ton of water into the driveshaft housing. So add some bellows and a couple of u-joints to the ever growing "stuff needed" list.

Now it's time to yank that engine!!

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

ZacAttac,
Looks like you are moving right along.
Don't forget the Gimbel bearing too, while you are in there.
The method of dropping the drive a few times is a normal practice.
Here are a couple good sites to gather info on your rebuild.
http://www.sterndrives.com/mercruiserhelp.html
http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm
I have found them to be extremely helpful.
Good luck on the build.
Bob

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Well folks, the engine is out. That being said, let me say that I seem to have this way of seeing simple things turn into huge ordeals, and this job did not disappoint.

Also, some of the techniques I am about to describe got the job done, but they are a little stupid. Don't try this at home!

I started at 7AM and things were going smoothly. Bolts were flying out and being tagged and bagged. 2 Ton shop crane, load leveler, and engine stand were on standby. I was actually thinking that I may have the engine rolling around in my garage in time for breakfast. Wrong.

I had the engine hooked up to the hoist and ready to be lifted in roughly 30 minutes. Hoist up. Problem #1. With my crane/chain/load leveler combo, the hoist wouldn't lift the engine up over the transom. I knew it would be close. But we're about 8 inches off.

Chain and other stuff couldn't be shortened or raised anymore. Bummer. No problem, I can just lift the tongue of the trailer, lowering the transom, right? Good thing the tonge weighs like 600 pounds. (Actually 130 or so, but still dang heavy.) Heavy enough that I couldn't hold it up and pull the trailer out. Major bummer. Too bad all my buddies are still sleeping at 7 am.

Idea. I can use something sturdy to hold the trailer up. Enter the engine stand. Pick up trailer, kick engine stand under trailer tongue, set it down...done. Problem #2: Still about an inch off. Bummer. Remove bellhousing plate. Clearance achieved.

At this point, I am feeling a sense of sure, quick, and easy victory. Engine is in the air, ready to be mounted on my heavy-duty 2 Ton engine stand (which is currently under the tongue of my trailer, remember?) No prob. I take a moment, step back and admire my work, and snap a pic for posterity.

So I then remove engine stand from tongue of trailer, and again curse the guys who made that stinking heavy trailer. But it's all good; all downhill from here. I can almost smell bacon and eggs. Roll stand around to the hoist to accept the engine....I said roll stand around to accept the engine.....and around...and around....Bummer. Enter Problem #3.

It seems the "genius" Chinese engineers at Harbor Freight designed their 2 ton shop crane and 2 ton engine hoist to never be used together. Makes sense to me. Unless I am totally missing something, due to the design of the legs, I do not believe there is any feesible way to get the stand close enough to the crane to accept the engine. For nearly an hour, I tried every possible angle and approach, but none of them would get the two to lineup. Looks like I'm not going anywhere for a while.

Not wanting to not leave my engine on the hoist and later find it collapsed in my garage and determined use my engine stand, I had a revelation. The type of revelation that only comes to redneck mechanics in a moment of great desperation, frustration, and prayer! ha.

The only way to get my engine stand in the proper position for the hoist would be if it were on a differnt plane. Enter my trusty 4 ton jackstands. Don't try this at home, kids!!!

So I put the engine stand on the 4 jackstands at a height so the legs of the engine hoist could roll under the stand. Not bad. This let me get the two in the proper position. Mounted the engine on the engine stand (sitting on jackstands.)

That's great and all, but now how am I going to get the engine stand back on the ground? My floor jack isn't low-profile enough. No problem, I've got a crane! I removed the chain from the engine and then used the engine hoist to pick up the engine and stand together. Removed the jackstands and lower engine stand. Tired, sweaty, and hungry I call it a day.

Oh, and since it was almost 11:00 I had an enchilada for breakfast.

Transom is next!!!

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

Zac,
Don't feel bad about the stand issue. We to had the same issue of the stand and the lift. What we did was remove the stand wheels and turned it sideways slid it under the hoist. Still had to get a bar to nudge it but it got the engine on the stand. You would have thought though that the two pieces of equipment from the same manufacture would work together oh well.

Looks like ya got so keep at it. Take care in this heat. Hydrate and take lots of breaks. It's gonna be HOT

LR

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

BobsGlasstream, thanks for the reply and the sites. I'm sure they'll come in handy....I'm learning as I go!!

I'll go ahead and replace the gimbel bearing too.

By the way, what model sterndrive is this? Is it an Alpha 1? It doesn't say anything specific on it, other than Mercrusier and 165.



LR, man taking the wheels off would have been a good idea, didn't think of that. Yeah I was blown away when I realized the 2 wouldn't work together. I think i spent 15 minutes staring at it in disbelief!

Thanks man.

z

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

ZacAttac,
Unless someone replaced the out drive it's not an Alpha. Check out this site to determine which you have. http://www.mercstuff.com/drive_id.htm.
They have a lot of good information that may help you during your restore process.
I seem to send a lot of folks to it, but it does have some good info.

Good luck.
Bob

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

I to have boat only ob MERC850 1987 so is the boat
Go mine for 50.00 but no trailer same color ,no arrow on the side.
And has a EDL hull # which i understand this is a Ark plant
In Smackdown

Re: Arrowglass Cheetah Project!

I know what u mean u always find something u want to upgrade
before it hits the water.I've been on mine for almost 2yrs