Reactivating Mercruiser R / 228 following long storage

Hi
I'm new to this list, and Mercruisers in general. I have the opportunity to purchase a boat from a friend of the family's which has a Mercruiser-R / 228 installed. The boat is in New Zealand. The owner was an extremely pedantic owner who treated the boat like his baby, only ever used in fresh water and always shed-stored. The boat has not been used, nor engine started or even turned over for an estimated twelve to fifteen years, but on the surface of it all it presents as near immaculate condition with only 280 hours on the clock.
Next weekend I hope to pull the boat out of their shed and get it going and take it for a run. So far I've only had a chance for a very quick look over it which included basic stuff such as checking the dipstick (oil appeared new), removing the oil filler cap on the rocker covers and shone a touch on the valve gear ( which showed no obvious sign of corrosion), and overall external condition.

My questions are:

1. what else should I check BEFORE first start up?

2. What precautionary steps should I take before first start up, eg oil down the spark plug holes, priming any fluids, etc?

3. What items should be inspected or replaced prior to dropping the boat in the water for the first time, eg bellows, etc?

Thanks very much n advance for any help.

Neil

Re: Reactivating Mercruiser R / 228 following long storage

I should also mention that it has a raw-water cooling system. Any suggestions?

Re: Reactivating Mercruiser R / 228 following long storage

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,....

Best thing you could do it pop on up to the Adults Only section, at the top of this forum,...

Don has packed that thread Full, of Great Info....

Part of it ya oughta read is the Winterization thread, for all the things that Should have been done, before it was put to sleep....

And, I'd also think ya oughta go over the Summerization thread, which covers most all of the things to rewake a sleepin' motor....

Re: Reactivating Mercruiser R / 228 following long storage

OK, so Just spent a couple of days with the boat. Before starting the motor I turned it over on the starter until we got positive oil pressure, and to get the oil spread throughout the engine. We then connected a can of fresh fuel directly to the electric pump, turned the key, and she fired straight into life! We ran it on the flush muffs for about a half hour and it seems to run smoothly, although there was an odd sort of occasional tapping noise coming from the carburetor area at idle. The noise was loud enough that it could be easily heard over the engine, but once revs were taken above idle it disappeared. The noise couldn't be felt when I put my hand anywhere in the engine, and it seemed to be localized to the carb. Any thoughts? Is there a butterfly / flap / auto choke that could be making this noise?
There was quite a bit of rust and scale coming out with the exhaust and water so I am budgeting on a new set of manifolds and risers, along with bellows, water pumps, etc. does anyone have experience converting the old style rear exhaust set up to a new GME centre exhaust manifold?
All other systems seem to work fine.

Cheers

Re: Reactivating Mercruiser R / 228 following long storage

Any thoughts on the ticking noise from the carb?