1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Hi there, so last weekend i made the rather rash purchase of a 1977 Bayliner quartermaster. It has a 4 cylinder volvo engine and a 280 outdrive. Im not a mechanic, but have done a few repairs over the years. I kept a 1980 70hp evinrude outboard alive for a while finally lost the battle its sitting somewhere waiting. Anyhow, i would like to call upon the vast experience of this forum and find out whether i should just clean this boat up a little and try to pass her on to someone else or endeavor to learn her inside out in the hope of having some trouble free hours of boating on the lakes of california with the wife and kids.
The boat is in really good shape, barely a scratch on the hull, and almost all the original bits. windscreen wiper, horn, interior sparkles. someone cherished this boat and kept it garaged.
The guy i bought it off was not too familiar with mechanics and had already bought new starter and had it installed at some price. He told me he'd had it up on the plane in the lake but used it mostly for trolling. I interpreted this as it didn't have enough umph to get on the plane for some reason. Then i noticed on some paperwork his repair shop advised a carb rebuild. Maybe i should have quit then! Anyhow it started up fine and ticked over and went in and out of gear. he did this for 40 secs before i realised he hadn't hooked up a hose and cups to the outdrive. Im assuming there is some impellar that is probably fried. Anyway, the boat and engine look really clean. Is this worth devoting time to maintaining and repairing or have i bought a load of headache? Any feed back much appreciated!!

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Welcome!

If the boat is as nice as it sounds, it may be worth the trouble. but what trouble??? Underpowered, yes. but if you just want to slow cruise, the old Volvo based 4 bangers are good motors. Without knowing the model of motor I can't speak specifically, but a compression check would be a good start. It's probably an AQ130. Post some pics to help

Oh, and yes the impeller is fried. Its easy to change. Its mounted on the front of the motor in a small round housing with two tubes running into it.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

If it as nice as you say. Then I say it is worth your time. Mine is a 1978 Quartermaster and this is the first year I've had it out after restoring her. As long as it isn't water logged; she should come up on plane just fine. Post some pics. Your carbs should be Solex PA44 Downdraft carbs. There should be a tag on the portside of the block that has your engine ID on it. And Welcome Aboard.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Allbutwet said:

If it as nice as you say. Then I say it is worth your time. Mine is a 1978 Quartermaster and this is the first year I've had it out after restoring her. As long as it isn't water logged; she should come up on plane just fine. Post some pics. Your carbs should be Solex PA44 Downdraft carbs. There should be a tag on the portside of the block that has your engine ID on it. And Welcome Aboard.

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Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

englishfruitcake said:

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Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Yep its an AQ130D/280 outdrive.

The whole boat looks very clean as you said. And Not as underpowered as I thought. The motor looks extremely clean as well. Nice find.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Make sure that the hoses to and from the fuel tank are compatible with the Ethanol fuel that is served up now, should be at least SAE J30R7.
Just remembered you have US Coast Guard standards i.e. self extinguishing outer cover, but still something to think about.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Thanks for the replies guys, Allbutwet i read your restoration project last night. Incredible! you know your stuff! And you obviously know this AQ130D engine inside out. I'm gonna put the outdrive in a tank tomorrow and start it up. I hope its ok to bother you with some questions that will inevitably come up. I'm trying to see if there are any obvious problems before i tow it to the lake. cheers

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

YouTube

After running the engine for a period i notice the exhaust water getting black. Is this normal or a sign of problems?

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

YouTube

SO i cleaned out the raw water filter, checked the impeller and started it up. Sounded ok to me?
when you look at the surface of the water in the tank it has black residue on it. Oil? soot? if you look closer you see it when the engine revs. Is this the reason the guy sold the boat cheap? or just normal for an old engine? cheers

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

videos are labeled private...

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Black soot on the water is ok.
Sounds like it just needs to be ran.
Possible the air screw needs adjusting.
Get a manual.
Nice clean outfit.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Sorry, videos are public now. Views on whether or not the oil/soot in water is anything to worry about much appreciated. Im gonna dump it in the lake this weekend and see what happens. cheers

oh and the impeller was not fried, there must have been some water in the line, just emptied some stones out of the raw water filter.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Like Jerry said, Soot is ok. Its just junk in the exhaust I suppose. Keep an eye on the oil level and if it goes up or is milky, then you know you've got problems.

The motor sounds pretty good.

Do a compression test. That will give you a much better idea of the health of the engine.

While I realize the impeller may look ok, I cant imagine its still in top form. They should be replaced every other year anyway, so if you don't know when the last time it was changed, I'd do it anyway. imo.

With an engine/outdrive that old, you're going to want to go through everything sooner than later.

Pulling the upper gear box and changing the ujoint bellow would be a good start. Heres how

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser-i-o-inboard-engines-outdrives/outdrive-side-pin-removal-309095.html

You may have many years of enjoyment with that boat if you continue to maintain it properly.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

http://youtu.be/yLSZu1jgjRk

ok one more question before i hit the lake. Is it normal for the exhaust water to be leaking out near the top of the outdrive as shown in the video? thanks

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

you could have a ripped exhaust bellow. I'm not 100% sure being a Volvo, but I don't think it actually hurts anything

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

The water coming out isin't normal.
A V-8 or V-6 I'd say OK.
The exhaust hose might have a leak or it's not connected?
Probably won't hurt but get it fixed.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Its normal.

Not sure about the sound though. Sounds like u-joint clatter but maybe that's just the exhaust noise.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

Ok English the water dripping is ok. There is a small weep hole in the exhaust bellows to let the water out. Otherwise it could fill with water when up and cause freeze damage or if the bow wasn't up high enough in time it could fill with rain water and reach the engine. And yes you can ask me anything about the boat. I've been working on mine and using her too. So I am way behind on updates to my thread. I will try checking in more frequently knowing you may need help. And thanks for the compliment.
The exhaust noise sounds normal to me. Sounds like there is a little echo from where you are by the hull.
The soot in the water is carbon build up. your probably burning a little oil. A compression test is always a good thing. If the engine has set for a long time then it should get better the more you run it.

Re: 1977 Bayliner quartermaster worth the trouble?

The soot in water is likely due to idling slightly rich. The carbs are notorious for running a little rich at idle since there isn't a choke. Has nothing to do with carbon buildup.

What you will really care about is how it runs under load. That will determine if you need the carb rebuild or not.