1988 Imperial V220 low budget

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Wanted to get into boating low budget in case the family or I didn't like it. I looked over a month on Craigslist and came up with a system that if any boat had 2 of the 3 things wrong with it I would walk away. Soft floors, bad interior or engine work. Eventually, I stopped asking the condition of the boat over the phone since "great shape" can mean different things. I wanted something between 18-22' so I could trailer easily. I looked at this Imperial and besides the very oxidized gelcoat and some dings here and there, the hull was in pretty solid shape. It ran "ok" and I could live with the interior flaws as it wasn't that bad, but still needs recovering at some point. I liked the fact that is was 22' with a 5.7 and no carpet on the deck. So I picked it up for $1600.

Needs mainly minor maintenance stuff. So far I've installed a new water impeller and gear lube. Serviced the engine, replaced all filters and full tune up, one new battery, replaced the ends of the battery cables and cleaned up a bunch of electrical connections. New trim senders. Full carb rebuild and clean. The red color on the gelcoat was so oxidized it was pale pink. I did a quick wetsand/wax just to make it a 15'er cosmetically, but I plan on restoring the gelcoat over the winter. A couple of the seat bases were waterlogged so I replaced those temporarily (hatch wouldn't stay up from the weight - lol). I think I have about $300-325 into it so far.

After servicing the lower unit I found the upper unit was leaking lube from somewhere so I ordered a seal kit for that. Been battling the shift cables, previous owner said the drive shift cable was replaced, still shifts funky so I plan on replacing the long control cable. Trying to nurse the boat for the rest of the summer, then pull the drive, rebuild the gimbal, etc over the winter. Also going to replace the fuse block as it has the old glass fuses and some corrosion.

Only had it out 2 times, so Im ironing out the wrinkles. Heard some tapping last time out and found a few loose rocker arms, 2 rocker studs pulling out that I need to replace next week. Doing some more testing on that.

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tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,620
Welcome to iBoats. . . Sounds like this boat will keep you busy. Most boats do . . . Share some more pictures as you can
 

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Thanks. It's been a little bit of a battle but everything has (mostly) been going my way.

I got the rockers all adjusted and fired it up, purrs like a kitten now. So I'm going to take it out this weekend and see what happens under load with the rockers. I did order the removal/tap guide tool and a set of the thread in rocker studs. Also, I seem to have dialed in the shift cables for now which is a huge relief.

Here's another pic.
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JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
So the rocker adjustment didn't last long. Such a bad design with the press-in studs.
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Engine hatch is ridiculous.

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REdington

Seaman
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
69
So the rocker adjustment didn't last long. Such a bad design with the press-in studs.


Yea they were, but there was (are) millions of SBC's that never failed. I've only had one fail on me out of all the miles I driven a SBC with them and like you, I replaced them all with screw-in studs.

BTW nice boat

Rodney
 

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
I'm glad I replaced all the studs since every one of them was damaged from the rocker arms. I also ordered a half dozen new arms in case I came across a few that were damaged. The new ones are self centering unlike the original arms, so I decided to replace all of the arms as well. So the combination of the new studs and new arms should finally put an end to this issue.

Here's what I removed
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This stud was wore 1/2 way through, but pretty much all had some major notching.
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Here's how the new arms are designed, pic from the web
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JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Decided to tackle the front main seal today. What a @$#~%@$^%&%!!!!!! For the record, I don't recommend the cheap cast aluminum timing covers on Ebay. The slot for the front oil pan seal is off, I had to modify it to fit. I'll prob ditch it when I pull the engine this winter.

Sweet thermostat too. Fixing bilge pumps while I'm in there, the one that (is supposed to) run off the batt isn't working.

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JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Boat was missing the "glove box" ? So I made a new one. Its 1/4 plexiglass shaped with a heat gun. Covered with 3D carbon fiber vinyl, little latch and handle. I used the same cf vinyl for the gauge panel.

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Torqueboxer

Cadet
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
6
Lol 2/3 that's how I shopped. Interior, drive train, hull, two HAVE to be good, soo funny you did that too. I got a rinker v190 for 2g's 5.7 exact same as you fixing previous evils from past owners
 

pckeen

Commander
Joined
Jun 20, 2012
Messages
2,067
You're doing some good work here - love the repair to the glove box. Share some of that mechanical knowledge by prowling through the engine forums.
 

Rickmerrill

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 13, 2014
Messages
686
Love the glove box too. Trying to think of some ways to use that stuff myself!
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,620
Very nice. I've been thinking of refurbishing the instrument panel of my boat, and that vinyl looks like it would be really good for something like that.
 

SpitAndDirt

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 23, 2008
Messages
103
That looks like a killer deal you negotiated.

Though after looking at your boat on the trailer, may I suggest that you give a serious bit of attention to your trailer. I would probably guess that being a 22ft boat that it should actually be on twin axles. It looks as though you are at, if not over the limit for that axle/spring combo. The tire is nearly scrubbing the fender! If that trailer is like mine, it's only rated at 3500 lbs.

You may not have much $$ into it, but I would hate to see you lose it going down the road because of a overloaded trailer!
 

Rickmerrill

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 13, 2014
Messages
686
Hey tp, when I was looking into this, yesterday, I found a seller's site that said it lasts for 10 years inside and 5 outside. Not sure why they said that or if any of it is true but it did give me pause. Just need to do a little research, which I know you would, on the different types to make sure it fits the application.
 

Rickmerrill

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 13, 2014
Messages
686
Good eye SpitAndDirt. A friend told me that most manufacturers max out the trailer capacity and use the dry weight of the boat when they do it. So load up the boat and you're already overweight. They also play the same game to get around the need for trailer brakes. I checked mine and yep, right at the limits. If that is the original trailer it does look like there is a lot of stuff in the boat or the springs are worn out (or somebody put larger diameter tires on it) or something.
 

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Been looking for another trailer or might add an axle. The boat fits fine, just heavy.
 

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
Ok, so after the rocker arm repair, front main seal replacement and water separator fiasco, I only had to put gas in my boat and had a blast the remainder of the season...

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But now I have to do some serious maintenance. lol

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