'69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Hoam_Skooled

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Aug 26, 2013
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hi , i just recently became the owner of a new toy . It's in nice shape and has a 300 v8 buick motor..guy i got it from said it ran last yr but he put a new cap n rotor and it wont start now.. it's close.. it pops a lil , i think it's points or sumtn ? it's 19 ft and weighs a ton , but it looks pretty stable for lake michigan/superior. I'm hoping to get it runnin' soon and having a cheap toy . i already have a pontoon with a 90 HP merc but i wanted one i could take different places and explore a little ..thanx , steve
my boat 1.jpgmy boat 2.jpgunidentified motor in my boat.jpg
 

Maclin

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May 27, 2007
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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Looks to be a nice survivor in good condition for the age :)

This site is a good resource for engines and drives like that. There are ups and downs with that combo, some downs are due to age and some are due to the actual mechanics. One "Up' is that those were good running setups back in their day, and if well maintained the "Downs" could be mitigated. The odd-fire Buck V6 is "wierd" to tune regarding points, but it is all good for those in the know.

Trailer looks stout too even with the surface rust.

Welcome aboard! and Congrats on the new toy :tea:
 

southkogs

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Welcome aboard ... and were you "hoam skooled?"

Cool lookin' boat. I like the older Surfers. Have you tried starting it with the sterndrive off? Just to eliminate the possibility of a seized gear case, you may want to remove the drive to try starting it.

Also, check your firing order.
 

Hoam_Skooled

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Aug 26, 2013
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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Welcome aboard ... and were you "hoam skooled?"

Cool lookin' boat. I like the older Surfers. Have you tried starting it with the sterndrive off? Just to eliminate the possibility of a seized gear case, you may want to remove the drive to try starting it.

Also, check your firing order.

lol , no i went to public schools and have a doctorate from Michigan ..lol .. i made that ID for a game on facebook i used to play (mafia wars) and i kind of took a liking to it ..lol.. the drive has been serviced and is free and working.. i think a switch isnt working though because we went to try and start when it was in gear and the prop spun ..didnt think it was supposed to try n start in gear ...lol.. but the buick 300 V8 has good compression and wants to fire , it's something in the points i think..spark seems kindve weak .. it pops a lil and acts like it wants to start..bilge/blower and power trim are all functional .was told it ran last yr and he put new cap n rotor n plugs n wires and it didnt start , i'm encouraged by the fact it has a '14 sticker on it .. i assume you dont get a sticker if it doesnt work , so i think the seller was truthful ..so i'm sure it's simple ,a good buddy of mine owns a boat/atv/quad/snowmobile etc etc repair shop and i'm baby sitting it all week answering phones and tending to people coming in to pick up their finished items ..he went fishing in canada for a week .. so i have a free range of all the tools i could ever want and i brought my boat there ,but i'm not the worlds best mechanic. My buddy said if i dont get it going by the time he gets back he will get 'er goin' .. a couple other sites i stumbled on have been trying to talk me out of this boat giving me horror stories. i think it's a neat boat and i only paid 200 bux for it . my buddy already said he'd give me 400 for the lower unit and the trailer is a '00 double axle with an electric winch .. so thats worth sumtn .and the 300 buick v8 i heard was popular with rat rodders because it was 497 lbs and 210 HP ... and it came with a 2011 energizer marine battery and a working "Eagle" fish finder. :) . so it seemed like a zero risk investment . i would really like to get it lake worthy though. At 19 ft i think it should handle lake superior or michigan .. i have a 24' pontoon with a 90 HP merc that stays in the lake in my town here ..but i wanted a boat i could take different places , so when i found this i figured it was worth a shot for the price ..
 

Boomyal

Supreme Mariner
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Aug 16, 2003
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12,072
Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Make sure you check out and service that 'old' electric shift outdrive. It even predates the last common iteration of OMC electric shifts.
 

matt167

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Sep 27, 2012
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3,630
Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Check the distributor cap. I have a 1951 Chevy and it had a no start after it shut down once. It would pop and crack every once in a while but not start. I replaced the cap and it fired off with a few revolutions.. After looking at the old cap, it was quite obvious it was arching all over the place. The 'old' cap had probably 4-5hrs run time on it at best
 

southkogs

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

...no i went to public schools and ... i made that ID for a game on facebook i used to play (mafia wars) and i kind of took a liking to it ...
Funny. I only asked 'cuz mine are home schooled and make pretty regular jokes about themselves like that. "No dad, that's home-schooler math!" :)

I asked about the firing order because I did that little number on myself last year when I swapped plugs and wires. Hooked 'em back up wrong.

How's the throttle/idle adjust on it? As opposed to putting it in gear, try setting the throttle up a bit maybe?
 

Bondo

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

and the 300 buick v8 i heard was popular with rat rodders because it was 497 lbs and 210 HP ...

Ayuh,... Ya keep callin' it a V8, but I only see 6 spark plug wires,...
 

Maclin

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Maybe that is "home-schooler" shop class engine identification :D

And my objective observation skills are from "home-schooler" classes too I guess, as I did not notice the V8 in the title and descriptions, just knew it was the Buick V6 that OMC used so my brain ignored the rest :rolleyes:

Anyways, pretty cool boat and I hope it runs good for you once you get it sorted :thumb:
 

Hoam_Skooled

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Ayuh,... Ya keep callin' it a V8, but I only see 6 spark plug wires,...
lol.. it's just the pic .. it's definitely an 8 ... i wrote down the firing order and am going to trace the plug wires today and make sure they are on right .. the cap is new in appearance but i was thinking of getting a new cap n rotor and starting over with a tune up kit..the guy i bought it from didnt know the displacement of the engine..so i was wondering if he bought parts for a 350.. i'm not sure if it would be different or not , but i may just start with another fresh cap n rotor for peace of mind..not too expensive..on my way to watch my buds shop and tinker with the boat ..hopefully i get a lil closer to getting it runnin' today ..
 

southkogs

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

'69 had two v8's and a v6.

The 155 HP was an OEM Buick/Jeep 225 V6
The other two were 210 HPs both using OEM Chevy 307 V8s. Not quite sure what the difference was between 'em.

I don't see where they ever put a 350 in them.
 

Hoam_Skooled

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

'69 had two v8's and a v6.

The 155 HP was an OEM Buick/Jeep 225 V6
The other two were 210 HPs both using OEM Chevy 307 V8s. Not quite sure what the difference was between 'em.

I don't see where they ever put a 350 in them.
it's a 300 CI 210 HP buick
 

Hoam_Skooled

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

it's a 69 title but it has a '67 motor..someone told me it wasnt uncommon for the motor and hull not to match .. unless it's a really a '67 and a title was lost and recreated as a '69 ..lol.. kindve a mystery
 

southkogs

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

it's a 69 title but it has a '67 motor..someone told me it wasnt uncommon for the motor and hull not to match .. unless it's a really a '67 and a title was lost and recreated as a '69 ..lol.. kindve a mystery
Nope - I gotcha' now. They used the 300 Buick in '68 (missed that when I was lookin') and that would make sense on a '69 boat. All good.
 

Silvertip

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Sep 22, 2003
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28,758
Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

No need to start throwing parts at this motor.
Determine exactly what engine you have.
Verify the firing order.
Verify point gap
When running set the timing.
 

Silvertip

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Chevy engine has distributor at the back while Buick built motors of that era had the distributorat the front.
 

Scott Danforth

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Change the crank and you can get 340 cubes. definately work on the oiling system. they make a high-flow set of gears with a spacer for the front mount oil pump. get that.

Love old buick motors, especially the Aluminum blocks. I built a 330 hp 8000 RPM naturally aspirated V6 for my Opel GT in college.

other than that, cool boat..... And Welcome to Iboats.
 

matt167

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Re: '69 Johnson "Surfer" 300 buick V8

Only thing that sucks about the 300/340 is the exhaust manifold flange is different than all the other Buick V8's but marine manifolds for either are NLA... Otherwise, I'd just say to bolt in a 455 olds.. You CAN however, still get manifolds for Olds engines, so you could do an Olds 455 V8 which would also use the same bellhousing and should be able to get a coupler or adapt one
 
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