Starting a project (Photos)

[Squintz]

Here she is. This is actually a story that went on for months. A friend of mine was doing some electrical work at my mothers house and I was helping him. He had been going to storage shed auctions and biding $50 here and there on random things. While we were working he mentioned that he could have a big boat if he could just find a place to store it. I went to look at it and fell in love. Of course it's not the greatest boat in the world but it is our first boat and I am one of those people that like to tinker and don't mind spending money doing it.

Anyhow, I went to DNR and paid $5 to get the name of the last registered owner. Then I sent them a certified letter in hopes that they would not respond saying they want their boat back. The lady e-mailed me a few days later and explained that she had given the boat to a friend after her husband died and that the boat belonged to her husbands father before that. She did not know how to get in touch with the long lost friend. We figured that the friend probably gave it away to anothr friend since the name on the storage shed did not match the friends name.

The nice lady went to DNR, the court house, back to DNR and the to the MVA all in one day over the course of 5 hours just to help me get the boat in my name. I owe her big! She told me she gave the boat to her friend as payment for painter her house.

Here are the photos of the boat as it is now. I'll keep adding to that albumn as I make progress.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Davepow16/1968SportcraftMericruiser

 

[Squintz]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

My first order of business is to fix this problem. It seems like a easy place to start.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1407656#post1407656

http://picasaweb.google.com/Davepow16/1968SportcraftMericruiser/photo#5090054460529989954

If you look at the bottom left of the photo the bolt has been sheared off. Many people have told me to soak it with rust and corrosion remover and then heat it up. So we will see how that goes. Off to the store I go to buy the tools.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

some of these question will be better answered in the mercruiser/volvo forum. sportcraft built a super great and heavy boat, you might consider repowering that to get good performance. what engine and drive does it have.

 

[Squintz]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

Pretty much all I know about the engine right now is that it has a label saying it is a 165hp engine. I called the manufacture and gave them the serial number. They told me they did not have data going back that far but could tell me those serial numbers were issues between 1965 and 1969. So I think the engine may be an original. Although I think it has have most of its parts replaced.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

like is said, you may be better of repowering with a rebuilt V8 5.0 or 5.7 and a new or rebuilt outdrive to match. that boat with the 165 was a real slug on the water, very underpowered. check you stringers and motor mount brackets to be sure the conversion will work, or with a little alteration.

 

[Squintz]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

Just an update:

I'm still working on this baby. So far I have rewired the trailer to get the lighting up to par. I removed the outdrive and got it to what I think is a decent condition. I greased up all the fiting, filled in some spots and repainted the oudrive. I then removed the broken rod that holds the Trim cylinders in place. The rod ran through the bottom of the gimble ring. I checked the bearing inside the bell housing and that seems to be in good condition still. I removed the exhaust bellow but still have not replaced it. I think I am going to leave the other bellows as they are since they don't seem to be worn.

I drained the nasty oil out of the engine along with a bunch of water. I put fresh oil in and later drained that out changed the oil filter and put more fresh oil in. I changed the spark plugs and charged the battery and gave it a test.

***It did not crank***
I'm thinking that the old battery that I charged is just that..."OLD". I am going to go buy a new battery and make sure I have a good connection before tearing any deeper into the engine.

I have a Seloc 1964-91 Stern Drive Repair Manual but it is so broad that it does not seem to help me much. I wish I could find a maintaince manual on my specific engine. It's a Mericruiser 6cyl 160hp which I assume to be the original from about the year 1968. The outdrive is a Mercruiser 165hp but I think the outdrive is ready to go. Everything seems to be moving properly on it.

What I really need is a guide to tell me where everything is and what links to what and makes things work. I am not a mechanic but am tech savy and a good guide would go a long way. I am an electronic technician by day trade.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Starting a project (Photos)

Find and post all the serial/model numbers in the Mercruiser/Volvo forum. You're asking engine questions in the boat/hull restoration forum. Be patient, you'll get it sorted out...kind of like running a circuit.