Recent content by BWR1953

  1. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Hi all. Just wanted to give a quick update. Got that old Johnson sold and gone! 😃 I've also made some progress on the 70 Merc over the last few days. Got both carbs cleaned, installed new gaskets and reassembled both. The water cooled fuel pump has been cleaned; new gaskets and diaphragm...
  2. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Ah yes, the test boat. I suppose I could ask the powers that be if it would be okay to post a thread about it here. 🤔 It's a 1997 Mirrocraft Dual Impact XL 1845. It's 18 feet long with an 89" beam, which is wider than my Chieftain. We all really like it and are anxious to get it back on the...
  3. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Nope, once the 70 Merc is running right, I'll keep it on the test boat and then sell the Kingfisher. With any luck, the Merc on the test boat will go well and I'll sell the KF by the end of this month. 🤞 After that, we start working on the Chief. As of now, I'm hot in search of a 150HP Merc...
  4. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Yeah, I'm literally running out of time and money, so whatever I do has to work for real. 😬 The boy graduates HS next month, turns 18 in June and will leave home on July 4th. I'll lose cash and help when he goes. So, as they say, "Time is of the essence." ⌛ It's been 9 years since we got...
  5. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    And it begins... 😠 I went out to the garage to start cleaning the 2nd carb, bumped it during handling and the small plastic carb coupling assembly piece broke right off. 😒 So, I dug up the spare carb set from the other engine, found the part, removed it... and that one was already broken...
  6. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    I can't see me spending much time scrounging around trying to find 40+ year old NOS parts. Not worth my time. Maybe I'll just look around for a "newish" 150HP Merc and be done with it.
  7. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Got the first carb cleaned today. But, I ran into a major issue. I have two 70HP Mercury outboards to use as the twins for this project. One is a 1982 and the other is a 1983. Both are 3 cylinder 2-strokes. I'd ordered replacement float bowl parts about 2 years ago. Today, I found that the...
  8. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Yeah, I got one carb disassembled enough to be able to dip some parts and it worked great! That carb is now ready for reassembly. (y)
  9. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Yes, I have some, but the manual specifically says not to use it. But, I got a couple spray cans of carb cleaner yesterday afternoon, so that should work.
  10. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Started cleaning the carbs today. Ugh! 🤮 But the motors have only been sitting 8 years! :LOL: I'm following the manual step by step and it has me completely disassembling the carbs. I just got to the part where it says to remove the Welch plugs. Uhhh... nope. Those things are no longer...
  11. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    It took me an hour yesterday to pull the carbs and scrape the gaskets. And my shoulders were screaming afterwards. Your point in Post #270 about time slipping by really hit home. 🧓
  12. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    Yeah, mine are '82-83.
  13. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    I chose these 70s after much research. I learned that they're the lightest 70s I could get, only 190 lbs. each. That makes them only about 80 pounds more than the typical 150HP of that era. And the main reason that I'm using the test boat is because of those engines. They're antiquated and...
  14. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    I got the carbs off today. The boy is in the garage now, cleaning my work table so that I can start cleaning them tomorrow. It's gonna take him awhile, he hasn't cleaned it off in months. :sneaky: And a wide angle view of the Chief. Just because. :cool:
  15. BWR1953

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    I'll definitely be glad to get these Mercs running. I'm really not much of a tinkerer. I just do what has to be done. Sometimes that takes learning something completely new, which is time consuming. My actual hobby is fishing, not working on boats or motors. And I've missed a lot of fishing...
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