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  1. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Thanks WnW. What kind of baits are you pulling with the Otters? The Otters have been talked about on the local fishing forums and I'll have to go back and read about them. Here's what I intend to build: (borrowed from a tidalfish.com member) These seem to work real good, but I have no...
  2. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    I'm not sure if the Chief will ever be finished. After a successful season of fishing, it's time to change a few things to make the Chief better. I've decided to do away with the retro blue vinyl dash and seats. I thought it would be cool to have the interior look like the time period of the...
  3. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    Seat boxes are done. Since I'm on a pretty tight budget, I decided to try sewing marine vinyl. The engine found it's way home. Some finishing touches inside. Doghouse cover, side boards, and back transom doors. Almost ready for a splash. And.... splash!!
  4. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    Rebuilding the bow supports using 3/4" plywood and stainless hardware. The wood got 2 coats of spar urethane varnish and a coat of Rustoleum primer and paint. Each coat has to be lightly sanded. I used a green scotch brite pad. Finally, it's time to get some color on her. The blue...
  5. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    Getting it all cleaned out and ready to strip some paint. Notice the 2 perpendicular floor stringers inside the cabin? I removed the most forward one so the step down into the cabin has a little more headroom around the bow cap. I'm an older guy and didn't like contortions you have to go...
  6. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, this next one must be worth a few thousand: Like I told the Admiral... accidents happen. Luckily, she didn't have any iron skillets on her person. After 30 years of marriage, I know this look says... I'm not happy you just messed up my yard...
  7. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    This is the original 1974 I6 250ci 165hp mercruiser. The next photo was taken with just an old phone. No extra quick shutter... the oil / water / sludge was really that thick. I knew this engine had some problems when I purchased this boat, but that's the worst I've ever seen. Since I'm...
  8. cj8mule

    1974 21' Chieftain 165 Mercruiser Restoration

    Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (1878) once wrote that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Well, here she is complete with a rotten floor and transom, a crappy paint job, and water in the oil. I agree she isn't that easy on the eyes, but she'll be seaworthy again by the end of this thread...
  9. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    I've been able to work on the Chief in between clipper storms :eek: .... It's a blowin' out there again.... I got the cabin roof done. And added a couple of led cabin lights. I found some used Todd captain chairs to clean up. It'll be nice to get rid of all that blue on deck. I...
  10. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Pics cont....
  11. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Some more pics: Trying to stretch the canvas tight It's harder to stretch than I thought it would be Set it up on the boat and got the main bases bolted down. Sorry about the grainy pictures... it was snowing on us
  12. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    I'm not finished with the rocket launcher, but am getting close! I still need to mount the side arm rails and front supports to the cabin. I also need to make a couple of end caps for the side rails, wire up the anchor light and install a deck light. Here are some pics: Installing some...
  13. cj8mule

    16' Starcraft SS (79) Rebuild

    This is what I used on my vinyl. I used a sprayer and it worked pretty good.
  14. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    The front uprights are done as well as the side handrails. I got some etching primer done yesterday as some primer done today. Hopefully, some metallic flake paint will get done tomorrow and I can start sewing up the canvas. There's nothing like watching paint dry... but progress is...
  15. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    I'm a visual kind of fellow so I threw the rocket launcher up on the boat to see how she feels. I like it except it's just a bit tall for me to grab a pole out of the rod holder. I'm going to redo the base and cut a few inches off. The heck with my tall sons :D While it was up there, I also...
  16. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Thanks WnW. I agree about the mig welding once you show someone how to set up the amperage and wire speed it's pretty easy. Thanks H20! Thanks Astor! This Eastwood 175 was pretty reasonable considering what a Hobart or Miller costs. This is a Chinese welder though, but has pretty good...
  17. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Here's a close up of a weld Astor. I think you could use that 90 amp if you could get the aluminum wire to spool out. (Certainly if you pre-heated what you wanted to weld and stayed around the 1/8" material) Tomorrow I should be able to get the rod holder hoop done. There is a tube...
  18. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Hey Astor. I got the Eastwood 175 with a spool gun for aluminum. I think I'll sell my old stick and 90 mig welder even though they're not worth that much. I've been seeing those radar units on CL Chem, but don't have any plans for one. I really need to be able to set some rods up for...
  19. cj8mule

    1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

    Slow going with this aluminum welding, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. You pretty much have to weld on a flat surface... lol round pipe, right? :eek: Here are some progress pics:
  20. cj8mule

    gimbal housing issues

    Hello all. I'm working with a 74 Mercruiser I6 (160hp). I'm rebuilding the boat and am wanting to change bellows and such while everything is apart. While inspecting the gimbal bearing, I noticed the race wobbling in the gimbal housing. I took the bearing out by hand. After getting most of...
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