1957 Fleetform Custom Restoration

[kcassells]

Yup Brian worked his butt off to get those cables operable. Give it a shot.

 

[MPrimeaux]

Brand new cable? It'll probably be a little stiff for a while until the sheath relaxes a bit.

That being said....my yearly job on my MFG was to go to each of the pulleys and shoot some WD40 on them to lube them up. Otherwise the steering would be really stiff. So...if you haven't already, you might want to lube up your steering pulleys and see where that gets ya.

I lubed them up today and it is MUCH better. I expected to find a frozen pulley, but I didn't. I'm going to chalk the rest up to brand new stiff cable. Even if it didn't loosen up any more, it's very manageable. I connected the battery today and tested the ignition switch and all seems to be working there. All I need now is the clevis yokes to connect my cables to the motor and some gas. After that, I think I'm ready to put her in the water for the first time for a float check just to see how she sits in the water with the extra weight of the motor. I've got a couple of old batteries that I'm going to move around to see if the fuel tank needs to be in the bow or if it'll be ok in the back. Clevises should be in today or Monday. Fingers crossed!

 

[sphelps]

Glad your getting things worked out ! Don’t forget the camera when ya head to the lake ! :joyous:
‘I’ll have to start going through your Merc thread .. I just picked up a 62 Merc 450 .... I’ll bet it’s pretty similar to your 650 ..

 

[MPrimeaux]

Glad your getting things worked out ! Don’t forget the camera when ya head to the lake ! :joyous:
‘I’ll have to start going through your Merc thread .. I just picked up a 62 Merc 450 .... I’ll bet it’s pretty similar to your 650 ..

Thanks Sphelps! I will definitely bring a camera when I head to the lake. It'll just be a test run, but it'll technically be the first time that I've had it in the water.... not sure if that counts as a "splash"! And please don't hesitate to ask about any questions you have on the 450. I'm not sure how similar they are, but I'll help any way I can.

 

[MPrimeaux]

Alright folks... the moment I've all been waiting for! Got my cable clevises in today and installed them. Was sitting around afterwards and realized all I needed was some gas in the tank. I'm not sure if ya'll would consider this a first splash because I've still got a lot of work to do before she's finished, but I DID put her in the water for the first time earlier today! I still have some issues that I will have to correct, but she did run, steer, and float. I posted a video of my first outing here if anyone cares to take a look... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5acZyK0jraw

Pic porn......

 

[MPrimeaux]

Alright everyone... So I DID have a couple of issues with the motor when I put it in the water and I was hoping to get some input.
1st - It's pretty hard to start for the first time. When I say the first time, I mean with no fuel in the carbs. The very first time I busted her off after getting the mag and carbs rebuilt, I cranked on the engine for a long time and it didn't start. I sprayed some WD-40 in the carbs to see if it wasn't getting fuel and it cranked right up. After that, it would crank every time almost immediately. I have always pulled my fuel line on outboards and let them run out of fuel before leaving the boat launch to keep the carbs from gumming up. I did this when I cranked it up the last time. This time when I went to start her, same thing. After I FINALLY got her started though, she'll crank as soon as the ignition is bumped every time. Anyone know what's up with that?? Side note.... Yes I was sure to get the primer bulb tight before trying to start.

2nd. It bogs and dies as soon as I open the throttle. It'll start right up, go into gear and idle, but as soon as I give it gas, it'll die..... UNLESS I hit the choke right before/while I'm giving it throttle. Then she'll go on and run fine..... until I put it back into neutral and idle again. After that, same thing. Hit the choke one time, give it gas, and take off. Running too rich???

3rd. You'd think that we would learn from others experiences on here and not make the same mistakes..... buuuuuttttt.
So, I read all the way through Wood on Glass's Flamingo thread. AND I read where he took it to the lake the first time and crashed the keel into the trailer when loading it up because it was a tilt trailer. I HAVE A TILT TRAILER!!! I KNEW I had a tilt trailer...... and I did the same thing :facepalm:. At least I haven't already done all the glass work and paint. If anyone was questioning if WOG has some sort of "special" tilt trailer that won't allow you to load a boat under power, the answer is NO! This appears to be a common thing amongst tilt trailers. They just weren't meant to have boats loaded on concrete ramps under power..... Crap.....

Also.... I have another thread for the motor restoration. I've been kinda posting in both places I copy and paste some and I realize that some of this stuff gets posted twice. Is this bad form or frowned upon?? I was just trying to broaden my target audience with my questions, but if it's not acceptable, please let me know and I'll pay more attention to segregating motor stuff and boat stuff.

 

[sphelps]

The tilt trailer should have a latch and chain . That will keep it from tilting ...
‘It looks great ! Now I’m gunna watch the video ...

edit: ok watched the vid .. I think the 650 is about a perfect fit ! She really ran out nice !
Did you ever get to WOT ?

 

[archbuilder]

I'd say that qualifies for a splash for sure! Looks wet and runs!

I don't know a lot about that model, but sounds like it is leaning out. I had a similar problem on Miss Morgan under hard excelleration. Turned out to be a combination of things. I would start with the fuel system. I am assuming you have been through the carbs, if you haven't you might want to. The biggest issue with mine turned out to be a hole in the fuel pump diaphragm. Once I fixed that she ran great! If choking it fixes it, it is most likely running out of fuel for what ever reason.

 

[archbuilder]

And CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[kcassells]

Very Nice!

 

[MPrimeaux]

The tilt trailer should have a latch and chain . That will keep it from tilting ...
‘It looks great ! Now I’m gunna watch the video ...

edit: ok watched the vid .. I think the 650 is about a perfect fit ! She really ran out nice !
Did you ever get to WOT ?

Thanks bud. As far as the trailer goes, it does have a chain, but no latch. My plan is to do away with the tilt and extend the bunks when I redo the trailer. I thought I had it out of the water enough to clear.......the big nasty crunch I heard when loading it was proof that I was CLEARLY wrong! As for the WOT, yes and no. I think it ran pretty well, but to be honest I really expected it to be faster. It ran about 30 mph according to my phone speed app, but I don’t think I was getting all of the rpms out of it. I have a 14 1/2” X 13P prop on it. I think it’s a little too much. That coupled with the carb issues.... I think it’ll probably do a little more with some tweaking, but not much more.

 

[MPrimeaux]

I'd say that qualifies for a splash for sure! Looks wet and runs!

I don't know a lot about that model, but sounds like it is leaning out. I had a similar problem on Miss Morgan under hard excelleration. Turned out to be a combination of things. I would start with the fuel system. I am assuming you have been through the carbs, if you haven't you might want to. The biggest issue with mine turned out to be a hole in the fuel pump diaphragm. Once I fixed that she ran great! If choking it fixes it, it is most likely running out of fuel for what ever reason.

Yeah Arch, I think you’re right. I think I said too rich earlier, but after thinking about it, choking it would richen it up a touch. Get that adjusted correctly and it might fix my high idle in the process. As for your questions, I’ve completely rebuilt the carbs and the fuel pumps. Ran good on the hose, but this was the first time under load. Main thing I guess....it runs! My main goal today was just to see how it floated. I had 90 lbs of batteries that I moved around to see if it made a difference. With the batteries in the back, it porpoises pretty bad with just me in it. It still porpoises with them in the front too, just not as bad. I think I’m going to leave the fuel tank in the back and try to fix the porpoising with trim. The motor was trimmed up fairly high, but I have to pull the motor off the boat to pull the trim rod. Thanks for the input Arch. I’ll keep tweaking on it.

 

[MPrimeaux]

Very Nice!

Thanks!

 

[archbuilder]

You might check the fuel line and check ball to make sure it is working correctly. As weird as it sounds one of my friends had a brand new fuel line with a pin hole in it that caused his to run lean.

 

[MPrimeaux]

You might check the fuel line and check ball to make sure it is working correctly. As weird as it sounds one of my friends had a brand new fuel line with a pin hole in it that caused his to run lean.

Now I'll buy that for a dollar..... Long story short, that fuel line came out of my jon boat and it WAS leaking. I replaced all of the clamps between the bulb, in-line filter, etc, but it may still be sucking air. I'll check it out. I'm leaning towards a permanent tank and fuel line, but that portable set up will be used somewhere. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[MPrimeaux]

I was finally coached on how to attach videos directly to the thread. Wanted to go ahead and put them here in case someone ever looks at this in the future.

 

[MPrimeaux]

Thanks bud. As far as the trailer goes, it does have a chain, but no latch. My plan is to do away with the tilt and extend the bunks when I redo the trailer. I thought I had it out of the water enough to clear.......the big nasty crunch I heard when loading it was proof that I was CLEARLY wrong! As for the WOT, yes and no. I think it ran pretty well, but to be honest I really expected it to be faster. It ran about 30 mph according to my phone speed app, but I don’t think I was getting all of the rpms out of it. I have a 14 1/2” X 13P prop on it. I think it’s a little too much. That coupled with the carb issues.... I think it’ll probably do a little more with some tweaking, but not much more.

Correction...... 19 pitch prop. Not 13.

 

[buxmj]

Looks good and sounds like it is a fun boat to be in! Thanks for sharing, I have a tilt trailer also, will need to be careful.

 

[MPrimeaux]

Looks good and sounds like it is a fun boat to be in! Thanks for sharing, I have a tilt trailer also, will need to be careful.

Yeah I read another members post about the same issue and simply thought that maybe mine would be ok. From what I understand, tilt trailers were made before concrete boat ramps were everywhere and people would basically back the trailer into the water wherever they could and push the boat off. When they loaded them back up, they were so shallow that they would just put the nose of the boat into the tilt part and winch it on. This would cause the boat to winch "up" until it broke over onto the trailer.

 

[buxmj]

Thanks for the info and that makes sense. So do you think you will ever use the tilt mechanism? Mine works fine, I do need to put a chain back on it for safety sake, even if I don't use the tilt mechanism.