1965 Starcraft Holiday Restomod

[jbcurt00]

Just messaged you back, thanks!

I PMd admins again

 

[boaterdave90210]

Got the outdrive slid on and lined up. Forgot the gasket on the first round so had to pull it off and redo it... newbie mistake... Just have to change the gear oil, install the prop and this should be good to go.

It seems like I'm missing the trim cylinder pins. Since the original '65 trim is a different style than the '68 that I have on there now the pins I have won't work. Is there a special pin that I have to buy for the MC1 pre-alpha, or would any of the alpha one gen one pins work?

 

[boaterdave90210]

I know I put the wrong stickers on the outdrive but that's all I could find on Ebay lol

 

[jdvasher]

I know I put the wrong stickers on the outdrive but that's all I could find on Ebay lol

Im not sure how much this helps but my boat is a 68 and came with one of the pre alphas. I upgraded to a newer alpha one and the pin and bushing setup is different. Might cross reference some numbers online and see what you can find. There's a couple of sites that have all of the part breakdowns with part numbers. I've had to go this route several times with my Frankenstein project.

 

[boaterdave90210]

Awesome, thank you! I ended up finding a set of pre alpha pins on Ebay - looks like everything will match up. They'll be here sometime next week so we'll see if they work. In the meantime, we've been working on matching up the engine wiring to the boat wiring. Not my forte but my dad enjoys doing that part. Got a new exhaust riser gasket and the matching passenger seat, so I'll be installing those this week

 

[jdvasher]

Awesome, thank you! I ended up finding a set of pre alpha pins on Ebay - looks like everything will match up. They'll be here sometime next week so we'll see if they work. In the meantime, we've been working on matching up the engine wiring to the boat wiring. Not my forte but my dad enjoys doing that part. Got a new exhaust riser gasket and the matching passenger seat, so I'll be installing those this week

Luckily Mercruiser wiring is pretty standardized. The 1968 wiring harness that was original was very close if not identical to the 1986 motor and new wiring system. the wiring color scheme seems pretty consistent. The only issues I had were with some of the colors that have faded over the years making them harder to identify. some colors even changed to a different color all together. I am guessing maybe a base color.

 

[boaterdave90210]

Luckily Mercruiser wiring is pretty standardized. The 1968 wiring harness that was original was very close if not identical to the 1986 motor and new wiring system. the wiring color scheme seems pretty consistent. The only issues I had were with some of the colors that have faded over the years making them harder to identify. some colors even changed to a different color all together. I am guessing maybe a base color.

Yea thats what we've experienced so far. Aside from the older wires fading & cracking - the colors seem to match up pretty well.

 

[boaterdave90210]

Trim pins came in yesterday and they are the correct ones! Got those installed, and hooked up the shift cables so now we just have the wiring to finish up - then we can hook up to the hose and run it.

 

[boaterdave90210]

Still working through the wiring of the engine - got the main stuff hooked up (starter, coils, etc) now just need to get the front of the boat powered up so I can actually fire this thing with the key instead of jumper cables.

Since I've been bored on my lunch breaks, I decided to redo the vinyl on the side panels. A few more ripples than I was hoping for, but not bad for my first time working with vinyl. Will most likely set it out in the sun for a few days so it'll shrink down.

 

[jdvasher]

Still working through the wiring of the engine - got the main stuff hooked up (starter, coils, etc) now just need to get the front of the boat powered up so I can actually fire this thing with the key instead of jumper cables.

Since I've been bored on my lunch breaks, I decided to redo the vinyl on the side panels. A few more ripples than I was hoping for, but not bad for my first time working with vinyl. Will most likely set it out in the sun for a few days so it'll shrink down.

 

[boaterdave90210]

She runs! The engine is in and wired up. Thought I would have to do some adjustments on the carb but so far it seems just right. We'll see what kind of tweaking I need to do on the water. Tested out fwd and reverse and can get it in and out of gear without stalling. Gotta get the side panels in, controls mounted and do a check of the gauges then it'll be ready for a water test.

Not sure if these link will work, but heres a video of it starting up for the first time in the boat:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cRJL4pVcUpVLyqn9DbC_6IbKz8yz8fGh/view?usp=sharing

 

[Moserkr]

Link worked for me. Sounds great!!

 

[boaterdave90210]

Link worked for me. Sounds great!!

Thank you! I was really suprised how well it ran the first go around. I am missing a drain plug bolt for the exhaust manifold - have one ordered but the threads on the manifold are pretty rusted. May end up re-tapping it but we'll see how it fits first

 

[boaterdave90210]

Took the day off today to get some of the tedious stuff done on the boat. Wired up the speakers & dash, mounted the side panels and the throttle control. Just need to test the alternator & water temperature gauge to make sure they work and bolt down the seats- then she'll be ready for the first splash!

For the exhaust manifold drain bolt - it was too rusted for the threads to catch, just ate through them. We ended up tapping it out to a 7/16 - 20 and got a bolt to fit from home depot. Its zinc which I won't keep in there permanently. Does anyone know if there's any issues using a zinc bolt as a water plug in the exhaust manifold for a quick splash test? I plan on ordering a brass bolt here in the next few days, but hoping to have it out on the water before then.

 

[BWR1953]

Took the day off today to get some of the tedious stuff done on the boat. Wired up the speakers & dash, mounted the side panels and the throttle control. Just need to test the alternator & water temperature gauge to make sure they work and bolt down the seats- then she'll be ready for the first splash!

For the exhaust manifold drain bolt - it was too rusted for the threads to catch, just ate through them. We ended up tapping it out to a 7/16 - 20 and got a bolt to fit from home depot. Its zinc which I won't keep in there permanently. Does anyone know if there's any issues using a zinc bolt as a water plug in the exhaust manifold for a quick splash test? I plan on ordering a brass bolt here in the next few days, but hoping to have it out on the water before then.

What about using a stainless bolt? Might be able to get one at HD.

 

[boaterdave90210]

What about using a stainless bolt? Might be able to get one at HD.

The Home Depot by us didn't have anything stainless - but there is a local hardware store that might have it. I'll check there in the morning and see what they got. Thanks!

 

[boaterdave90210]

Hooked up and ran for about 15 minutes and couldn't get the water temp or oil pressure gauges to move. Auto Zone had the gauges but had to order them. Should be in Wednesday in time for the Thursday splash test. Since they are white with black bezels, I also ended up ordering genuine SW gauges from Summit Racing (we have a Summit shop here in OH but of course they had to be ordered from their TX warehouse). Those should be in sometime next week and better match the black/ chrome gauges that are in currently in the boat. Many pics to come later this week!

 

[boaterdave90210]

Splash day today! The chrome bezel gauges won't be in until next week, but we were able to find some at auto zone that'll work for a water test. Aside from that and the rear seats, the interior is pretty much complete. I'll update tomorrow on how it goes later today - hopefully no leaks

 

[boaterdave90210]

So it went really well yesterday! Got the grandpa out there (who gave me the boat) and he was really happy with how it turned out. Had my wife on a jet ski just in case we needed a tow. I linked a video of the first splash - hopefully it turns out.

We had some carb & throttle cable issues, it would only throttle up halfway before hitting the limit. Need to do some adjustments there, and was a little hard shifting in and out of gear so I want to fine tune the shift cables. Also, the accelerator spring on the carb was a little worn out and didn't have much left to it so we had to manually throttle down from the carb. But aside from a little fine tuning, the thing ran great!

First splash video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gyqTrvWRXbA6_G7T9knyIaKM8NQnesmg/view?usp=sharing

 

[Moserkr]

Video worked, congrats on the splash!!! Despite minor issues Im sure grandpa was happy and proud.