Okay so heres todays main update.
First, the thread repair was 100% successful. After getting the die off, the nut threads on there perfectly.
I took time while the flywheel is off to clean the points. Thats what got me into this whole mess... having to clean them every year.
Then I noticed that the magnets were rusted a little. Will they be ok?
Then I noticed that the top plastic broke. I have the piece that broke off. Think it will be ok if I glue it back on?
When I started playing around with my controls I noticed that the buttons for fwd-n-rev werent moving, so I investigated. There is a plastic piece that slides with the throttle to stop gear changes at throttle, and that broke. I had no choice but to remove it. Ill just have to be careful that im all the way throttled down before changing gears.
And finally I worked on fabbing up some sheet aluminum for the console I got to cover all the holes from gauges. In retrospect, I should have put the sheet on the back and used filler to smooth it. Its not professional, but it will do the job. I need to come up with a way to make the edges look nicer. And the sheet I got was about 1/2" too small so I had to piece together the bottom right corner. Not too worried because it will be up against the side of the boat anyways.
And finally with regards to the flywheel, my daughter located in 5 minutes what I spent days searching for when I realized it went missing. It was under some leaves on the ground next to where I had parked it. So im going with that.
Tomorrow Im going to fire it once my woodruff key comes in. fingers crossed. I probably wont run it, as I dont have water and am pretty sure ill need to replace the impeller anyways. Just want to make sure it will fire up though.
