1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

[BWR1953]

Where is he leaving to?

Dunno.

He graduates and turns 18 in June, so he'll be going somewhere!

 

[Watermann]

That's in pretty good shape if the only one you need to patch.

 

[redneck joe]

Dunno.

He graduates and turns 18 in June, so he'll be going somewhere!

probably back to sleep...

 

[BWR1953]

Okay guys, I'm going to try again! Sooo much drama over the last couple of years. Delays, delays.

Here's where I am now...
I purchased a third boat! (that also may never get completed?)

It's 1997 Mirrocraft Dual Impact XL 1845. I'll be using it to test the 70HP Mercury's that will hopefully get mounted on the Chief, one at a time.

The boat came with a nasty old Johnson 85HP outboard which was barely running. We did a tiny bit of testing on the engine and I decided to pull it off and get rid of it.





The boy has just about finished his planning for when he leaves home on July 4th, so I'm going to get as much done on the Chief while he's still here.

We pulled the old engine from the XL yesterday and put an ad up to sell it for parts. I temporarily stored it on the back of the Chief. Looks weird to me. But it won't be there for long.

 

[BWR1953]

Next steps.

Right now I'm at 1.

 

[racerone]

Any pictures of these 2 Mercury 70 HP motors ?

 

[BWR1953]

Any pictures of these 2 Mercury 70 HP motors ?

Yep! These pix are from 2018. Man, a long time ago. And it's still not done!

And in Post #244 on Page 13 of this thread, you can see a video of the Port engine running on the day I picked it up in 2016. An even longer time ago!

 

[redneck joe]

At your age you best get busy on that

 

[BWR1953]

At your age you best get busy on that

WORD!

 

[redneck joe]

Remember, seems like yesterday we did the deal on that chief. Time slips by quickly and here you go buying a new one to replace the kf. You know yer gonna mod that one up as well. Focus man, focus...

 

[MNhunter1]

Makes me kind of wish I would have held onto the Mercury 70 that came with my MR180. Sold it right off the bat as I wanted something with the BIA bolt pattern and internal trim, but still would have been fun to tinker with.

Completely understand the life delays. I use to get stressed when I wasn't meeting my personal deadlines on the boat, but now just look at it more as a hobby then a deadline. Helps my blood pressure

 

[BWR1953]

Remember, seems like yesterday we did the deal on that chief. Time slips by quickly and here you go buying a new one to replace the kf. You know yer gonna mod that one up as well. Focus man, focus...

Hard to focus on the swamp when you're up to your waist in alligators!

My only plan for the Mirrocraft is to use it for testing the Mercs, then slap a 150 on it and go fishing. I'm definitely not planning on a project for that one. Not enough money... or time in my life!

 

[BWR1953]

Makes me kind of wish I would have held onto the Mercury 70 that came with my MR180. Sold it right off the bat as I wanted something with the BIA bolt pattern and internal trim, but still would have been fun to tinker with.

Completely understand the life delays. I use to get stressed when I wasn't meeting my personal deadlines on the boat, but now just look at it more as a hobby then a deadline. Helps my blood pressure

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 due to these old boat projects!

 

[Gibbles]

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 due to these old boat projects!

I have a dream where I swap my hobby from tinkering, to actually enjoying life.

 

[BWR1953]

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.





And a wide angle view of the Chief. Just because.

 

[BWR1953]

Makes me kind of wish I would have held onto the Mercury 70 that came with my MR180. Sold it right off the bat as I wanted something with the BIA bolt pattern and internal trim, but still would have been fun to tinker with.

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 just a little rough around the edges. But they may indeed turn out to run well. And as you say, they're not BIA standard for the mounting pattern. I didn't want to start making a bunch of holes in the Chief's transom for two motors, only to find out that one or both of the engines wouldn't work out. My backup plan is to get a "newer" 150HP Mercury if the 70s fail to prove trustworthy.

 

[Gibbles]

My 70's 3cyl 65hp engine has been great.
I'm thinking the 70hp is probably a bit newer.

 

[BWR1953]

My 70's 3cyl 65hp engine has been great.
I'm thinking the 70hp is probably a bit newer.

Yeah, mine are '82-83.

 

[redneck joe]

crap didn't realize my 82 50 is not going to be standard bolt patter. sucks, thought about upsizing and newer just have to be happy with upsizing.

 

[BWR1953]

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.