1976 Tom Boy Boat, 1976 40 HP Johnson Outboard and who knows what Trailer

gm280

Supreme Mariner
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Jun 26, 2011
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14,604
Well we had a very great Thanksgiving diner with are entire family in attendance. First time in many years everyone was here. Usually partial family, but this year all of the family. And everybody had a great time as well.

But onto what happened after Thanksgiving. My younger adult son ask me if I would help him change out the HEATER CORE and the AC EVAPORATOR in his son's (my grandson) 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee. And of course I said YES. Why I do that to myself is anybody's guess, but I really do like working on things like that. Seems a monstrous job, but been there done that many times before. He originally talked about just the heater core and I suggested changing both while we were in there. Because you all know the Murphy's Law of automotive would happen. As soon as you replace the heater core, the AC Evaporator would go out. And since they both are relatively cheap, do both and be done with it.

So day one was remove as much as possible in the cold rainy day. While it was in the breezeway between my shop and house, the wind and cold still worked on us all the day. We managed to remove everything to the fire wall. Amazing how many screws Jeep used on their dash assemblies. I guess they got a great deal on them and put them everywhere. The good thing is they were all most 100% the same type. So no problems getting them mixed up during reassembly.

Now to take the plenum apart to get to the AC Evaporator out. The heater core removes out the top. But only after it is removed from the firewall. And of course everything was deteriorated to the point of crumpled foam dust all over everything. And the amount of debris inside was almost unbelievable. I was really surprised we didn't find any animal living in there. But we got it apart and removed and started cleaning the plenum up to reinstall the new cores.

I looked a the blower fan and it was looking bad. So yes it got a refurbish as well. And since the brushes were in great shape, I cleaned the armature and bushing (no ball bearing in that motor) on the lathe so the shaft and armature was polished back to bright steel/copper/brass/whatever. I regreased the bushings and reassembled it again. Now it looked almost new again...almost!

As you can guess, the different "doors" inside, that channel the Heat, AC, Defrost and Fresh Air, were shot as far as the foam was concerned. So we set out to an arts and crafts type store to see what they may have to replace that foam again. And after searching for what seemed like hours, we found some correct thickness foam and some felt as well. And as we were walking to the check out, I thought about the foamed back headliner material I just bought to recover the sun visors on our Blazer.

We still bought the foam and felt and come home. However, after comparing each for the job, we settle on the headliner foam backed material being how it looked exactly like what they used from the factory. And we cutout those pieces and 3M spray high adhesive glued them in place, materiel side to the doors with the foam exposed to seal better. They looked like factory and we reassembly the plenum with everything refurbished inside now.

The reassembly went pretty much a freeze and we only took us about a couple hours, if that. I was impressed how fast it all went back together. And equally surprising was everything worked again after refilling the cores and bleed off the air. And NO PARTS left over...go figure!

And it was surprising to feel the heat and air (that was cold) work like they were supposed to work again. Now the grandson can drive to school with heat in the mornings.

Not the usual Thanksgiving weekend type idea, but you have to do what you have to do. I understand the either of those jobs can cost $1000 dollars or more excluding parts. And if you have never done one before, it feels like that amount of labor too. But that wasn't our first rodeo and we kind of knew what to expect going in. Just a different vehicle this time. I really think they start with a heater core, and build the entire vehicles around them.

You all have a great day, more boat work to come...
 

sphelps

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Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
11,462
I think your right on the heater core .. Down hear we usually just by pass them instead of replacing .. LOL !
 

gomopar440

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 27, 2007
Messages
281
Wanna come up to Montana and help me do my heater core next? The morning commute is getting a bit ridiculous around here lately. It was 12*F at 7 AM when I went to work this morning.:D
 

mickyryan

Rear Admiral
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Apr 18, 2016
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4,214
12 degrees , id look like those iguanas in Miami falling out of trees and stuff , lol
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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14,604
I hear you all. But the grandson is pretty finicky and wanted some heat in the 20 degree mornings for some reason. I have no idea why. The real interesting issues is, the old heater core doesn't seem to have been plugged, but no heat was coming out. And the doors, even with the foam crumbling, were working to channel the heat. I still haven't figured out why there was no heat. The heater core was leaking so it wasn't for nothing. And we tried to bleed the system and even the heater core itself, to make certain hot water was flowing. IDK

gomopar440, if it is that cold, you probably have a solid block of ice in the heater core now. You'll need to wait until it heats up some to get it flowing again... lol

And it is amazing how cheap heater cores are but how much work it takes to change them. Labor rates are through the roof!
 

buxmj

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
294
Same for me, I am too far removed from cold weather. I fall into the category that a comedian once said about Floridians...They wear their heavy winter coats to the frozen food section at the grocery store!
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Same for me, I am too far removed from cold weather. I fall into the category that a comedian once said about Floridians...They wear their heavy winter coats to the frozen food section at the grocery store!

I hear ya. We had freezing temps this morning and our high for today is mid 40's. And I live in middle Georgia. The next two days are supposed to get to the mid to upper 20's. So it does get cold here as well. Maybe not like up north where I came from, but pretty cold for this place so far.

In these type temps I am not sure if glues dries or freezes... :confused:
 

mickyryan

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Apr 18, 2016
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4,214
Same for me, I am too far removed from cold weather. I fall into the category that a comedian once said about Floridians...They wear their heavy winter coats to the frozen food section at the grocery store!

my brother in arms! :) break out the snowsuit tonight! florida's heater core has failed! lol
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Well I am going to work on the VIC (Vehicle Information Center) unit for the grandson's Jeep GC (another thread I started) and the boat. Yes it is below freezing again this morning but it is supposed to get up fairly warm today as well with a warming trend towards the weekend into the low 70's. So the live well is going in place with those temps. And that opens up to allow me to make the pattern the carpet for the rest of the boat. So let's hope everything happens like the weatherman says. :whoo:
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Since a bought a used VIC now to replace the old dead one, I started back on the boat.

Today I worked on the transom ends that fit to the rub rail. I finally got them setup like they should be. And I have to say, they could have made them a ton easier and look better too. But since I have to work with them to finish off the rub rails and such, I installed them back like they originally were. Of course with all the stainless steel hardware I have purchased for the boat so far, I still need a few more bolts for them. But I used standard steel bolts to get everything fitted. But it all is fitting back like it was originally. All I need to do for them now is clean, again, and slide in the rubber cushions.

As you can see the silly angles they cast those end castings makes me have to conform to how they are shaped. I would have liked a more smooth flow setup but it is what it is.

I just order in 10 3/4" stainless steel hose clamps because I don't like to piece part such things and want everyone to be exactly the same. I was amazed that I actually needed 7 hose clamps. But all the plumbing adds up.

I still need to polyester (PB) in the live well, but I am waiting for the weekend when the temps are supposed to be in the lower 70's. The poly works better at those temps.
 

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oldrem

Commander
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Nov 7, 2013
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As you can see the silly angles they cast those end castings makes me have to conform to how they are shaped. I would have liked a more smooth flow setup but it is what it is.

I wasn't real happy with how the original bow and transom caps fit on mine either, but like you said - not much can be done with them. Mine also had rough edges from the casting process, but I did grind those down first.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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I wasn't real happy with how the original bow and transom caps fit on mine either, but like you said - not much can be done with them. Mine also had rough edges from the casting process, but I did grind those down first.

Yea, they cast the transom angle in the part and a silly side angle to accommodate the rub rail as well. But you can see that means the rub rail flares out at the very back. Why? I don't know. A simple 90 degree would have worked and looked much better, but then they didn't ask me at the time. So I have to install them like they originally were to get everything fitted.

I still have to make a transom cap piece and I have an idea how to do that. Of course if it actually works, you will see it here. If not, I'll be asking for ideas. But I think I have it covered...I hope!

I need the hose clamps to install the live well and then carpet the entire floor is next. ANd then the wiring to install all the panels. That is going to take some time. I want it to be organized and well labeled so future repairs, if needed, will be tons easier. And I will put a schematic inside the compartment so if I ever have to work on it, the schematic will be there. Who knows I may sell it off before that time. :whistle:
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Update...

Well after buying the stainless carriage bolts that were long enough to actually go all the way through the transom and allow me to thread on a lock-nut, I proceeded to get the rub rail insert and clean it up to install.

Yes, the rub rail insert was laying on the toe-kick area beneath the long bench in the shop because it was out of the way and the bench was long enough too to accommodate that long insert while being out of the way. So I got the dirty old insert and started cleaning it. I used a lot of Acetone and clean rags to get all that crude off and make it look pretty nice. However, once I got it clean and look great, I realized it was ...GREEN! :facepalm: :cold:

All this time I honestly though it was either black, or a dark gray with two nice white pin strips. ANd either of those options would dress off the hull nicely. But once the crude dirt and whatever was cleaned off it, it turned out to be dark GREEN! :faint2:

It doesn't even come close to matching anything on the boat. .The original boat colors were white and GREEN. I chose white, red, gray and black to refurbish the boat for a new updated look. No GREEN anywhere. :frusty:

So I guess I am now looking for new insert... :blue: :eek:

I measured the old GREEN insert and the widest section is about 1 3/32" wide or there about. The actually opening (the exposed area) is about 3/4". So anybody know where I could find insert with those dimensions, please let me know while I start the search as well. I do realize iboats sell insert(s) and I already looked over their selection. I didn't see the profile I need.

I posted a few pictures so you all can see what I need. You can see how the color GREEN matches so well with the gray carpet. :facepalm: Well at least it is cleaned now. :rolleyes:

Any help or ideas is very appreciated indeed.
 

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oldrem

Commander
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Nov 7, 2013
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Wefco Rubber has the largest selection of inserts. That's where I got mine - only place I could find that had the right one.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Paint it black ? :distrust:

Believe me, I did thing about doing that. But I am certain any slight hit would rub off the paint instantly. I even thought about dying it as well. But those ideas don't seem to work for the better long term.

I am looking at a lot of sites suggested from everyone on here and I think I can find something that will work. I haven't found the exact profile, but I think some other designs could work.

But installing the insert won't stop further work anyway.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Okay I did some work again today on the boat. Well the panels anyway.

Since all the panels are finish being built, with the exception of wiring them, I decided to wire them now. So I got out the soldering tools and crimpers and started on them. I didn't get them all wired because there are a lot of circuits, but I did get two of the panels pretty much ready to install. And I am still waiting for the hose clamps to come in to install the live well, so wired seemed like a great idea.

I daisy chained all the circuit breakers from the master breaker via the master power switch and then made the individual connections to each switch/circuit. Not much remaining with the control panel or the rear power outlet panel. And yes I am providing pictures as proof of work... :lol:

And when I stopped for the day, I went to the mailbox and WALA, the hose clamps are in now.:applause:

So there is a lot I can get done now.
 

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