1977 Mark Twain Worth It?

[S10Sinner]

My parents bought a 1977 180V that, after having it break down on the lake, gave to me for free. It’s all original besides radio and engine repairs. Has the Mercruiser 888 and a lot of bells and whistles being the limited edition trim.
Needed a new fly wheel and a lot of corrosion sanded off wire connections plus some unknown things. (It’s my first boat.) Seems like a sturdy and great conditioned boat. Worth dumping some money into?
Cleaned up the interior which was rough because their cover ripped and it sat for a couple years like that.
Can’t find any info hardly.

 

[Scott Danforth]

only you can determine if its worth it. being a 45 year old boat, it may need a complete hull restoration.

generally, if you plan to get your money out of it, you wont. the only way to make a small fortune restoring boats is to start with a large one. the only reason most people restore boats is because A: sentimental value, or B: we are gluttons for punishment and like dealing with fiberglass itch.

However being that is was your parents boat, you probably have sentimental attachment.

not sure why you replaced the whole flywheel. normally all that is ever needed is a $14 ring gear.

 

[S10Sinner]

only you can determine if its worth it. being a 45 year old boat, it may need a complete hull restoration.

generally, if you plan to get your money out of it, you wont. the only way to make a small fortune restoring boats is to start with a large one. the only reason most people restore boats is because A: sentimental value, or B: we are gluttons for punishment and like dealing with fiberglass itch.

However being that is was your parents boat, you probably have sentimental attachment.

not sure why you replaced the whole flywheel. normally all that is ever needed is a $14 ring gear.

I have an appointment with a shop to look at the flywheel so haven’t done anything yet. I can do electrical, etc. just not motors.
Seems like it’d be worth it because all I’ve found is they’re heavy duty and increasingly rare.

 

[hugh g]

If it sat for a couple years uncovered there's a good chance you'll be doing some restoration. If it was me & I got lucky & it only needed a new deck I'd go for it. Transom & stringers? I'd have to think hard about it as it's a major project & since the world lost it's mind (there wasen't much there to begin with) the cost of materials has gone thru the roof. You're talking thousands. No trying to discourage you, a lot of guys have done it which you'll see if you check out the resto forum here. There's a ton of advice right here at your fingertips.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if it needs a deck, the transom and stringers went years before the deck did.

 

[briangcc]

This is going to be rare for me to say so....

The boat has some lines/design to it that carry forward to today. Ditch the bow railing and the tufted/tucked seating for some modern replacements and that boat will look fairly modern. I'd say go for it as its only cosmetics that tell what age it is. Bet it cleans up pretty well.

But like Scott mentioned, don't expect to turn a profit when you go to sell it unless there's someone dying to have that particular boat to relive their years long past and willing to pay any premium to do so.

 

[tonyjh63]

This is going to be rare for me to say so....

The boat has some lines/design to it that carry forward to today. Ditch the bow railing and the tufted/tucked seating for some modern replacements and that boat will look fairly modern. I'd say go for it as its only cosmetics that tell what age it is. Bet it cleans up pretty well.

But like Scott mentioned, don't expect to turn a profit when you go to sell it unless there's someone dying to have that particular boat to relive their years long past and willing to pay any premium to do so.

I don't know...I think it'd be best to keep the vintage look...certainly makes the boat stand out.

 

[icyb]

Maybe it's the pictures but your trailer rear cross member looks odd.And the port side like it's very close to the wheel fender. Sink enough to make here reliable as possible and use it.

 

[cc67]

Maybe it's the pictures but your trailer rear cross member looks odd.And the port side like it's very close to the wheel fender. Sink enough to make here reliable as possible and use it

Likely the cutout was for an inboard.

 

[Tim in TN]

I had a '76 Mark Twain 180T. They are solid built boats but being that old you're likely going to have to replace stringers and deck and maybe the transom. Mine also had the 888 Mercruiser and I never had a moment's trouble out of it. If it still had a metal gas tank you'll want to replace that too.

 

[S10Sinner]

My parents bought a 1977 180V that, after having it break down on the lake, gave to me for free. It’s all original besides radio and engine repairs. Has the Mercruiser 888 and a lot of bells and whistles being the limited edition trim.
Needed a new fly wheel and a lot of corrosion sanded off wire connections plus some unknown things. (It’s my first boat.) Seems like a sturdy and great conditioned boat. Worth dumping some money into?
Cleaned up the interior which was rough because their cover ripped and it sat for a couple years like that.
Can’t find any info hardly.

So update since it’s been months. Took 7 weeks just to get looked at.
She’s getting new stringers in the rear end (rotted where the cover broke), new flywheel ring, trim gauge fixed, fuel tank pumped (not rusted at all), starter shimmed (to not slip), coil pack replaced, among some other small things for around 3 grand. Not bad in my opinion.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if the stringers are rotten, you will find the transom is rotten

 

[S10Sinner]

if the stringers are rotten, you will find the transom is rotten

They checked the transom for me at the boat shop and it was actually good. Only spot stringers were rotted were in the ski cubby. Deck was bad from a junk patch job from the owner before.