1978 Chieftain

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

yeah, don't forget us desk bound picture junkies. and don't feel bad about having to ditch something and start over.....i've had to do that many many times on my boat. it's your toy and your project, you should take the time to get it to where it gives you a kick in the loins every time you see it.

 

[ShowMeGuy]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

The Hoop house is gonna be nice for helping keep the elements out for sure! Keep the pics coming along man.

 

[astor]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Just saw this on craigslist, might be of interest to you for your project, crashed 26' starcraft , and its not too far from your location.

26' Starcraft Parts-350 engine

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Just saw this on craigslist, might be of interest to you for your project, crashed 26' starcraft , and its not too far from your location.

26' Starcraft Parts-350 engine

I am afraid to ask him for photos, sounds like a horrible tragedy :blue:

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

don't cry Jas, maybe it's a glasser

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

hey Spegtoast--actually responding to your recent comment about having to pull your motor and outdrive in SMG's thread. just be sure to get enough height on whatever you use for a gantry/gallows so it will clear transom, and you'll find it incredibly easy even if you've never pulled an engine before. when i pulled my Starchief motor, the beam was 10' high and with motor suspended from a come-along, it barely cleared the transom....and that's a smaller boat than yours. some folks find they have to raise trailer tongue to drop the stern.

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Thanks for the heads up. Excuse the pun.:laugh: Yeah, I have a tree I could use, but if I can get past the safety police at work I could use their forklift. As of late, out company has got some ridiculas restrictions. Fall protection when climbing a ladder, can't work on anything unless it's under 140F, Lock out Tag out. Come to think of it. Climbing in the back of the boat without fall protection would be a safety violation. They just take all the fun out of risking your life ya know?!?

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Well.. I hate to double dip here because I am updating another thread on this in the merc engine forum too, but I wanted to update my rebuild thread here too I managed to get the motor pulled using a tree much bigger than the tree in the pic (in case you were concerned). The hardest part was maneuvering the boat, centered under the chain hoist. Then unhooking from the boat to drop the motor into the back of the truck. If you can visualize the 30x40 back yard, it was quite the task doing solo. Besides a bent rear license plate, there were no other casualties :facepalm:

You can see I have the truck halfway out in the ally.

Once I got the engine in the garage I did a compression test... Starting from front to back it shows 133, 135, 145, 130, 139, 140. Over in the engine forum I am weighing out "do I or don't I" freshin this motor up, or just throw it back in after I get the transom replaced. Since I have the outdrive, transom plate assembly, and the outdrive off the boat. I want to economically choose the right things to replace/ rebuild so I have a fairly trustworthy boat when I drop it in the water. Reading your threads it all makes sense, but with the stuff sitting on MY garage floor I am sorta lost where to start.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Another SC flying motor completed successfully, congrats

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Awesome Spegtoast. I love seeing flying motors.

Your compression numbers are fine except for the spread, but still within 10% of each other. When was the last time it ran? Personally, I'd run it and feel confident.

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

It's been a year since it last ran. The oil is black and it's real cold here in Ohio. I sprayed a little fogging oil down each cylinder before testing. I'm going to skip over the motor and try and get another season or two out of it. Now onto new bellows, and any other maintenance items I can drum up.

 

[astor]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Congrats Spegtoast on getting the engine pulled, now you can make some progress on the transom. Do you have the hoop house back on the boat to keep the elements out, looks like the engine was pulled before the first snowfall, today we are supposed to get hit with another 6-10" of snow, then the subzero weather all week. Looks like from your pictures you might be only a few miles from my location.

Just saw an ad on craigslist with a guy selling a 454 w/ an alpha one outdrive for $2400. Also has a corsa exhaust for sale too! Yeah, its easy for me to suggest someone else spend money on a cool engine/outdrive/exhaust for a big starcraft....... I gotta dream. Good luck with it.

1989 complete 454 mercruiser drop in

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Thanks for the heads up astor. Yeah, I am just around the corner from you. About a mile from Ft. Meigs.The hoop house collapsed under the first ten inches of snow. It was 1/2 pvc which did not withstand heavy winds (60mph) then 10 inches of snow. Next year I'll make it with 3/4 and have it shrink wrapped. That should make a pretty nice reusable cover.

Wow! 454 huh? Well, that would be a great upgrade. Although tempting, I'm just going to concentrate this season on getting this girl in the water. Make it dry, and go fishing.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

I'd jump up another diameter in the PVC if you're getting much snow load, but shrink wrap will help w/ that.

Might consider these guys for a tarp, several people @another forum have used their tarps for 'temp' shelters that are going on 10+ yrs
Billboard Tarps, Tarps, Discount Tarps, Used Billboard Vinyl, Hay Tarps, Pond Liners -- Billboard Tarp Warehouse | Welcome

NOTE: Some sizes are only available in 1 color (it'll be listed) and some are edge hemmed, w/ or w/out pipe sleeves along the edges (also listed)

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Hey speg, here's a little momentary distraction to help get ya thru the snow shoveling blues this winter:

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

An image of my end goal. Thanks for that. There is a nice little island just off shore I would like my mansion sitting off of for the weeekend. Also looking forward to no worries while fighting those rough waters lake erie likes to dish out. The big hull will give me some comfort on those days. mmm thoughts of this boat being on the water makes my toes curl. Thanks for the support.

 

[spegtoast]

Re: 1978 Chieftain

Recorded an associate of mine at work cutting foam with an electric kitchen knife.. Thought I would share.

http://youtu.be/AioshscpZNg

 

[spegtoast]

No Title

Took at a ride on a buddies boat.. Perfect day! I have more pics, and an update for the boat with pics, but can't figure out how to upload the pics.

I got the transom out much like

 

[spegtoast]

No Title

Took at a ride on a buddies boat.. Perfect day! I have more pics, and an update for the boat with pics, but can't figure out how to upload the pics.

I got the transom out much like the way Jay pulled his out of the Islander. Picture is on this thread pg3 post#33. She opened up like a tin can with little persuasion. After getting the old transom plate out, I found a lot more rot in there than expected. Glad you guys persuaded me in changing it out! Ill post more pics when I find time to figure out how to do it. Or maybe one of you guys can give me some hints.

So I got the new transom plate cut and laminating. It's sitting flat on the garage floor with some Titbond III and about seven cinder blocks on top of it.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Speg, get a photobucket account. Upload your pictures there. To import the pics here, go to the pic you want to post in photobucket, if you move your cursor to the upper right corner of the pic a little gear will pop up and has several selections. Click on the "Get Links" then you will see 4 options. Go to the IMG line and click in the box and it will copy the link, then past that IMG link in your post. Walla, pic will appear.