1978 SS 16 restoration

[Siva283]

Getting ready to take it down for a test rip in the river

 

[Siva283]

Well I forgot to get pics of it in the water other than this one. At launch and taking it out the people down at the ramp kept coming over to check it out and ask questions. I'll try to get some next weekend. It sits perfectly and rides so nice. Now I gotta fix the steering I hooked it up backwards so driving was fun

 

[Moserkr]

Congratulations on the splash!!!!

 

[Siva283]

Congratulations on the splash!!!!

It was cold the river was flooded and windy as hell. Yet it was still an amazing day. All the work coming together

 

[BWR1953]

Congratulations!

 

[SHSU]

Congrats!!!!!! A good looking resto

SHSU

 

[Siva283]

I am very happy with how it's come out. She's a little heavier not to bad though.
The motor was way to deep. I couldn't get it over 4850 rpm and trimming right when my rpm started to hit 5000 it poirposed bad.
I raised the jack plate and inch and a half. So we will see how it does this coming Saturday.
If that don't do it I am gonna swap the carbs and intake from a 90hp since I have a 90hp I can get parts from and if I still can't hit 6200 I'll go to a lower pitch prop.
I am not a wide open all the time person but I like the power on tap if I need it for reasons. I can cruise half throttle all day long and if I need more I have it. But running 4850 wide open I can't just put more power in it.
I figure once I get the motor set right that might get me halfway there maybe all the way. Since it's so deep I can't lift the bow at all without porposing

 

[Siva283]

Came home yesterday to find about 10 gallons of fuel in the hull of the boat. The thread tape on the fuel water seperator failed. Who would think the thread tape the comes with it would dissolve in fuel. That taught me I also need a fuel shut off valve since the tank is higher than the filter\seperator.
Got a manual valve coming. I am thinking about adding a motorized ball valve hooked to keyed ignition so when I shut the motor off the fuel is shut off. This will be right after my manual ballvalve so if it ever failed I can remove it and also still shut off fuel. I am up in the air about that though.
Pulled it apart and got better thread tape and put it back together. So far no leak but there may still be air in the filter. After I put a manual shut off valve in tomorrow I will get the motor going on rabbit ears to bleed the system and check for leaks.
This weekend I will need to touch up some paint. Even though its under the splashwell behind the shelf I want it properly painted.
Now a question for the hivemind. Luckily I went with 2 part pour foam so the gas doesnt seem to have hurt that. However it disolved the sealer off a large area of the floor board which isnt removable because of the foam. Anyone got any ideas on resealing the wood considering I cant get to the bottom now. I figure I need something thin that will soak into the wood really well to get the bottom sealed. I was thinking something thin like thompsons water sealer putting it on really thick and slowing down drying as much as possible so it soaks in well.

 

[redneck joe]

Would a standard check valve not work?

 

[redneck joe]

Never mind.....

 

[Siva283]

Would a standard check valve not work?

It was the thread tape I have the leak fixed. Just trying to figure a good way to reseal the wood that was basically soaked in gasoline for 24ish hours

 

[Moserkr]

Only thing I can think of is old timers formula. Probably someone else here with a better idea. But I just added a shutoff valve to my list to install, seems like a good idea after hearing what happened!

 

[Siva283]

Only thing I can think of is old timers formula. Probably someone else here with a better idea. But I just added a shutoff valve to my list to install, seems like a good idea after hearing what happened!

Yeah I never thought about it before this but my only option right now is vice grips which is hard on the line

 

[Siva283]

Got the motor raised I think it's about right. Just started to cavitate at the top of the trim range.
Next up 90hp mod. I'll be surprised if the extra 15hp gets me 1200 rpm but we shall see what it does. If I am still not getting proper rpm it'll be time for a new prop with less pitch. Hopefully today I'll remember to get some pics of her in the water.
I gotta clean the mud out before we go out today. Last night we got caught in a storm and when ducking into a sheltered area well the beach was mud. The boat was handling the 4 foot tall white caps extremely well but it dropped into the low 30s when it happened and the water here is only 50 degrees. Since we had the kids with us we decided it was smarter to duck into a sheltered cove and wait it out

 

[Siva283]

Remembered to get some on the trailer today. With the wind it's been hard to get one with it sitting in the water

 

[Siva283]

So now I am on another issue. 93 merc Gen 1 controls and cables. They are new but seem to have enough slop that in forward I can still acheive WOT but in reverse nothing just an idle.

 

[redneck joe]

were the old ones working ie is it the new controls or the old engine

 

[Siva283]

were the old ones working ie is it the new controls or the old engine

They are the same controls and cables from last year. I bought them new last year. I had a little rpm in reverse last year but still barely above an idle.
I have the original Merc ones and 2 replacement sets they all do the same.
I'm gonna pull the cheap Chinese controls apart this weekend and see what I see.
I can't find OEM mercury side mount controls anywhere. All I can find are the ones you gotta cut the big hole for. I would do that except I don't plan on having this motor more than a year or two I want a 4 stroke fuel injected 90 or maybe even a 115 depending on how much heavier they are.
The good news is several trips now and no leaks just getting her dialed in.

 

[redneck joe]

'they all do the same' so the issue is not the control box but at the engine assuming all cables as well as controls do the same? Have you tried to engage without cables, directly at the engine?

 

[Siva283]

'they all do the same' so the issue is not the control box but at the engine assuming all cables as well as controls do the same? Have you tried to engage without cables, directly at the engine?

Everything works as expected at the engine. It's just slop. I can adjust it to where everything works perfectly except it won't quite return to idle it only goes down to 1500rpm if I push it with my finger at the motor I can get idle. I can adjust it to get idle as expected but then I don't have enough travel at the controls to get any rpm in reverse.