1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Well got the boat splashed this weekend! It ran freaking awsome.......just smooth for the hole 4-5 hrs we where out! I will get some pics posted as soon as they are loaded on photo-bucket.

We got some wakeoarding done to and the tower was worth every cent!!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Great news! Looking forward to the pics. Congrats.

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Some of the photos from the first full day on the water!

Parked just at the mouth of the Maumee river to Lake Erie so the Kids Could swim and play.

The kids running around the beach with their uncles.

The Manitowoc, one of the great lakes fine boats at dock in Toledo

Me on the wakebaord...first ride of the year!

My 2yr old boy using his uncle as a wind block heading out onto Lake Erie

Trying to get my Brother-in-law up on the wakeboard........he was not getting the consept of not allowing the rope to pull him over the board.........lets say after 45min he was done drinking the river!

 

[fat fanny]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Good for you Solar glad to hear you and yours on on the water and the boat looks great that color sceme turned out great didn't it!!!!!

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Good for you Solar glad to hear you and yours on on the water and the boat looks great that color sceme turned out great didn't it!!!!!

Yea, it looks even better in the water then on the trailer!

I will tell you one thing........we had so much fun, that one day made all the work and money worth it! The entire family is just thrilled with the resaults. Its was a little fight over who got to go out first but since my younger brother-in-law and my older brother both where my helpers on the project they got first dibs

 

[Blue2Green]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

and as far as carpet...I'd get rid of all of it...all it does is hold moisture and that is what creates the conditions to start rot...I had mine gelcoated after I installed the new deck and just kept the carpet on the gunnels so I didn't have to gelcoat the whole interior.....

How hard/expensive is it to have the interior gel coated. I am in the begining stages of a rebuiild on 1989 Four Winns Freedom 190 and am weighing all options. I do know I do not really want carpet in the boat again. What may be other options to consider.

 

[Blue2Green]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

She is a beautiful boat, I love the contrasting color.

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

She is a beautiful boat, I love the contrasting color.

Thanks very much the work was worth it in the end

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Well this project has finally had it last major step completed. Ripped out the 3.7l and parted it out, and with the profits from the parts, I was able to recoup the money I put in to the 3.7 and rebuild a 4.3 I got my hands on replacing and updating many of the parts, manifolds and hoses and such.

So I am sure that I will never be complete, I will find something to add or change I am sure but as it sits I'm pretty darn happy. I was able to complete everything I listed in my very first post on this thread.

Was even able to keep the seats white during the engine swap!

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

I removed my outdrive, it came off rather easy. I am not sure that it was in forward, but if it came off that easy then wouldn't it be in forward? How could you tell if it was w/o a shift lever? What can or will happen if it isn't?

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

That's a beauty solar, would like to have one of those sitting under the cover of my rebuild/repower.

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

I removed my outdrive, it came off rather easy. I am not sure that it was in forward, but if it came off that easy then wouldn't it be in forward? How could you tell if it was w/o a shift lever? What can or will happen if it isn't?

With out a shifter to tell if its in foward you just grab the end of the shift cable coming from the drive to the sihfter assembly mounted to the motor and pull the end out until it stops, if memory serves right... push all the way in and it shifts the drive into reverse and if placed between all the way out and all the way in it is in nutral. If the drive is not in foward it should not relase from the transom assembly and forcing it can cause damage.

once the drive is off, on the back side below the drive shaft there is a small lever a few inches long kind of shaped like an L, that is the shifter for the drive. If it is pointing out it is in foward, if its pointing to the side it is in reverse and Neutral is between the two at an angle.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Once again, nice work. Are you liking the extra power from the V6

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Once again, nice work. Are you liking the extra power from the V6

I am, it really seems to fit the size of the boat compared to the 3.7L. Its not a huge power increase but one big enough to make a differance, the only draw back is that the 4.3l is heavier so i didnt really gain a speed increase but contror is a lot better and the added weight shapes my wake better for boarding!

I have been watch your youtube vids on your last project....nice! Love that removable carpet! I Have the same wakeboard tower that you added to your boat. I removed it for the winter, I am going to build a custom top, speakers and board racks for it. I will most likly post the project in the wakeboard section. I saw you had your concerns with the tower design needing extra support to keep it from folding in on it self, i have put mine through a beating and its held strong so i am pretty confident that it wont fold under load.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Cool. I love my tower and we have put it through alot.

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

I was checking out your pics and the interior of your four wins looks almost exactly like my cobia ( the way the interior is set up) almost a mirror image .....

 

[solar7647]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

I was checking out your pics and the interior of your four wins looks almost exactly like my cobia ( the way the interior is set up) almost a mirror image .....

That's pretty funny, it won't for long. I am removing the real bench and passenger seat and making an L shaped bench. I need more seats, for the crew when wakeboarding.

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Looks good , run with it and see , nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1987 Four Winns 215 Sundowner Refit/Repower

Hey Solar I had watched that vid of your engine rebuild, I have to say I enjoyed that, our kids also laughed too. I showed it to my wife and she smiled and told me if I went Franky on her she was going to commit me, but she also said for gettin this boat she could as well lmao. I am in the midst of my engine tear down, but haven't found any issues with it as of yet, leave me alone MURPHY! But I hope that I will be back together and back out on the water after my refit, getting really cold out. I have done some cleaning out on my hull at the same time (removal of rot) and it's takin shape, at least it looks better than it did when we started this project a few months ago.