'77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower SPLASHED!

[legoman67]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Sweet! i like your little jack trick... very nice

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Thanks guys! I'm about to head over to the boatyard right now. I hope to get most of my cooling hose and wiring hookups done today. (with the usual 3-4 trips out to stores to get fittings and stuff)

 

[pmillar]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Sweet! i like your little jack trick... very nice

+1 Looks pretty darn functional to me.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

3 or 4 trips to the store....you are good! When I was doing my build I spent more time driving to the store than working, lol! The people at ACE hardware always gave me that "he's back for more stainless steel hardware" look every time I came in!

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Thanks guys! I'm about to head over to the boatyard right now. I hope to get most of my cooling hose and wiring hookups done today. (with the usual 3-4 trips out to stores to get fittings and stuff)

Awesome job!!

Can't wait to see the pic's of todays work.

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Sorry no pics today. It was all routine connecting hoses and stuff, which doesn't make for very interesting photos.

 

[Wall eye]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I can't wait for your next post and pics. I put my boat project on hold until I see your next pics.

 

[pete s]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Just found this thread. Very nice boat!! Love the diesel swap too. Most of all LOVE the jack trick, that one is stored in the brain for future use.

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Hi guys! Thanks for the interest in my project. Here's a couple little tidbits:

Yes I named her the Diesel Express. I almost named it the Diesel Avenger but then I couldn't imagine what heinous crime an old cabin cruiser could be avenging.

Put some decals near the fuel fillers:

Plumbing almost finished:

Please don't give me any crap about the plastic fittings. First of all they're glass-filled nylon which are almost as tough as bronze, plus I'll probably be revamping the plumbing within a year or two anyway. Finding all the fittings in the right types/sizes was one of the most difficult parts of the whole project. There are tight spaces so the choice of straight barb, street ell, or standard ells makes a difference.

I'm going to try to start it up using a garden hose for raw water cooling tomorrow. If so I'll post a video on Youtube for anyone who's interested.

I'm really looking forward to cleaning all the tools and supplies out of the cabin and cleaning it up. I want to put down some new carpeting and then she's pretty much ready for the water.

 

[Triton II]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

wow Luhrs, looking really good. Not long now...

TII

 

[sasto]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Ahhhh, diesel smoke is perfume to me! Is there anyway you can post a scratch and sniff when you get her fired up, Mr Luhrs?

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I was really trying to start it up yesterday but had to take 3 hours off for a Mother's Day thing. By 6:30pm it was ready to fire up but I was just too tired to go hassling with 100 feet of garden hose and bleeding the injectors. I plan to stop at the boatyard on my way home from work tonight though, and hopefully shoot a little video for you guys. Wish me luck.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

we will be here waiting for the video!

 

[sasto]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Wish me luck.

Good Luck!

 

[stackz]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

just curious, how much did you pay for the boat originally as-is?

edit: nevermind, found it on page 9. wow, 3k for the boat as-is? thats a stupid low price for that boat, even with the wrecked drivetrain. I probably wouldnt have gone the diesel route and just simply went with a gas setup that was more popular (read as more readily availabe) just to get it back in the water with the other obvious safety stuff fixed...and then slowly restored it as I went.

but man, I just love this thread and the way you are progressing with it. cant wait to see the rest of page 9 and 10 since I'm still reading lol!

oh yeah, how long did you look at boats before you popped on this one and what stood out (aside from price) about it that made you choose this one over others you had in mind?

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Stackz: I only looked at a few boats. I really just wanted one big enough to fit the GM diesel V8, and I also place a high value on having an enclosed head. I knew almost zero about boats until I bought the Luhrs last July. I'm still learning.

I may have suffered a setback. Last night I stopped on my way home from work, hooked up the garden hose and started cranking the engine to bleed the fuel system. I was doing cranks of about 15 seconds and then letting the starter cool down for a couple of minutes. I did this maybe 5-6 times, and then all of a sudden the starter solenoid would just click and the starter wouldn't turn. By then it was starting to get dark and I was super ticked off so I just turned on my battery charger and went home.

I can think of 3 possibilities:

- Weak cable connection somewhere (good.......easy to fix)
- I fried the batt selector switch (good.........easy to bypass for testing purposes)
- I fried the starter (very bad)

If I ruined my starter that's going to really suck, as it's on the bottom of the engine which means I'll need to lift the engine about 20" to change it. That's why I installed a brand-new starter to begin with, so I wouldn't have to do this.

Tonight after work I'm going to stop at the boatyard again, check all my cable connections and bypass the battery selector switch and see if it will crank.

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

 

[stackz]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

personally, I'd just grab one of the batteries and get by the starter as close as you can and hardwire it real quick to eliminate all the rest of the system and test the starter directly. also, you sure you didnt accidently discharge the batteries during your crank-a-thon?

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Yes I was thinking the same thing, maybe I discharged the batteries enough that they couldn't deliver the big amps needed to crank the engine. I left my marine automatic charger on it overnight so I'm going to give it another try on my way home today.

I also think it's real possible I barbequed the battery selector switch. The 6.2 diesel takes 2 batteries putting out a total of about 900-1000 amps to crank it, and I think my switch is only rated at 500-600A.

 

[QC]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I have nothing to contribute other than to ask if you know the proper way to "bleed" (prime) the fuel system. I don't on a 6.2, just wonder if you should be cracking lines etc. Good luck with the starter.

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

Re: '77 Luhrs 28 ft. diesel repower - just beginning

I can not wait to see this one in the water. I am very interested in how that large a boat performs with the 6.2 in it. I am rebuilding my 28' Bayliner Victoria and have been seriously thinking about making this same diesel swap. My only worry is my boat in a I/O and I am wondering how the gears in the out drive would work out with the Diesel power and RPM range.