Mad Max

Status
Not open for further replies.

CheckFire

Cadet
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
27
I'm in it now , On monday I left work early to go look at a boat in a repo yard.
They had listed an 18' Wellcraft for a good price. Now it was not the boat I wanted
but with spring coming up I was getting desperate. We pulled into the lot as the new
owner was hooking onto her. This was after a 1hr drive in rush hour traffic.

I left the lot feeling a little down , but not for long. We passed a BayLiner 27 sunbridge.
Well the truck stopped on its own and would not go any further. Taking the hint I walked
into the shop the boat was at and asked , yes it was for sale and make an offer. Well
my offer was not to his liking and the truck decided it was time to go.

I got home now feeling like I would never get another boat and started doing what I do
most evenings. That is until I looked at the Seattle Craigslist. I found her , she was a little
bigger and a little wider than what I was normally looking at (no this was not in the personals section).

There was a 1974 32' Fairliner , the information in the ad was limited but enough to peek my interest.
I called the number and asked all kinds of questions and got a good feeling.

At this point I should let you know that I live in the Abbotsford , British Columbia. And I can not
cross the border. But I did not let this stop me. I was able to talk
a friend into going for a short drive , well ok a long drive and have a look at the boat. Now to be fair
we were going to go partners on a boat. As part of the condition that he would go for the drive
is that I had to spring for his wife's dinner at Red Lobster , I figured good deal how much could
one lady really eat. (I now know how much one lady can eat, will never do that again).

Some how the boat checked out , price was agreed on and paid. Title is on its way.
When my friend returned and told me how things worked out , The original owner
lived aboard her for a number of years , something happened and the boat ended up
in an auction. Person we bought it from paid 1500 for it just so he could get the hardtop
cover and canvas sides for his boat (also a 32'). We paid much less than that.

Inside was in almost new condition , stove/oven looked like it was never used , newer fridge
that was spotless. And yes it still has the original gold shag carpet , but with our any wear or
stains of any kind. The seats look like new. It was in a to good to be true condition for its age.

So now I am the half owner of a 1974 Fairline 32' that needs two 318 engines. Oh did I forget
to mention that part :) . I knew about them from my phone call.

So after putting many readers to sleep , I would like to introduce MAD MAX to every one.100_3559.jpg100_3562.jpg100_3570.jpg100_3530.jpg100_3531.jpg

So does any one know of a couple of real cheap 318's and a cheap mechanic.
 

CheckFire

Cadet
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
27
Re: Mad Max

Crap Just ran into my first few problems .
The engines are not 318's like I was told , after having a mechanic look at the
engines he tells me they are Ford 302's , So I look at the pictures I have and sure
enough the engines are Fords.:facepalm:
Then he gave me a price to get the engines running , get ready for this , ready - 16k
not for both , that is each.
But he did tell me I could drop in a couple of Chev 350's and they will both rite up.

I need a new mechanic.
What he was asked was how much to remove the engines so I could get them home to
rebuild them. I think I am still in shock.
Unless I can find a mechanic in the Everett , Wa area I will need to get the boat moved
closer to home. So much for my idea of sailing it up the Fraser river and having it pulled out
so the restore/refit could begin.
 
Last edited:

Rollinunknown

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 3, 2010
Messages
105
Re: Mad Max

I dont know about to much in how you can get them out of that rig but heck man ive built many small block fords from stock rebuilds to 630hp single turbos for our play toys.

I dont know how in the world they come up with 16k each that's a joke ... you can rebuild them for under 2k and that's droping them off at a machine shop for them to do the rebuilding and that's even high.
Ford 302's are a dime a dozen .i wish u lived next to me that would be an easy gig for sure ..


Good luck nice boat but for 16k for the mechanic to build 1 motor i would have laughed and walked away ...

Why do they need to be replaced ?

Its a toss up the ford 302's are cheap to build and so are the Small block chevy 350's
 

CheckFire

Cadet
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
27
Re: Mad Max

I have decided to have it moved to a storage lot near my home.
With some luck the move will be less than a thousand.

The reasons the engines need to be redone is one was pulled apart
and no one knows why is was pulled apart. The second one I am not
sure about but the carb was pulled from it.

One thing I am worried about is that one engine may be counter rotating
and with only having the pictures to look at I cant tell. so having it closer
will help.

At the same time I can change to color of the upholstery and install hardwood
floors in the cabin.
 

chevymaher

Commander
Joined
Mar 29, 2017
Messages
2,915
EEEEEE wrong question thread dormant for 8 years. Here comes the mod to close it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top