New boat needed information

[Tmacular]

I just bought a new bass boat last weekend and I am trying to find out the information for the motor. The boat is a 78 Lowe Line and the motor is a 55hp Chrysler we think somewhere near year of boat. What exactly do I have to locate to find out the year and model for parts etc. Im really excited to have a new boat and can be back on the site with all your help!!

Thanks
Tony

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: New boat needed information

Look under the cowl for an identification plate.Post the #s you find there.J

 

[Tmacular]

Re: New boat needed information

Ok looked under the cowl and got this off the Chrysler plate:

Model # - 555HG
Serial # - 3231

Looking to find out everything i need to know for it. Guy I bought it from took great care of it, very clean throughout whole thing. I know it has new impeller, plugs, carb cleaning done professionally last year, newer LU oil. What is the Oil mix ratio? currently running 50:1, and any other useful knowledge!

Thanks again for the help

 

[fucawi]

Re: New boat needed information

1975 50 :1 is correct ..If its all been given a tune up all I would do is fit a tell tail so you can always be sure you have water ( fit small pipe to the plug hole in the top of the cylinder head) and then give it a run,,, Never run without water or you will bugger the water pump in 20 seconds

 

[Tmacular]

Re: New boat needed information

Ok cool, As far as testing it I feel there's no need at the moment. The motor runs beautiful. Bought it and the boat off a guy on craigslist for 1200. Came with all the bells and whistles. When i removed the engine cover, every hose, line, plug and wire was spotless. Garage kept its whole life and the man I bought it from was maybe in his 70's and an avid boater. Probably have spent 10-14 hours on the lake with it so far with zero issues. Im quite happy with the purchase.

So what about some other details, I have never owned a Chrysler.
Are parts easy to find?
Is it a gas hog? (havent noticed yet how much its sucking)
How dependable are they?

I have only owned a 59 evinrude for outboards and that one gave me problems.

Thanks again for the help!!!

 

[strtbobber]

Re: New boat needed information

As far as parts.......sorry, bad/good news. Parts are not everywhere, but you can get anything you need from franzmarine.com...........he's an awesome guy to deal with and he should have everything you should ever need. But, that's about the only place I know of. Part tend to be scarce.

I have run my 35 HP Chrysler for about 10 lake trips now, and I'm very happy with it. I think, by the sound of it, you have a good motor on your hands! Enjoy!!

Sorry, I can't help you on the "gas guzzling" part.......my Chrysler is the first outboard I've ever owned. So, I have nothing to compare it to. But,in half a day of tubing I use about 3 gallons of gas. Hope this helps!

 

[fucawi]

Re: New boat needed information

As to gas they always say every boat outboard has a sweet spot for economy and speed ....usually a bigger motor run at 2/3 throttle will be quieter and more economical than one run flat out . an outboard is like a woman ..it is how it is .

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: New boat needed information

If it is the single carb model: Back in the day, those were sweet running engines. My 55 on a 15 foot runabout would outrun the 3 cylinder Evinrude 50s. "Course, that was old technology and you can't expect that today. If it is the dual carb model, you can expect to keep up with anything in its class today. They were fabulously designed.

I have taken it on long trips and at cruise of about 20 MPH (versus 27 MPH top speed) I could go 2 hours on a 6 gallon tank. Full throttle for water-skiing would use significantly more but I never measured it. Suffice to say that if you intend to ski, wakeboard, or tube, you will want to carry at least 12 gallons.

On a small hull, it will pull out an average sized skier on two skis, but slalom on a single or pulling up a 250 pounder will be marginal--It just doesn't have the acceleration.

Again, if it is single carbureter, if you need to re-prop, any of the early Force 10 3/8 diameter, pin drive props will fit.

Dependable? I still have my 1967. Yes, it has had work done on it but it is still the same block, midleg, and lower unit. I piloted from Long Island Sound and circumnavigated Manhattan Island with it for a total running time of 8 hours straight. I ran it up to Canada and back for 8 days straight at about 5 hours cruising time per day.

 

[Tmacular]

Re: New boat needed information

Thank you for all the information above. That helps a lot. Im not sure what carb count it is but that I will look into. It seems to run excellent at both full throttle and half or so. I personally run it at about 80% most of the time just because its still new to me. What i have learned through my boating years is never full throttle. Hard to say for a 25 year old .

The hull I run it on is a 16 foot welded aluminum lowe. My top speed kicks at about 40-42 depending on load. Usually run about 30-35. I just fish on it mostly, havent tried tubing or skiing yet. (we have a sea doo jetboat for that haha)

Frank: thanks for the prop info, mine does have some dings and cuts in it and I was going to have it repaired but now I can find a new one. Are 4 blade props recommended on these, or do they exist for it.
I also do some LI boating, mostly in the GSB. my father lives on LI and im originally from there as well. Great times!!!

bobber: Thanks for the tips on parts, when I need something I will definitely check out that site! And also for your rough gas mileage!

Thanks again for the help, Ill have to see this saturday (fishing tournament) what I use for gas versus travel mileage. Might be able to get an idea for some others wondering.

I dont have much knowledge about boat motors, and if not for this site I would be lost. I really appreciate all help! Heres a few pics I have:

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: New boat needed information

That is the single carb model. Yours has magneto ignition and no alternator so you must recharge the starting battery at the end of the day (depending upon how often you start it). You can wrap a rope around the flywheel and pull start it if the battery goes dead on you. It is a relatively trouble-free engine and 42 MPH on that light, flat-bottom tin boat is quite respectable.

I used a 10 3/8 diameter X 13 pitch bronze prop on mine and at times I used a 10 1/2 X 14 two blade racing prop. Both would turn 5500 rpm on my 15 foot deep vee Glastron. If you don't have a tachometer, you may want to consider getting one and optimizing your prop for your hull. If your current prop is letting the engine turn more than 5500 RPM at full throttle, you may be able to get even more speed out of it and in the bargain, get slightly better fuel economy with a higher pitched prop.

I don't know if 4 blade props are made for these engines and I don't think you would need one anyway--with the speeds you are attaining I can't see any advantage.

I used to occasionally launch in Mamaronek down by the old Glenn Island Casino and cruise past La Guardia, through Hells Gate, and around Manhattan. I bought my Glastron from a marina on City Island, brand new in 1971. I paid 600 bucks for my 55 as a new left-over model.

 

[Tmacular]

Re: New boat needed information

That is the single carb model. Yours has magneto ignition and no alternator so you must recharge the starting battery at the end of the day (depending upon how often you start it). You can wrap a rope around the flywheel and pull start it if the battery goes dead on you. It is a relatively trouble-free engine and 42 MPH on that light, flat-bottom tin boat is quite respectable.


Ok so thats where you lost me. By starting battery you mean my main marine battery correct? If thats the case it prolly needs one soon because i ran a spotlight last night spearing for about 4 hours on that battery, and usually start and stop the boat 5-10 times a day when fishing and moving around. So there is nothing on the motor that keeps a charge to the battery then. So far I have not needed to charge it but maybe for this saturday in the fishing tournament I should juice it up.

Thanks Frank for your help!

 

[Tmacular]

Re: New boat needed information

I used a 10 3/8 diameter X 13 pitch bronze prop on mine and at times I used a 10 1/2 X 14 two blade racing prop. Both would turn 5500 rpm on my 15 foot deep vee Glastron. If you don't have a tachometer, you may want to consider getting one and optimizing your prop for your hull. If your current prop is letting the engine turn more than 5500 RPM at full throttle, you may be able to get even more speed out of it and in the bargain, get slightly better fuel economy with a higher pitched prop.

Ok awesome that I will look into, my prop has some dings and chips throughout it, but the boat is so new I cant tell if its slipping a bit or not. As for the Tach I dont have one, relatively easy to put on and cheap? I would like to set up a whole dashboard but currently only have lights and key on it.