Let me start by saying that I am already 10 months into this project, so it is going to take several posts to get you all caught up to where I am today, so bear with me.
The backstory:
A friend of mine was going through a divorce and had an old boat to get rid of. When his ex-wife heard that I was looking for a small trailer, she said I could have his if I took the junk boat that was on it. Turns out he was cool with that. I went to get it and "small" being relative, I accepted the junk anyway just to help out. I figured I could make use of it or sell it at some point. So I towed it home.
It was already apart to repair the rotten floor, but had been sitting outside uncapped for 5 years. The engine was in the garage along with the windows, rails, and interior parts. But, having no real interest, I had my son help me flip the cap and load it in the hull. That's what we hauled to my place.
That was 11 years ago. I returned a year later to retrieve the engine, windshields, rub rail, bow rails, and a few odds and ends. Not knowing what I was looking at, I left the entire interior at that garage like a dope.
iBoats.com voted on the Splash of the Year for 2021 and guess who was chosen?!!!
I am blown away that a national forum of that caliber would recognize my efforts. It was not an easy win, as it had to go to a tie-breaker. There were several other worthy restorations that splashed in 2021 and they were all VERY well done.
They award a "Traveling plaque" of all the winners so far, and a personal plaque for me to keep and to cherish.
What a nice way to cap off such a crazy project. I had some doubters, but they were far outnumbers by those who supported and encouraged me. Many thanks to all of you.
I finally got out for another test run and was blessed with fantastic weather.
Getting it running right is the final step in this complete restoration.
The '93 1750 ran the best ever, so far. 3.0L OMC. 19P x 14.5 aluminum, topped out at 3K rpm and gave me 35 mph. There's room for improvement.
I have a 17P I can try next, but mainly I was pleased that the engine was responsive.
A lot of replacement parts now days are of inferior quality.Cheap Chinese crap.
I've been having trouble setting the ignition timing on this engine. During the test run in the rain, it would only get to 2,300 rpm even though it should do twice that. I guess you could say it was running half fast.
Last weekend I ran a smaller prop, yet it still topped out at 2,300...until the engine cut off in the middle of the lake. Another boater towed us in.
I dwelled (timing pun intended) on it awhile and deduced that the culprit was most likely the ignition module. All symptoms pointed to that.
History: during the build, I replaced every bit of electronics as a precaution. Most were OEM, but for some reason I went cheap on the module. MISTAKE. Lesson learned.
I just put the original old module in and it cranked right up! Revved aggressively!
I set timing with the shunt tool, and for the first time ever, it worked as it should. I plugged it in, set "base timing", removed the shunt and it seems right, now.
Can't wait for the next test run!
Stupid Chinese parts caused me allot of grief!
I'll order a spare, but it will be OEM quality.
I recently added up my expenditures on this project. I counted materials that could only be used on this project, special tools that I doubt I will ever use on another boat, parts, and consumables.
Consumables are items like brushes, solvents, gloves, tyvek suit, etc.
I did not include parts that I ordered wrong (and plan to resell), excess quantities that can be used on other projects, nor service parts that I bought for stock.
I did include the stereo and the addition of disc trailer brakes. Those two things were not technically necessary to get the boat going. Combined, they are around $500.00
Not counting my time, of course, the "all-in" figure (rounded up slightly) is.... $6,500.
My whole family having fun together.... priceless.
Third outing. Trailering, launch and retrieval were blunder-free this time.
Took the whole family out today. It ran pretty well.
We played for awhile before it quit. Just like the second trip, it wouldn't get above 2,300 rpm even with the 17P prop. Timing? Chinese module?
Tried a couple things to get back underway, but it was too hot to sit out there today, so we got a tow from a kind fellow ski boater. Salute!
The 50A breaker at the engine tripped and we lost gauges and all. It wouldn't reset within a few minutes, so I bypassed it.
The engine cranked and tried, but then just cranked. Getting fuel.
I had tools, a meter, a timing light... but the humans I brought were overheating, so I made that my priority.
I will go through it systematically until I prevail.
I'll keep working the bugs out, because it's starting to get fun.
Indeed, this was the milestone that marks the end of the build. There is more I want to do, but that is all fluff and accessories.
I need to update my cost sheets, but I am still near the 5K original estimate on parts, materials and consumables. I originally said one year, but after a few months it was becoming clear that my family life was on hold, and that was never the plan. There was a point where I made a conscious decision to limit my boat time to keep my family first.
That pushed it out to two years, but I have no regrets. If I'd kept going like I was, they would all have resented the boat. Glad that never happened.
The first time out, the boat would not get on plane. I did a lot of work on it since then, and this was the 2nd attempt.
This was also the first time I ever launched it by myself. There was a storm building up very quickly, which added to the excitement.
I took off, and headed east. About a minute later, I made a turn to head back and could see the wall of rain already on the lake. At that point, I realized I wouldn't make it back to the ramp before slamming into it, so I did what anyone would do; get some more video. Haha.
I made a few noob mistakes, but thankfully, I didn't break anything. So much to keep track of, and I'm learning quickly.
I resealed the block using JB Weld, but this time I did a much better job of prepping the surface. I think that's where I went wrong. I figure it's worth a shot. Maybe it will at least get me through the season.
If you've watched the First Splash video, you'll recall that the boat wouldn't take throttle well enough to plane out.
Since then, I've gone through every possibility (there were several) and am eliminating them one by one.
Slight intake leak, due to a port mismatch, fixed with a different gasket.
Eliminated the exhaust flapper. I found out that Volvo Penta issued a tech bulletin saying to delete them. They are ineffective, and cause serious problems if they fail and fall into the lower unit.
Then, I installed a fuel test port.
Well, this Sunday was the breakthrough! I finally got to test fuel pressure and found that there is nearly zero.
Should be 5.75 to 7.0 psi at idle, but it barely moved the gauge off of the pin.
I tested the gauge on the trailer tire and it showed over 30 psi, so I know the gauge is working.
I bypassed the anti-syphon valve at the tank and got the same result.
I ordered this unbranded pump so long ago that I doubt I can return it.
This time around I shopped by brand instead of lowest price and decided on a Carter pump. I should have it by the weekend.
The axle beam is rebuilt and repainted. The offset spindles forced me to rotate the brake flanges a bit, but disc brakes don't care. As long as they're at noon or rearward.
Brakes are installed. The axle is back in place and wheels are on.
The surge coupler is next. I thought all I had to do was drill the plug welds out of the existing coupler to remove it. I was being overly optimistic.
The original coupler was welded on eight ways from Sunday. Ridiculous is an understatement! I hope that company is out of business. They deserve to be. Took me hours to cut that thing off. It should've been bolted.
Here is the abbreviated process:
Drill the plug welds as close to the center of where I think the holes were.
Cut the welds that wrapped all the way around the back and along both sides.
Wedge a chisel under to figure out what is still attached. Beat, bang and repeat.
FINALLY!!!
Smoothed off and painted.
New surge coupler in place.
All done now, except for attaching the hoses and bleeding the system.
I stumbled across YouTube videos about anti-syphon valves failing. I have one on my tank and don't need it because the tank is the lowest point in the system. They say it can cause a restriction that affects the top end.
That may have been part or all of my problem when I tried to get up on plane and it would starve and almost die.
I will probably replace mine with a normal barbed fitting.
I finally got all the tidbits to add a fuel pressure test port so I can connect my gauge properly.
This weekend I worked on the trailer. Got the axle out and the old stub shafts (spindles) cut off. The tube is cleaned up and I am ready to weld the new ones on.
I upgraded to EZ Lube spindles with brake flanges already installed. the only feature they lacked was the D washer, so I modded them to accept those. I feel like if I had those to begin with, I wouldn't have destroyed a bearing because it would've kept the preload I set instead of the cotter pin letting it tighten a bit more. I think that's what made it fail.
I'll go ahead and set up the brakes while the axle is out. Much easier that way.
Here's a pic of the spindle after the hub ate into it and we took a grinder to it to get another hub on.
I had to use one of my new rotors to get it home. Glad I had it. I'll find a way to carry a spare loaded hub from now on, just in case.
Comparing old vs new
Mississippi Loc-tite
Cutting, and torching and grinding and chiselling...
..but eventually, the old spindles are off.
D-ring modded by machining a flat on the side opposite the cotter hole. The cotter hole is offset because of the grease passage down the center.
Ran out of daylight and ambition, but had to mock it up for a photo.
ABSOULTELY AWESOME !!!!
First time in the water!
nice! finally getting her on the water!
I get it running well on a hose direct to the engine, and then I decided it was time to install the water pump and test the whole circuit.
Well, that plan failed. Water was not flowing from the pickup to the pump. I realized I must've gotten the water tube out of place when I joined the upper and lower cases.
Unfortunately, that meant removing the drive and separating it again.
My suspicions were right regarding the water passage problem; The tube that connects the top and bottom sections was discombobulated and the seals were out of place.
I think I went wrong by joining the two while they were lying on their side. You're supposed to have a stand to hold the lower unit upright as you join them. I do now!
I was able to repair the tube.
I just happened to have another set of the gaskets and seals that I needed. What a blessing!
It was also a good opportunity to replace an o-ring on the shift lever that I was not aware of during the overhaul.
It's back together and tested. All worked perfectly this time!
I ran water from the top down, and from the bottom up before reinstalling the drive.
I should be able to button things up, do some cleaning and be ready to launch this coming weekend. 😉
I bought an adjustable spark tester on my way home last evening and it showed me that I have GREAT spark from the ignition all the way to the ends of the wires. I tried to start it, but still no joy.
I pulled the plugs, and they are carbon-fouled. They still spark, but the spark jumps around or is not between the electrodes as it should be.
I thought about cleaning them, but I decided to buy four new ones.
Then, while changing the plugs, I spotted the problem with the engine. I had the firing order backward. And it RAN THAT WAY as long as it backfired while starting to make it rotate the other direction.
Crazy, huh?
I put it right and it fires right up, now.
I had a list of stuff to get done so that I can launch this past weekend. That started out well, but went off the rails. I ended up working on it through the week to meet that goal.
I refinished the used prop that I bought, to start off with. The prop itself is in great shape, but the finish was bubbling off.
I thought I had bought satin black, but ended up with satin dark walnut. This sort of thing happens to me often because I am visually impaired. I just go with it most of the time. This was no exception.
Well, it turned out to be a pretty good color. Different, if nothing else.
I installed it with a shiny new nut, keeper and cotter pin. Bought a spare nut kit to keep in the boat as well.
I made an hour meter bracket to mount on the engine. I still need to get grommets and proper bolts to isolate it from vibration.
I still had the garden hose rig on the water inlet to the engine, so I used that to fill and run the engine. I have not yet installed the impeller, so there is no way that I can burn that up. Once I get the engine running like I want, I will install the new pump (it goes in from the back on Cobra.) and be ready to launch. I will have to test run it on muffs from then on, but for now I taking advantage of the situation.
I was trying to adjust the idle mixture with a vacuum gauge, but it was not responding like it should. Especially on one side of the 2 barrel Holley. It was dribbling fuel a bit after I stopped cranking the engine.
As I continued, it ran worse and worse; backfiring and not taking throttle. Long story short, I did not have enough gas on the tank for the pitch that the boat was on to get the outdrive straight. I quit for the night and wet to the gas station with two 5 gallon cans.
I only had a little bit of time Sunday evening, but I was sure it would run once it had gas. Wrong. It was now POURING fuel into the engine on the port side. I questioned the float height and needle. I tried adjusting the height but it was not helping.
I decided to remove the bowl and set it properly again. As I removed the bowl, something fell into the bilge. Sounded like a screw. I felt around and found one of the main jets. It had unscrewed itself completely! The other side was almost out as well.
I guess I forgot to tighten them. I may have snugged them, gone after a proper sized screwdriver, and got side-tracked. Shrug.
But I was thrilled to have found "the problem". Wrong. Put it all back and it still won't start. Just a backfire or pop here and there. As I played with timing I could get it to pop through the exhaust or the intake; my choice.
I pulled a plug and checked spark. Had my son watch it as I cranked. He said it was white, not blue. Tried a shiny new plug, and he couldn't see anything. I suspect a weak white spark is hard to see in the sunlight on a shiny new plug. Nonetheless, it was not blue. I ruled out plugs.
I still had some corrosion on the connectors that plug into the coil, so I cleaned those really well. Voltage there was slightly low; I had the charger connected at the time and system voltage was 13v but I was only getting 12v at the coil and distributor. Even so, that should be enough.
To be continued...
I put gas in the tank. So far so good.
Looking Good! These ski boats are easier to load and unload than a 16’ aluminum boat in my opinion. Just don’t forget the plug lol!