Re: '76 Formula 233 project: Fuel tank is out!
I hate you :mrgreen:
:goodjob That WAS super fast job.
I hate you :mrgreen:
:goodjob That WAS super fast job.
'76 Formula 233 project: De-powered
- Thread starter gw204
- Start date
Re: '76 Formula 233 project: Fuel tank is out!
Looks like I'm moving forward with the bracket conversion for sure now. Stumbled across a '95 Johnson 225 w/ a bad cylinder earlier this week and after exchanging a few email with Dave Mackey on ClassicMako, I picked it up last night for $300.
It appears to have suffered from the piston ring pin letting loose like Dave has talked about in the past. I coudn't get a super good look at the cylinder walls, but from the looks of the head, it was caught pretty early.
Since I got it so cheap, I'm going to take a crack at rebuilding it myself.
I also acquired a new fuel tank from Four Sons Marine in NC. A buddy of mine grabbed that for me last weekend when he picked up his Mako 285. It's a smaller than the original at 81 gallons, but for $100 I couldn't pass it up. This one has a flat bottom so I'll need to build some tank supports into the current fuel compartment, but that's not a big deal. The primer that's currently on it will be stripped off and it will be etched and painted with Interprotect before installation.
Looks like I'm moving forward with the bracket conversion for sure now. Stumbled across a '95 Johnson 225 w/ a bad cylinder earlier this week and after exchanging a few email with Dave Mackey on ClassicMako, I picked it up last night for $300.
It appears to have suffered from the piston ring pin letting loose like Dave has talked about in the past. I coudn't get a super good look at the cylinder walls, but from the looks of the head, it was caught pretty early.
Since I got it so cheap, I'm going to take a crack at rebuilding it myself.
I also acquired a new fuel tank from Four Sons Marine in NC. A buddy of mine grabbed that for me last weekend when he picked up his Mako 285. It's a smaller than the original at 81 gallons, but for $100 I couldn't pass it up. This one has a flat bottom so I'll need to build some tank supports into the current fuel compartment, but that's not a big deal. The primer that's currently on it will be stripped off and it will be etched and painted with Interprotect before installation.
Re: '76 Formula 233 project: "new" motor and fuel tank
Took a deposit on the old 140 Mercruisers last weekend.
So, I started prepping them to come out of the boat. Removed all of the gauges, disconnected and removed the wiring harnesses and pulled the outdrives. My service manual says that the engines need to slide forward about 6" in order to disengage the drive shafts. Didn't have the clearance for that so removing the drives was my other option. Both came off pretty easily.
The control cables will come out after I use them to get a pull cord through the rigging channel. I don't think it's an actual tube, just a channel through the foam under the deck.
Took a deposit on the old 140 Mercruisers last weekend.
So, I started prepping them to come out of the boat. Removed all of the gauges, disconnected and removed the wiring harnesses and pulled the outdrives. My service manual says that the engines need to slide forward about 6" in order to disengage the drive shafts. Didn't have the clearance for that so removing the drives was my other option. Both came off pretty easily.The control cables will come out after I use them to get a pull cord through the rigging channel. I don't think it's an actual tube, just a channel through the foam under the deck.
Re: '76 Formula 233 project: "new" motor and fuel tank
Because of the amount of lift needed to get the engines to clear the transom, the engine hoist I normally borrow wasn't going to work. So, I ended up copying a method I've seen used here and on ClassicSeaCraft. On Veteran's Day I secured some 4x4 posts to two pine trees in my yard by wrapping a 1/2" threaded rod around each tree, passing it through some holes drilled in the posts and bolting them in place. Then I bolted two 10' 2x10s together and rested them on top of the 4x4s. To ensure the 2x10s wouldn't flop over, I locked them in placy with a few braces screwed to the 4x4s. This contraption then supported a 1/2-ton chain fall I had borrowed from a friend of my father.
Got a late start on Saturday for pulling the motors. The wife and I had gone out for her B-Day the night before, so we had to go pick up the kids from grandma's house...and I had to kick a nasty headache.
After manuevering the boat in place, I attached the chain fall to the 2x10s and to one of the engines, hoisted the engine up, moved the boat out, backed the buyers truck in, dropped the engine right in the bed and pulled the truck out. I didn't take any pics because I had to keep a close eye on my son w/ the engines hanging 10' off the ground. Then I just repeated the process for the second engine.
Two hours later, I got a good look at how nasy the bilge was...
Yesterday, I continued the de-powering process by pulling out everything else. Trim pumps, transom plates, power steering assebly, drive bell housings, etc. Most everything came out very easily. Out of the 6 bolts that held each drive bell housing on, I think 2 or 3 broke on each.
Once all that crap was out of the way, I went ahead an powerwashed the bilge to remove a 1/4" of oily, dirty mess.
Next step is to start cutting out rotten stuff to make way for a new transom.
Because of the amount of lift needed to get the engines to clear the transom, the engine hoist I normally borrow wasn't going to work. So, I ended up copying a method I've seen used here and on ClassicSeaCraft. On Veteran's Day I secured some 4x4 posts to two pine trees in my yard by wrapping a 1/2" threaded rod around each tree, passing it through some holes drilled in the posts and bolting them in place. Then I bolted two 10' 2x10s together and rested them on top of the 4x4s. To ensure the 2x10s wouldn't flop over, I locked them in placy with a few braces screwed to the 4x4s. This contraption then supported a 1/2-ton chain fall I had borrowed from a friend of my father.
Got a late start on Saturday for pulling the motors. The wife and I had gone out for her B-Day the night before, so we had to go pick up the kids from grandma's house...and I had to kick a nasty headache.
After manuevering the boat in place, I attached the chain fall to the 2x10s and to one of the engines, hoisted the engine up, moved the boat out, backed the buyers truck in, dropped the engine right in the bed and pulled the truck out. I didn't take any pics because I had to keep a close eye on my son w/ the engines hanging 10' off the ground. Then I just repeated the process for the second engine.
Two hours later, I got a good look at how nasy the bilge was...
Yesterday, I continued the de-powering process by pulling out everything else. Trim pumps, transom plates, power steering assebly, drive bell housings, etc. Most everything came out very easily. Out of the 6 bolts that held each drive bell housing on, I think 2 or 3 broke on each.
Once all that crap was out of the way, I went ahead an powerwashed the bilge to remove a 1/4" of oily, dirty mess.
Next step is to start cutting out rotten stuff to make way for a new transom.
Yes. I'll grab some shots by this weekend at the latest, but your boat will be different due to the single v8.
In a nutshell, the plate that mounts to the inside of the transom serves as the rear mounts. It has two arms that extent out to meet the mounts on the flywheel cover (that's probably not the proper term). Things may be similar for your 454 here. The pic below shows the arms (they have the brown fiber washers on them).
For the front, there is a shelf about 6" wide at the front of the engine compartment. This shelf almost spans the width of the comparment. The 3.0s had a single front mount that was the shape of a wishbone that rested on top of the shelf. One bolt in the center by the water pump pulley, two lag bolts into the shelf.
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In a nutshell, the plate that mounts to the inside of the transom serves as the rear mounts. It has two arms that extent out to meet the mounts on the flywheel cover (that's probably not the proper term). Things may be similar for your 454 here. The pic below shows the arms (they have the brown fiber washers on them).
For the front, there is a shelf about 6" wide at the front of the engine compartment. This shelf almost spans the width of the comparment. The 3.0s had a single front mount that was the shape of a wishbone that rested on top of the shelf. One bolt in the center by the water pump pulley, two lag bolts into the shelf.
Fighting the urge to dump the project. Feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to do on the Mako, all the remodeling my wife wants done in the house, all the work needed in the yard, etc...
Don't dump...put it on the back burner and finish one project at a time....otherwise, the shoulda, coulda, woulda's will come back to haunt you later down the road.
gw204 said:Fighting the urge to dump the project. Feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to do on the Mako, all the remodeling my wife wants done in the house, all the work needed in the yard, etc...
Don't you dare. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
When you finish her you will realize that what you saying now was a BIG mistake. The F233 is very under rated model, you will never regret having one.
FWIW, i already start looking for a center console to have it in the waiting list after I'm done with the one I'm doing now.
gw204 said:Fighting the urge to dump the project. Feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to do on the Mako, all the remodeling my wife wants done in the house, all the work needed in the yard, etc...
I don't know how anyone has 2 project boats going at the same time. It's a matter of time and money. I'd sell one of them and use the money to finish the other. That might relieve some of the stress
Bill_N said:gw204 said:Fighting the urge to dump the project. Feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to do on the Mako, all the remodeling my wife wants done in the house, all the work needed in the yard, etc...
I don't know how anyone has 2 project boats going at the same time. It's a matter of time and money. I'd sell one of them and use the money to finish the other. That might relieve some of the stress
What if you really, reeeally, reeeeeeeally like both boats? What i would/will do is finish all the "honey do" projects, this serves in two good ways, get the wife out of the way and very, very happy and also gives you/me time to take a breather/break from the re-built and start fresh(and with no more money) to work on the boats again completing the "dream". A little yard work once in a while is also some stress reliever.
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS said:Bill_N said:gw204 said:Fighting the urge to dump the project. Feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to do on the Mako, all the remodeling my wife wants done in the house, all the work needed in the yard, etc...
I don't know how anyone has 2 project boats going at the same time. It's a matter of time and money. I'd sell one of them and use the money to finish the other. That might relieve some of the stress
What if you really, reeeally, reeeeeeeally like both boats? What i would/will do is finish all the "honey do" projects, this serves in two good ways, get the wife out of the way and very, very happy and also gives you/me time to take a breather/break from the re-built and start fresh(and with no more money) to work on the boats again completing the "dream". A little yard work once in a while is also some stress reliever.
Brian will have to figure out how much he likes both boats. From my perspective it's not that hard to find another 17 Mako to rebuild. A 233 Formula might be a little harder.
I've never been able to finish all my wife's projects - she's always got another idea as soon as I finish whatever I'm working on
Keeping them both...
Had the tarp off the Formula this weekend because the wind tore it all up. D@mn sexy hull that is...
Had the tarp off the Formula this weekend because the wind tore it all up. D@mn sexy hull that is...
.gw204 said:Keeping them both...
Had the tarp off the Formula this weekend because the wind tore it all up. D@mn sexy hull that is...
Yeah baby
raise raise raiseNOTHING ELSE MATTERS said:
Ask and ye' shall receive...
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale- ... -hull.html
Man, oh man. Thanks Brian, it looks like is sold but i left him a message anyway, you never know.