How bout a spy photo of CMtaylors new led speaker rings??
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How bout a spy photo of CMtaylors new led speaker rings??
Looks like the secret offsite location (my buddies car repair shop) is unsecure - these spy photos of the engine clean up project just released.
Aftermarket bolt-ons are a pain. The intake wasn't made for a wedge - had to switch to studs and enlarge the holes in the spacer and carb. The throttle bracket wouldn't clear extra bosses on the manifold - had to clearance the bracket a bit to mount and I'll have to change the angle of the throttle clamp bracket. The aluminum engine water pump outlet is interfering with the raw water pump bracket - gotta break out the grinder/cutting wheel on that now too. I'm sure there will be more tweaking required along the way...
Mostly done except for plumbing and wiring. Hope to install next week.
Lookin Good! Sybr. What is the make and model of the intake manifold?
Looking good!
Tall intake setup... That gonna fit under the doghouse or did you raise that a little?
Looks great! You one-up'd me on polished intake. Let us know how that works out! Send pics after you get the motor back in the boat - Beautiful!!
Advertised as a ProComp Performer Air Gap. Got it off of CL for $100 - "used" but never installed. Didn't know it was polished till I went to pick it up - bonus! Yeah, it's a little taller but only brings the top of the spark arrestor up about level with the top of the risers so the original height should be close. Once the engine is installed, I'll make the new doghouse base tall enough for clearance at the top.
Associated headaches so far - got a square bore carb wedge from a friend's old blown v-drive hydroplane & had to modify to fit and cut studs to mount, had to reshape the throttle bracket to clear some bosses on the intake, and required longer intake bolts. Also, will have to change the angle of the throttle cable clamp, find/make a longer coolant J-hose to run from water pump to intake (after I clearance the raw water pump bracket to clear the outlet of the new engine water pump), and the fuel line may be an issue.
And the family keeps asking why it's taking so long to finish this boat project???
Way nice engine..and great spy photos. lol
Crap dude you're setting the bar high. Should make for some interesting craftsmanship to compete with that bad boy. :D
And come'on, really? That's the shot you send? That's just wrong!!!! I need more than a 4 foot span, it's like prom night all over again. Barely a taste, and then I'm sent packin.
A question: Are you not worried about the lack of blow-by vents with the new valve covers? You only have on blow by vent now for one bank of cylinders. With these old 454s I would think needing to have both blow-by vents operational would be helpful in performance and life.
I always figured the pressure was pretty equal under each valve cover on a pushrod V8 since it's an open path between the two through the lifter valley, so no big thang. However if more experienced gearheads think otherwise, I can always replace the fill plug with the orignial vent tube up to the spark arrestor. No problem to pull either one once a year for oil fill.
I'll check with my mechanic next time I'm over working on the engine at his place.
If that's a PCV you're running (which I recommend, helps to keep the crankcase clean), you should run a breather on the other side. A good sealing engine (rings) will pull vacuum out the opposite valve cover from the PCV. You should have this connected to open air so you get fresh air flowing through the crankcase.
Originally, the valve covers had a total of four holes - one fill plug each, one PCV valve with hose run to carb base, and one open hose ran up to a bracket at the spark arrestor screen. Can't I just run the the PCV-to-carb and hose to spark arrestor and fill from either when needed?
Yes, that is a good way to set it up and will keep any blowby at WOT from making a mess of your valve covers, since it will be sucked through the air cleaner and burned.
Well, I got the valve cover vent hoses properly routed (thanks, cad), and a piece of 5/8 water hose with a molded 90 to reach from the new water pump to elevated intake. But no luck with a longer J-hose - gonna have to cut & splice. I found a muffler shop that thinks they have some 1-3/4" s/s pipe laying around somewhere & they'll cut me a section for a few bucks once they find it. My ebay special Pertronix electronic distributor showed up without a rotor (no wonder it was so cheap). Seller was non-responsive, but local auto parts store was able to match it up to an early 90's chevy truck.
Finally started on the wiring. The gauges were pretty easy since they're out of a 05 Outback & had part of a harness still attached. I'll just cut & splice on the back side of the harness connectors so the new gauge and speedo panels will pull out by just unplugging a few connectors each. The switch panel was a little more challenging. I'm adding "stuff", so had to start from scratch there. Lots of jumpers, but able to reuse a 9 pin connector from the gauge harness - so I'll have the 9 pin and spades for the 12v and ground to disconnect to make the panel plug & play. Oh, and I'll have direct 12v & ground feeds from the second battery direct to the "stereo" switch (the naked one on the bottom left) so that all the sound gear is on the second battery only (to help with any noise).
Keeping with the modular wiring theme, I'm using terminal strips for the transom wiring. I didn't want to make a custom harness so I ran some 6 conductor (signal, led, blowers, etc), 4 conductor (trim actuators), and a 10 ga ground (plus speaker and courtesy lights) wire before I sat the cap down. Still have a few wires to add at the back as I add components (fuel sender, 2nd bilge pump, etc.), but I think I counted correctly & have a few extra lugs just in case. I was gonna solder & heatshrink everything, but I'm running out of time & patience - so just using heat shrink crimp-ons & will wire tie everything once I'm done.
Looking good. I'm closely watching what you're doing on the wiring and switches...that is something I would love to do. Keep posting lots of pictures.
Wiring is 80-90% done. I have nav lights, gauge lights, & blowers. Still need to install bilge pumps in wire them in and finish wiring the trim tab switch. I've held off on installing the paddlewheel, depth transducer, ballast intake, & bilge pumps until the engine was in to know how much room I had to work with. Same with the battery cables since I also relocated/added batteries. Reusing the connectors from the Moomba harness is working out good. Each of the panels I fabbed are easily removed with just a few connectors - I just swapped out my "black light" gauge backlight LEDs for red (didn't like the look, plus the depth finder backlight is red & can't get into it to change). Since I changed the dash up & added some load on the switches (extra bilge, trim tabs, etc), I'm just running the gauges & ignition off of the original harness from the engine. Everything on the switch panel will run on separate feed from the battery (except the stereo will have it's own connections to the added second battery.
The engine is in! The bay with the chain lift became available, so ditched work early & sweated my arse off in the 100 degree Houston heat. The engine still needs a few hoses (finally got a piece of s/s exhaust pipe so I can splice my J hose), distributor & wires installed, connect fuel lines, & such. The exhaust hose from the riser to the pipes is gonna be a beeeatch - not much room for two hose sections and a 4-3" reducer. I've got the original hoses for reference, but don't know how they ever made the angles work with that stiff hose???
I had measured the shaft location in the strut prior to tearing things apart, so used that as a reference for engine location. Held my breath as I lowered the engine down onto the new mounts, but couplings lined up within 1/4" - yea! Got em eyeballed close now, so time to dig up that alignment thread...
Also, since she finally left the confines of the garage for the first time in a while - I snapped a few quick photo's for Haugy...
Ooooh.... looking nice! Everything looks great! The only thing I notice right off is that it seems like that trailer should have a bow roller, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by sybrmike
Everything looks amazing, how 'bout we focus in on that there steering cable and the alignment of the steering wheel while its in that position... I"ve got a rudder install this weekend is all
Gawd I want that trailer...not to mention that 22 carat ring you'll have under your doghouse....
Looks good man, I'm so jealous of your gelcoat. Damn paint.
No roller, Wot. The bar running at an angle from the bow eye to the trailer is hinged down at the base. Disconnect the winch strap hook from the bow eye & the bar will lay flat forward for unloading. For loading, drive the boat up (winch into position if necessary), raise the bar, & clip the strap hook to lock it all in place. Honestly, I only did this twice before starting the rebuild. Worked pretty good both times, but I can see an issue in getting it properly located fore/aft so the slot in the top of the bar slips over the bow eye. I'm thinking of marking the keel at the vee bunk for reference.
Maple - steering's already aligned. New rotary helm (with tilt), steering cable, steering tube, clamp block, & rudder. After the rudder is in, leave the steering cable disconnected from the tiller arm. Loosen the clamp block so the steering tube can slide back & forth. Rotate the steering wheel lock to lock & measure the travel of the steering cable shaft where it exits the steering tube. Mark the center of travel on the cable shaft & rotate the steering wheel to the center point of travel. Align the rudder straight & slide the steering tube in the clamp block until you can attach the steering cable shaft to the tiller arm while the rudder is straight and the cable shaft travel is centered. Tighten the clamp block on the steering tube. You may need to remove & reinstall the steering wheel to be centered now that everything's aligned. Good luck this weekend.
I can tell you from prying, leveraging, & muscling that BB & trans into position - it weighs a lot more than 22 carats, but yeah it's all sparkly :) Hopefully she'll run as good as she looks.
Looking really good. I'm getting excited for ya. I remember what it was like in the final stages getting all the loose ends tied up and getting her on the water.
This sounds very much like my setup for my trailer only, I don't have a single winch on my trailer anywhere. I posted a pic in another thread somewhere...thinking it had something about rear tie downs. Anyways, don't have that pic handy on this computer but I can find it if you really are interested. And Sybrmike, it is the best system out there. People usually start bitching at the ramp about people taking along time and honestly, 30 seconds after splashing the trailer, the boat is all the way out of the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by sybrmike
Sorry got busy with work & didn't realize the boards were back up. Gonna be hard to check in regularly here for awhile, but hope to be back soon.
So here's some of the latest updates. Finished all the dash wiring and installed the panels and gauges. Wiring was a challenge, but started to make sense after awhile & most of it even worked the first time. I pulled the Supra logo insert from the original wheel and will mount in in the hub of the new MC steering wheel once I get it all centered. Wired up the ballast switch panel with all 10 ga (man, that was tight) to the reversible pumps since I didn't want to mess with relays.Attachment 7776Attachment 7777Attachment 7778
Installed the gas tank, ballast pumps, depth transducer, etc, etc,Attachment 7779Attachment 7780Attachment 7781 & finished wiring the engine - IT RUNS!
Shut it off when the temp hit 180 and climbing with a 160 tstat, but quickly discovered I had the tstat in upside down. A few little odds & ends to wrap up & then hope to lake test this weekend if I can find some water down here (all the lakes are dry & ramps closed). Another gratuitous engine shot and one sexy rear end (if I do say so myself)...Attachment 7782Attachment 7783
Welcome back Mike! It's great to see an update and everything's looking great. I'm curious about the black carpet. Isn't that going to be hotter than Hades in Houston?
I think that rear end just might get some wolf whistles at the ramp. You'd better watch out...
Nice clean job. Looks great Mike.
So jealous of that dashboard. So intimidated by the wiring.
Dude, I am so coping your dash. I knew I was going to change mine over this winter but didnt have many ideas but I do now. lol.
Q&A:
what all do you have hooked up on those buss-bars behind the gas tank??
and can we get a closer pic of the dash and what are all of the switches for?
and what underwated led's did you go with? and have you used them yet? thanks man. Jet My spring upgrade project starts tonight!! lol
Thanks guys, that means alot coming from my Salty brothers.
Yeah, black's a concern with the heat, but I'm a sucker for black & it matches the hull. Plus, it's a cut pile that won't show edges when I start wrapping seat bases (the edges of the floor panels turned out well) and honestly because it was cheap surplus. Also, with my planned new interior layout - I won't have much actual floor space with a full width rear bench and rear facing chaise behind the driver. Hopefully damp black carpet won't be too hot on the feet. Maybe just some additional radiant heat build up in the interior? Trying to come up with a white/light gray scheme for the vinyl with some accent black piping.
Also got the two Optimas installed and wired with battery switch, vsr, and on-board charger - working with 2/0 and 4 ga in such cramped quarters was no fun. I built a divider wall under the port storage area & put the batteries in a cut out behind the observer's seat base. The switch, vsr, and charger are all mounted in the port storage area (pic is from the glove box hole).
Attachment 7784
Here's the area under the front bilge hatch - front ballast pump, front bilge pump, and relocated fuel filter/water separator. You can kinda make out the paddle wheel pick up bottom right. Took me awhile to get the courage to drill that one and the one for the 1-1/4 ballast intake. After everything checks out on the lake test, I'll tie/support all the hoses/wires.
Attachment 7785
Yeah, sybr i went with charcoal 20 oz carpet myself. A friend said you might have to wet befor standing on it sometimes but Im like you. I like dark colors. I liked my dark/maroon carpet but I think it dated it and im UP-DATING my the look of my boat right now. Pics coming soon!!
Jet,
I've got 3 buss bars. One for uw led's, fuel sender, rear bilge pump, blowers, and transom nav light (still one spare on the 6x12 ga multi conductor to the helm). One common ground buss (10 ga to helm). One for the trim tabs (4x12ga to the helm). Figured this was easier than a custom harness.
The two top switches are nav (new led bow & transom)/anchor (led on tower) and courtesy (led interiors). Then left to right - blowers, accessory (initiates an auto-up feature of the trim controller on power on or off), courtesy (uw led's with blue indicator light to match the led's), bilge (manual override of the two bilge pumps that are on a common float switch), and stereo (will control power to head unit).
Attachment 7786
The switches for the two reversible impeller ballast pumps are in a separate panel just above the throttle.
Attachment 7787
The controller for the trim tabs is behind the steering wheel where the 12v outlet used to be. I'll do a complete write up on the trim tabs once I verify operation.
Attachment 7788
The uw transom led's are 27 watts each with glass bezels and s/s rings. For less than half the price I could find comparable state side, I took a chance and picked them up off of ebay direct from China. The seller's no longer listed, but it was a good transaction ("dear customer, please ignore the value listed on the customs declarations form"). Haven't had em in the water yet, but damn they're bright. The blue has some "blacklight" to them and florescent colors really pop.
good for you sybrmike! damn it, i'm jealous...everything looks great. i'd love new switches and don't forget about the hydraulic plate.
you can't win on the carpet color. anything is going to be hot in this weather.
Beautiful job man - I love it! Hope all goes well with your lake test
Looking really good...thanks for the update. That removable floor hatch in front of the engine is brilliant. ;)
Where are all the ballast bags going to go?
Thanks Okie, but not too brilliant actually. I wasn't thinking when I mounted the fuel filter/separator and it interfered with a block I glassed on the underside to keep the panel from shifting reward. A little quick cut on the block with the chop saw and a lot of prying (my glass skills were better than anticipated) and it clears now. Still gotta go back and seal up the end of the block where I cut.
I've got two 400# sacs for the bow under the play pen (one port & one starboard, but I can offset if needed since I reconfigured the bracing so it's all open under the playpen seating now). One 400# sac in the rear ski locker. Two 450# X-2 sacs under the rear bench (1/2 full with seat down, 100% full with seat up as sun deck, can fill either one or both). And I'll have an extra fill line tee'd off the front pump to fill a 750# surf sac beside the engine. I'll use manual valves on each sac for flexibility. Probably never fill them all at once. Only have two pumps (I'm cheap & usually not in a rush while at the lake), but I calculated around 15 minutes to fill a normal load. I can always add more pumps later if needed - but that's a ways off yet...
Good news - She runs! Hauled the Salt up to Lake Bryan (small power plant lake) yesterday with some friends in a chase boat (just in case) since all the major lakes in the area are drying up. Thanks rtpaxton2 for the lake level updates and advice. She fired right up & I idled at the dock forever - double & triple checking gauges, levels, bilge, etc. Only had to bump the idle up a bit to keep from stalling when put in gear. Putted around the lake for awhile at 15-20 mph just to get a feel and check things out one more time. Finally stretched her legs a bit - and WOW! The combination of that 454 (rebuilt carb, air gap manifold, mildly worked heads, electronic ignition, etc.), the new 541 prop, updated rudder, light weight (for a Salt - no foam, no interior, only 2 people) - she accelerated like a drag boat and handled like a go cart. I never opened her up all the way, but was getting 10 mph on the gps and speedos for every 1k rpm at 30 and 40 - so probably a true 44 - 46 mph top end. I did get the dreaded "click, click" at the starter once and towed in. Tightened all the connections at the batteries, switches, starter, etc. & she fired back up. Played around with the new trim tabs & they do a good job of adjusting the bow attitude, but as expected, only a little list control since both tabs are centered on the hull. Did look like they might help shape a surf wave at low speed, but have to check that out more later - the little one was anxious to go tubing behind "her new boat". Pulled her a good long time & then stopped to switch gear so I could get a slalom pull.
Bad News - I then whacked my knee on the raw fiberglass edge of the storage pod opening in the walk thru. Laid it open real good over the knee cap & couldn't stop the bleeding, so had to abort the boat test. Wrapped it up, loaded up, headed home, then a trip to the ER - 4 internal stitches, 3 staples, 1 tetanus shot, and antibiotic scrip. Sore as hell today, but should be able to start on the interior this long weekend. I didn't take any pics (thought I'd have time later in the day), but I think my chase boat took a few so I'll post when available. Getting closer, I can't wait.
Maybe it's the pain pills, but I'm still smiling.
Awesome...that is quite a nervous and exciting feeling isn't it. I was like you...boat on the ramp on the trailer running for about 30 minutes before I felt I was ready to let her off to float on her own. Hope the cut heals quickly.
Sorry you had the injury. Isn't it odd that you were injured, in a benign way, just in walking throughout the boat as compared to all the times you could have really been injured during the rebuild.
Glad everything checked out and that your knee was taken care of.