Fact. Gross.Quote:
Originally Posted by cadunkle
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Fact. Gross.Quote:
Originally Posted by cadunkle
Bummer. Fly down south and get on the water with one of us southern boys. ;)
There are def. some disadvantages to life in Montana. I love the mountains though. I spent some time in the AirForce, and got to see lots of the country, but there's just something about here that I love.
The summers are so awesome here, but the winters last forever. I think you really appreciate your summer more when it's short though lol!
I was trying to move to Cali a while ago, but the job I had lined-up fell through, so... We were thinking about Arizona, but that's so far from family it makes it hard when you have little ones.
It's supposed to be decent weather Sunday, so hopefully I will get that engine sandblasted. That's really the only thing I'm waiting-on at this point.
Alright guys, a long overdue update...
I decided against sandblasting the "new" 400 and hit it with the "wire brush in the drill" method.
WOW! That's a lot of work! It took me forever to get all the old grease, paint, and rust off of that thing.
My camera was out of commission for most of that experience so I didn't really get any good pics. (It's pretty boring to look at anyways.) I took off the oil-pan, intake, timing cover, etc, etc, and changed all the gaskets.
I painted it all up in black and silver engine paint, and put everything together.
I'm really hoping everything works, but that's probably wishful thinking. I really doubt the alternator works, which is why I didn't brush and paint that.
Anyway here is a pic of the "finished" engine:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ras/engine.jpg
Took the "new" engine down to work and utilized the chain-hoist there to put the engine in the boat on Sunday.
I'm still fine-tuning the alignment, which has been very tedious as the old rusty mounts don't like to adjust very easily.
I think I will take a little break on the alignment for a while and concentrate on getting the engine running, and fixing the through-hull on the exhaust.
List of things to do:
Install Starter
Install Distributor Cap/Wires
Install Hoses
Install Oil-Drain Hose
Fix Exhaust Thru-hull
Install Rudder
Finish Alignment
I was supposed to be doing some in-water testing a month ago, but things have just been taking forever, and It's been next to impossible finding time to get anything done.
I guess as a flip-side to that, we haven't really been having any boating weather, and last weekend was the first day that would have been nice anyway. So I guess I haven't really been missing much.
I have to admit that I'm not very optimistic about it anyways, there are just WAY too many things to go wrong with a build like this.
Hopefully I can get on the water and have some fun this summer without breaking the bank. Wish me luck!
Here's another of the engine taken with my phone:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e9...as/engine2.jpg
I'm too embarrassed to put-up a pic of it in the boat (I'm sure I will eventually) cause it's terrible inside the boat. All you other guys have these immaculate stringers/bilges etc. Mine looks downright awful. (A project for next season)
Looking great! I know it's nice to reach some milestones in the big project like this. Go ahead and show us pics of the motor in the boat. We'll understand!
Your bilge is not alone! I seem to have a once a year deep cleaning that is required to bring mine up to snuff....We just can't do everything and play on the water.....great work so far motor looks amazing..
The fiberglass job on the stringers is... interesting... for lack of a better term. Whoever did the "stringer repair" must have been in a hurry. There's lots of epoxy everywhere, some exposed mat material, there are quite a few things stuck in the epoxy etc. I was thinking I would just paint it up with some bilge-coat, but after seeing it, I realized there's no point. So, we're just gonna run like this for a season or two until I can afford to have it all redone.
I was a little worried about the quality of the wood, but when I drilled my holes and tightened-up the lags, everything seemed solid, so I should be good!
It makes me a little sad to put such a pretty engine in that ugly bilge but, I'm ready to get on the water already!
Nice! Good job.