Boat ID help

[Saint18z]

Hi guys,
So I am new to the forum and have recently acquired a boat. The boat is an older starcraft with a 80hp mercruiser engine. The boat was in the garage of my grandparents summer house up in the Adirondacks. It has not been touched in about 20-30 years, and the last registration on the trailer says 1979.

I was hoping that someone here might be able to tell me what kind of boat it is, and maybe where I could find some parts. I rebuilt the carb on it last summer and replaced the fuel lines. I hope to replace the oil and coolant lines this weekend when I am up there and try to get it running (pending my ability to find a set of plugs and wires for it).

Is there anything else in particular that I should check/replace before trying to get this thing started? I really hope to be able to put it in the water and use it this summer. It is in almost perfect condition (aside from a few mouse nests) as it has lived in a garage all its life.

the motor says merc 80hp and the boat looks a lot like this one I found on google images, except it is an i/o:

http://www.krisrzepkowski.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/grandpa_boat_1990.thumbnail.jpg

I believe the boat is a late 60's model as it has a complimentary coast guard inspection on the windshield dated 1971. If anyone has any info on this it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advanced
Chris

 

[QC]

Re: Boat ID help

Hey Chris, welcome aboard. I am thinking you have two things to ID here: the Engine and drive combo and the other the hull. I think you should post the boat ID inquiry in "Boat Topics (non-Engine) ^^^^^, and then maybe edit this one down to the engine/drive questions. You'll find more old boat enthusiasts in the other section, but the parts help will come from here. PM me and I'll help you fix it if you'd like. Good luck!

 

[Saint18z]

Re: Boat ID help

So I posted my question in the general forum like you said, and BobVT told me that he didnt think mercruiser made a 80hp i/o. Before I posted i did a lot of looking (by means of google, and searching the fourm), and I was also unable to find any info on a 80hp mercruiser. Does anyone know anything about my engine? It seems the the 120hp was very popular and there is a lot of info on that. Mine definitely says 80hp on the valve cover and it is a straight four.

any insight would be greatly appreciated

Chris

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat ID help

I believe the boat is a late 60's model

Ayuh,... It's a very Early to mid 60s,...
Mercruiser used a Renault 80hp motor for the Model 0 outdrives...
It's an Antique,+ very, Very few parts are available for it,... Probably closer to None...

The Hull looks like the Starcraft Holiday model...

 

[flargin]

Re: Boat ID help

go to the root of the link, there is a bio of the guy and likely a "contact me" someplace.

they may have some info...

 

[Saint18z]

Re: Boat ID help

Ayuh,... It's a very Early to mid 60s,...
Mercruiser used a Renault 80hp motor for the Model 0 outdrives...
It's an Antique,+ very, Very few parts are available for it,... Probably closer to None...

Any idea where I could find plugs and wires for it? The plug is a champion N-6 and when I brought it to NAPA they couldnt find it in there book. The same went for the wires. The one wire I have home with me says "Packard 440 USA" I do not know if this is a model number or just the brand (I assume that 440 would be the model number and Packard the brand).

the last time I tried to start the motor I wasnt getting any spark, that is the reason I wanted to change the plugs and wires (even though it is not likely that they were the cause of my problem).

Any Ideas on why I wouldnt be getting spark? the cap and rotor look fine (all the points are nice and clean). Also any precautionary measures I should take when trying to start a boat that hasnt run in 30+ years? The oil looks perfect and as I said before It has a fresh fuel system and rebuilt carb.

thanks
Chris

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat ID help

Any Ideas on why I wouldnt be getting spark?

Ayuh,... I see No mention of the Points,+ Condenser, nor Timing,+ Dwell....

 

[JustJason]

Re: Boat ID help

Is there anything else in particular that I should check/replace before trying to get this thing started?

Although I've never seen 1 in person I did just look at the parts diagram for it. Everything is NLA. As in everything. You can probably find some plugs for it, you can probably make your own plug wires for it, but without hiring inspector gadget I don't think you'll find a cap rotor or points for it.
Plus according to the diagram it's got a stator charging system, which were never any good on sterndrives.
If you really really really really like the boat, you may want to think about finding another boat thats rotten with a good 3.0 setup in it to transplant. Other than that.... you have a 1/2 ton paperweight.

 

[Don S]

Re: Boat ID help

The 80 was a Renault motor with the 0 drive as bondo stated. Only it was used in 67,68, and 69, and may even be found on a 70 boat.
The 0 drive was ONLY used on Renault engines, and used only from 65 to 72.
They were not a great setup, and didn't last long. It's not a collectors item by any means and parts are just not available anywhere except as old parts laying in a junk yard.
It would be a serious waste of money to even think about making it all work. But if you do, go up to the Adults only sticky at the top of this forum and download the service manual for it. Manual #1 is what you want.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Boat ID help

See if you can pull your motor and drive and donate it to a tech school for a tax write off.... You'd be helping yourself and helping others at the same time. Schools take everything.
As Don says... there's not much point in putting anything into this. Even if you got it running.... then what?

 

[Saint18z]

Re: Boat ID help

Well I am not looking to sink any money into the boat (i.e. a restoration), I was just hoping to get it running. It has lived in a garage all its life and seems to be in near perfect condition. The motor doesnt even have grease on it, only dust. I would really like to get the boat running for the summer. With your knowledge do you think that it might be possible to get the thing running with minimal monetary input?

I have never really worked on marine engines before, but I do have a lot of experience in the automotive field. I am assuming that there are many similarities. I am headed up to the boat this weekend and will try to get some pictures posted so that it may be easier to identify what I have. Any ideas as to where the serial numbers are?

thanks for the help guys
Chris