1972 Chrysler Bass Runner 16'

Dad and I picked up this little jewel march 1st of this year, He has always wanted a front tiller steer panfish style boat but never could justify the means to buy one and lets face it they aren't real common. Looking through the local Craigslist ads I came across this one for $600 said the motor doesn't run and had been on the market since July of 14'. After a quick trip up to look at it I was overjoyed that it was still in reasonable sea worthy shape and completely rigged like it had just came out of the factory with some new touches from each decade. The owner passed 4 yrs ago and the family was selling it due to lack of interest.


The powerhead had taken some heat upon further inspection the water pump impeller was a hub with no fingers

More pictures of the boat day we brought it home I might ad that this particular day was -7?? deg F





Like I said a very complete and intact boat from the period and unfortunately bought in weather that would require us to wait 3 additional weeks before the deck was thawed out enough to decide if it was to soft to be used and before we could asses the engine status without dismantling the boat as it sits.

We made a trip to the BMV after taking the pictures and made the boat and trailer legal for the year with fingers crossed that the engine would survive to churn water once more and there were no structural problems with the hull that would cause a floatation issue.

It's 4 weeks past the purchase date and on April 2nd we were able to take the old girl for a short spin on a local reservoir to see if the investment was going to leave us waiting for the next reason to go fishing or the embarrassment of buying $250 worth of scrap for $500. The ruling was positive and the little 45hp Chrysler cracked off without hesitation or much noise either we both hopped in and were off on the waves with a impending rain storm on the way in and stiff breeze across the bow we managed a respectable 25mph. Our fun ended at what seamed to be a fuel tank change about 15minutes into our cruise and resulted in us trolling a little ways with the wind back to our starting point, but was resolved after finding a piece of garbage in the fuel line at the pump inlet.

Parts replaced so far:
thermostat
water pump
head gasket
rebuilt propeller
fuel pump
rubber fuel lines
plastic water line
both batteries
spark plugs

We will post some water pictures and more a little later after we obtain some, heck Dads already ready to give it a polishing.

I owned it's Twin Sister back in the 90's!!! Same Color too!!! Mine had the center mount Padded Live well and a 65hp Evinrude and a 24volt trolling motor. I caught a LOT of fish in that boat. This brings back a lot of memories. I'll be watching this one for sure!!!

Should clean up real good

Yeah sorry about that with the post thing.

A 65hp on this hull holy cow I bet it got with business.

Yeah, I didn't have any problem gettin where I wanted to go. But...I am kinda a BIG feller!!!! and My fishin buddy at the time was too! Sooo with 2 300lb Big Ole' Boys on Board, it was nice to have the extra power!!!!

Cool old boat. I think you made a very good deal for 5oo bucks. Glad you got her running. Does the floor and transom seem solid?

Mmmm... love me a Chrysler. People talk bad about them... it's it's true they are kinda gutless... but they are the easiest thing in the world to work on and they will run forever.

Mikeopsycho said:

Cool old boat. I think you made a very good deal for 5oo bucks. Glad you got her running. Does the floor and transom seem solid?

Click to expand...

The transom is great from what we've seen the floor seams like it may have a couple soft spots. I think it was garaged by the sounds of it most of it's previous life.

I was surprised at how quiet the outboard was I had to yell back at Dad thru the slider window after he launched to see if it was running or not.

We now between the both us have 3 boats to play with now his 89' SeaRay 160BR, My 90' Blue Fin Spectrum 1950 and this little guy we made a joint effort and split the bill right down the middle.

The parts for the motor seam to be a little hard to come by nowdays and I was really concerned it would foul us up if anything were majorly wrong with it. We stopped in the boat dealer we have been a customer of years and was asking about the head gasket. I made a remark because of the info dad had gotten said the motor series wasn't made until 74' but the boat is a 72' and I told them that seamed funny that the years would be off like that. The guy behind the counter must have not heard the conversation before and told me someone else made the boat and I looked him and said no Chrysler made that too. Just then a old sales guy walks in and says is that your old Chrysler boat out there? and starts checking it out then says I think I may have a sales brochure on it.

We actually tested it on the old head gasket after coating it with some copper never seize around the seals for the bores and a little Loctite pipe sealant on the water jacket. The new gasket should be here sometime next week since the first new one wasn't correct for this motor. I imagine we will redeck it sometime later after the crappie fishing dies down some or later fall since we can squeeze this thing in the garage pretty easy.

First time on the lake Thursday the old girl don't run out to bad.

Looks like she's running great ! Interesting to see how the stick steering worked out . I have been helping a couple of really nice ladies get a boat very similar to yours back in the water ... Hopefully the weekend after next will be the splash . I'm just a bit concerned on the stick steering set up as to ease of handling for them .. Just gunna have them take it easy and get used to it I guess ...

Terrific score you made there. Also looks like a very nice fishing platform. Enjoyed the video too!

The stick steer is not difficult at all it just takes a second to work out the which way is left?and which way is right?

The boat hull plate states that the hull will support a 70hp outboard. Dad knows where a 70hp Johnson Stinger with tilt/trim is. We may have to put a Superbird wing on the back to keep it slick side down. Bass Runner R/T

We are having some trouble with the outboard.

We are getting plenty of fuel and have put 2 filters in the fuel line 1 before the pump and one after.

This time out it came off the trailer just fine idled like a dream, and ran all the way across the lake wide open with 3 people in it no problems what so ever. We wanted to leave it fired up just fine and was idling great but when i opened the throttle up it just died. Dad fiddled with it a little and got nothing then I got back there and pulled the fuel bowl, it had maybe a couple of little specs of something on the bottom but had plenty of fuel in it. I checked the high speed jet and ran a wire up the siphon tube for the idle jet and put everything back together. Started the engine up and it was running rough so i adjusted the idle jet and it smoothed out and would run at idle but no high speed at all then out of the blue it just started working we had full throttle again at which point we headed for the truck and called our day on the lake done.

We haven't touched the ignition other than a new set of plugs. I really don't think we are having a carb issue. Is it possible the points could be giving us trouble? Everything else seams to be working fine.

Try it without the filters. You might not be getting enough fuel. But really, you should post the question over on the Chrysler forum where Frank Acampora and the other guys who really know what they are talking about are lurking.

You prolly had a small piece of gunk in the jet and cleared it when you removed the jet. It doesn't take miuch. I had an old 40 hp Rude' similar in age, and had lot's of fuel issues with it too. Are you running old metal tanks? I used a chain to clean up the tank and it helped alot. I blew out the lines and cleaned the carbs and after about 3 tanks of fuel it finally cleared up. Kinda a hassle but it worked.

It's been a while since I've posted on this little boat. It's been mine and Dad's little fishing boat for a few years now. Year before last I picked up a 85' 60hp Mercury we did a wholesale change out on the electronics and got a absolute perfect running motor for $150 with $700 of new parts. Dad decided to paint it this spring it looks pretty good for being a 50 year old boat.

Is it okay to revive a old post? HaHa

It marks 10 years that we've had this little booger. It's been a well loved little boat over the years. It's been on n the ocean once and to our lake more times than I can count. And now it's stripped down and getting some much deserved refitting.
But some photos of It's hijinks before any of the business.

Next up the deconstruction. The old boat has been carrying more weight in waterlogged wood and foam than it should have ever had to. The fact that it had touched 40 mph with the amount of weight it was pushing one could only guess it'll do 80 after the refit.

All the old floor and foam are in the bed of the truck ready for the dump in the morning. Fiberglass resin came in today time to figure out where we are working on it at. I thought about using the carport, but garage has heat and a TV