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    Mercruiser 3.7 / 470 Holley EFI Sniper.

    I didn't know Holley made this product - that's really cool! It would be cooler if it was fully tuneable, but I understand there is more of a market for self tuning EFI. Where do you plan to mount the oxygen sensor? Do you run the system in open loop (no oxygen sensor) after the initial...
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    1989 Celebrity 181BR Restoration

    I went through 30 gallons of resin on my restoration too. I'm sure quite a bit of that was waste, as I was 100% a newbie with fiberglass when I started this project, and I made quite a few hockey pucks. I also made a LOT of PB and made big fillets, and PB takes a lot of resin. I'm guessing...
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    Mercruiser 4.3 Vortec Backfire and no start

    BLUE TEXT - No, TDC lines on the harmonic balancer (front of the engine), not the flywheel (back of the engine). RED TEXT - No, you want both valves to be closed (up, not down). You should be able to wiggle the rockers and verify they are not pushing down on either intake or exhaust valve when...
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    Floor and transom repair.

    A good breakdown just got posted here. As he says, pricing is ~3 years old at this point, and to add ~20% for a current ballpark.
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    Mercruiser 4.3 Vortec Backfire and no start

    Nah, TB IV is just as Bondo described. Advance won't kick in until around 900 RPM (I think).
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    The Waiting is the Hardest Part...

    This is a great suggestion - easy to go overboard with big fillets and not think about how they will mesh with the rest of the assembly process.
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    1989 Celebrity 181BR Restoration

    Sounds like a similar project to mine. My boat is a 18.5 ft runabout, I paid $600 for it. Engine ran, drive was good, but both needed maintenance. Structure and interior of the boat were toast. I replaced transom / stringers / deck, new upholstery, and new dash. Spruced up all the little...
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    1989 Celebrity 181BR Restoration

    Agree - $4,000 is probably a good realistic number.
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    Carb choice.

    I can send you my shipping address and I can "store" it for you.
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    Elusive Trim Hydraulic Fluid Leak

    That aluminum plate is your anode. Remove the bolt in the center of it, and the distribution manifold for the hydraulic trim hoses is under that.
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    Fiberglass Repair with big patches? Or fill with CSM and resin?

    I would still fix the keel first. I had similar damage and softened the jagged edges with a dremel, filled with thickened gelcoat, then applied gelcoat over a larger area. It doesn't look the best since I didn't color match the gelcoat or do any fairing, but I'm putting a KeelShield over it...
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    Fiberglass Repair with big patches? Or fill with CSM and resin?

    Your stringer and transom tests are not accurate ways of detecting rot unless we are talking complete rot to where the wood is completely gone to a liquid state. You need to drill test holes near the bottom of the stringers and transom and look at / smell what comes out. Light colored saw dust...
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    Need help with transom repair...

    This is Araucoply Radiata plywood. Look it up. It's really good stuff and is rated for exterior.
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    Need help with transom repair...

    I would use ACX: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cabinet-Grade-Plywood-Panel-Common-23-32-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-0-688-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-1077486/302610611
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    1989 Celebrity 181BR Restoration

    Drill a test hole (2"?) in the deck. If there is water logged foam down there, you've got to pull the deck up to get all of that out.
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    1987 Power Play XLT-185 - floors, stringers, and upholstery

    I got the bench seat installed today. That's the last of the upholstery pieces to install. I also installed the speakers. I had to wait to do this because to install the bench seat, I had to reach through the speaker holes to put the screws in. I didn't get as far along as I'd hope...
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    1987 Power Play XLT-185 - floors, stringers, and upholstery

    Thanks man! It seems like yesterday I was pulling rotten wood out of the hull. I owe a bunch to this forum and a few YouTube channels for giving me the knowledge and confidence to tackle this myself. I'm watching your thread too. 👀
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    1987 Power Play XLT-185 - floors, stringers, and upholstery

    Nice weather, so I pulled the boat out today to work on it. No pictures, but I fixed the courtesy lighting in the engine bay. Basically I had originally tried to just peel and stick the LED strip to the raw fiberglass - that didn't work and it fell down. I bought more of the aluminum channel...
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    1989 Celebrity 181BR Restoration

    Samer, before you jump in you need to make sure the stringers and transom are good. Can you get to any of the stringers and low on the transom to drill test holes? A 1989 boat with a plywood deck with no glass that had carpet over it but was not rotten sounds suspiciously like a relatively...
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    mercruiser 140 low compression & cracked exhaust manifold

    Clean it up good and check it with a straight edge and feeler gauge. I don't know what the service limit is, but I've gotta assume it's in the manual. Can't tell from the pic if only the HG got torched or if it got a little of the deck also.
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