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  1. Gibbles

    MerCruiser 4.3lx shortblock compatibility?

    Well I recently bought a new to me boat, and I got one with a crack in the block! what I have is a 1994 4.3lx with the 4-barrel carb. Much of the details I'm still not sure about, however I'm weighing the idea of upgrading to actual Vortech heads, and the Edelbrock manifold... I see many...
  2. Gibbles

    1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

    I use a razor blade to trim 5200 after it cured. I also use them to act as a squeegee to get the 5200 on there nice and flat. I always keep a 100+ pack in my toolbox for gaskets, and general "I can't find my knife". I buy them cheap on amazon. They also have the plastic ones; but I haven't...
  3. Gibbles

    1978 Islander 22 I/O

    Not a clue yet, I haven't had my islander that long. And I also have a cracked block that needs to be repaired/replaced. So far, I have only had it out for a few hours to test everything before winter hits, and my fuel gauge didn't go down that much. I have a 4-barrel carb on the 4.3l, so I'm...
  4. Gibbles

    1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

    if you do it, find something like dx33 aluminum cleaner to prep. they also have another part of it that turns the aluminum a gold color, but I haven't ever used it my self. They sell that stuff at automotive paint stores. I went with some etching primer rated for aluminum when painting the...
  5. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    I really wish photobucket hadn't done their money grab a few years ago. Lots of really good islander restore threads that have their image links broken. (n)
  6. Gibbles

    1974 Chieftain 25 "Adventurer" Restoration

    Man I was going to say, I have a computer fan that can self-hover! It sure looks a lot like that fan. :love:
  7. Gibbles

    1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

    I always do, engine degreaser all things! Looks like a merc 650? Ah nm, I see the 70hp note! I have two of those 3 cylinder 65hp/ merc 650's, one is pretty much brand new, I have been saving it for my nova project that I have put off for the past several years.
  8. Gibbles

    1978 Islander 22 I/O

    I don't know if it's helpful, but my 1994 22ft islander with a 4.3LX came with a 52 or 53 gallon belly tank. Right down the middle of the floor. A big space between the engine compartment and the fuel tank compartment.
  9. Gibbles

    Are All Boats Repairable?

    I had a tear in the bottom of my starchief. I think the old trailer setup for it had rollers and those rollers worked their way out. I had that issue on another boat, but it didn't contact the hull. I found someone that could weld (tig) aluminum. He fixed the tear, and then welded a plate on...
  10. Gibbles

    1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

    If you don't have one, that harborfreight pneumatic rivet tool is super nice to have. ;)
  11. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    Over the weekend I also spent a little time messing around with that swim platform. I keep finding loose bolts everywhere, so I'm a little concerned about water intrusion/soaked transom that I would like to resolve before it starts freezing. While I really don't want to do disassembly right...
  12. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    In your profile image I can see the front of your boat, and yes that stuff looks fantastic! Do you have any pictures of what you did with the main deck? I'm still pretty stuck on how to handle that part. Right now I'm leaning towards epoxy and maybe even glassing the deck boards, painting them...
  13. Gibbles

    1974 Chieftain 25 "Adventurer" Restoration

    Very nice solution, classy! Amazon sells marine grade shrink tube in various sizes and in a little handy case. I find them to be very handy. One example of a quick search...
  14. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    while doing some test fitting of the swim platform ladder, it looks like i need to add a strip of teak to the underside of the platform in order to support the ladder and to avoid contacting the supports. I couldn't get the teak piece I need locally, so I'm thinking a hardwood piece for now...
  15. Gibbles

    1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

    on my starchief I installed it as one big piece, overlap went up the sides just a little to prevent water from running down the sides, and to direct it to the back of the boat. How I clean the boat is to use a hose... My Islander, it has that pour in foam stuff, and the decking is in three...
  16. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    Well amazon prime day sold me on a few boating related items to ensure I'm ready for next year. Big one was the swim platform ladder. the one that the boat has is a nice but older garlic ladder, the little plastic inserts are showing their age and causing some binding of the ladder. I also...
  17. Gibbles

    1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

    I would say give it a solid week to ensure you have a full cure of that west system epoxy. that varnish will also take forever to cure. West system cured pretty quickly for me in general. I used the fast cure during the winter, and the slow cure in the summer. In the summer, even the slow cure...
  18. Gibbles

    1974 Chieftain 25 "Adventurer" Restoration

    and that's still something I need to figure out, how the engine separates from the drive. I'm thinking I just un-bolt and slide the engine forward? Or did you need to slide the drive from the transom/back?
  19. Gibbles

    1974 Chieftain 25 "Adventurer" Restoration

    The guy that installed the oil gally plugs on my jeep engine build used loctite 680 retaining compound. I don't know if that's correct for water jacket freeze plugs, but the oil gally plugs wasn't something that I wanted leaking out of the back of my engine. :whistle: I used black RTV over the...
  20. Gibbles

    I'm back with a 1994 Islander 221V!

    Well, I saw the Edelbrock intake for the 4.3 is available now. It would require me to upgrade the cylinder heads to the newer vortec style, that alone would give me a bit of a hp upgrade. + The improved intake design on top of that. But what I'm not sure about is if the original 4-barrel carb...
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