14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

[SouthBuffFish22]

Hello all..New to Mirro Crafts and hoping to get some help here.
At the end of last season, I believe I found a heck of a deal on what I think is a 1965 14' Mirro Craft..( Deep Fisherman, maybe?) And a 28 HP Johnson Seahorse and a trailer that seems to be a little big for it..All for $250! Anywho, here are my questions/issues:
1.Is a 28 hp too big for this lil boat? Motor seems fine , just old and possibly needs a water impeller
2.Where can I find original or close light cover for bow and original Mirro Craft emblems for side?steering wheel? I don't necessarily want to restore her to original, but would like to be close.
3. What is the ideal trailer size for my boat?
I've read this thread throughly, and plan on starting to sand her down and repaint. PO installed a wooden bench seat in front, which I plan on retrofitting to the 2nd bench seat, I'm tall and scrunched up there. Boat was in water when I purchased, and I took for a little spin before buying.Rivets are good, and didn't take on any water.
Thanks in advance for you help!!
Jay

 

[SouthBuffFish22]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

sweet little rig. looks like it has a mid 60s, 2-stroke Johnson 33-40hp. I used to have a '66 33hp myself and it was a great old motor. A 28hp should be just fine. You can probably even go up to 40hp max. Good ol' ebay and various forums are your best bet for vintage parts. The trailer looks to be about the right size too. As long as none of the boat hangs off of the bunks and there is enough tongue to install a bow stop/wench and leave room to manouver your truck you should be fine. Here's a handy link for the motor. You can get any routine part to tune it up right here at iboats.

Reviving a Vintage Big Twin - Part 1

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Im with kfa, I think tht 28hp tuned up and running good should be just about perfect for that boat.

 

[SouthBuffFish22]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Thanks guys! I value your input and am going to break into the motor when I get home from work in a couple weeks..started looking at the link you sent, kfa and it looks like a great resource. ..thanks much..no luck on Ebay and I even emailed Mirro Craft with no results on the parts but I'll keep looking. .keep the suggestions coming and I will update my progress!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Finding the exact Steering wheel may be problematic, but, the good thing is most of the wheels from this era, all mounted the same and should fit, soooo...if you can find a Rope and PUlley wheel from the 60's it'll prolly work. If you want to keep her "Like Factory" well..Good luck in your search!!!

 

[classiccat]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

kfa took the words out of my mouth, "sweet little rig"!

she's gonna make a great project!

The existing starboard side emblem looks intact so I assume it's the port-side that you're looking for?...i wonder if there's some sort of DIY injection molding that you could do to replicate it? :noidea:

 

[SouthBuffFish22]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Yes Bluefin..The port side is broken with half of it missing... not looking to restore her to original specs, but close enough . Looking to paint her green and white.
Tim at Mirro Craft promptly returned my email and send me the brochure for the 1965 MC line. In color, nonetheless!!! That blue they used was something, huh?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

You can find some details about re-casting 'plastic' emblems here. Towards the end, there's details about making them. Not the original poster, but the emblems turned out great. He even posted the materials & sources for them.

Good luck....

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Are you going to stick with red, or paint her a different color?

 

[SouthBuffFish22]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

I'm thinking green and white, maybe yellow on the closed bow. .
I work offshore in the Gulf so my time is limited and precious when I'm home. I contemplated bringing it all the way down to bare skin and clear coating it, but think a little bit of sanding and painting will be more time efficient .
From what I've been reading, automotive acrylic and a sprayer are the way to go. Is this correct?

Thanks again!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 14' Mirro Craft 1965 (I think?)

Buff & polish, yes. Clear coat, no.

Sand, etch any exposed bare aluminum w/ SE or ZC primer, shoot base coat primer, shoot oil based enamel top coat paint, w/ added enamel hardener, yes.

Unspecified auto paint, maybe, if the boat's trailered. Same as the oil based enamel I listed...