1966 Starcraft Holiday Engine Repower

[66Holiday924]

My work was inspected yesterday. She didn't say anything but I think she looks impressed. :llama:Her husband was out here watching me paint the other day. He was either a 6 or an 8 point. Not bad wild life for urban Cleveland. I live on a 10th acre plat in the City of Cleveland.

 

[Watermann]

Yard deer amaze me at how well they adapt to humans.

 

[66Holiday924]

Got the first package for the new trailer hardware. So far, so good. Everything fits as it should. I was surprised that there isn't a spec to tighten the shackle bolts too. I thought every fastener in suspension had a torque spec. I almost spent big money on "wet bolts" it sounded like a good idea until I saw the "Never Fail Bushings". The never fail bushings have great reviews, they last forever, and they self lubricate. I figured might as well give them a try, especially with this light boat.

 

[sprintst]

Day 23:

Today my dad and I installed my custom stern savers. They are cut from 3/4 king's starboard material. I paid a lot of money to have the holes in this transom welded shut in this boat. My plan is to mount my hardware to these and replace them as they become mutilated. This way I don't have to keep drilling different holes in the back of my boat. I have the stern saver holes and that's it. They were buttered with 4000 and thru-bolts got 5200. Once they were installed, I installed my smart tab mounts on them, they were also buttered with 4000 and then screwed into place. The screws for the smart tabs were nice stainless wood screws, thick with a coarse thread that bit into the king's starboard really nicely. They felt very secure.

I'm digging the custom stern savers as well. I did something along the same lines with a tall starboard piece bolted above the water line and 5200'd on the back. All transducers, etc get screwed into the starboard so no more holes into the transom after all that hard work.

 

[sprintst]

I'm still getting caught up reading on your boat. Here's my starboard stuff but same idea.


https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...-i-o-rebuild-with-pics-galore/page56?t=319609

 

[66Holiday924]

Right on! The number of holes in my transom due to the different hardware mounted over the years was amazing to me. In all it was 30+ holes in my transom. I felt like having them tig welded shut was best. I've never used JB Water weld or any of the other products that people use to close them up, and after all the work of rebuilding the transom I couldn't imagine having to play around with old holes that I couldn't get to seal, any of which could ruin all your hard work. Plus, once the wood is in-place you can't weld without removing it and I couldn't imagine having to do all that again. So, for me welding was the best option. It ran me about $400. A shop in Fremont, Ohio did it. The shop owner happens to have the same year Holiday and was very interested in my whole project. They did an awesome job, and once that was done, naturally I thought how are we going to limit the number of holes in the aluminum and that led me to the Stern Savers. I think it's the only way to go.

Nice to see another Holiday. I'll be going through your build too. I think we have the same hull.

 

[66Holiday924]

Wow, looking at your re-build I see something that we were discussing earlier in my thread. Do you recall the function of the corrugated tube?

 

[sprintst]

The hose isn't really low enough to get all water to the bilge pump if you took on a lot of water but it might work to pull gas fumes to the bilge blower...or both in a fashion. When you do closed cell sheet foam both scenarios are covered but either way I was happy to see it and the water logged foam in the dumpster In the end my original guess as to get water to the bilge...

 

[66Holiday924]

In the end my original guess as to get water to the bilge...

Mine goes to a cowl scoop vent on the bow, so I thought mine is in place to deliver fresh air to the engine compartment while underway, but I see you don't have a cowl vent on the bow of your boat. Maybe they put it in there to keep the blow in foam from settling deep down in the bilge water and become water logged. I'm convinced in my boat it is for natural ventilation how they have it run to that cowl. Maybe it also keeps the foam out of the deeper parts of the bilge, so it don't get water logged?

 

[66Holiday924]

Here's a veteran's day picture. This is from one of my first re-habs, about 15 years ago. I was rehabbing the 9,000lb Navy Standard Stockless Anchor on-board USS Anzio CG-68.

 

[sprintst]

Nice restore job. I like reading about the massive rebuilds that some people undertake on almost yacht sized boats and boats our size. As long as we keep the boats properly covered we have heirloom boats. Your kids and maybe the next will still be enjoying your hard work. Now if only I can find the time to enjoy it too...

 

[mickyryan]

hey those shackle bolts do have a torque spec per grade , look up the bolt and if its zink coated it will be 10 lbs less in most cases.

 

[66Holiday924]

hey those shackle bolts do have a torque spec per grade , look up the bolt and if its zink coated it will be 10 lbs less in most cases.

I can't find a torque spec for this application specifically. It's touchy because they need to be tight but if they're to tight the leafs won't be able to flex.

 

[mickyryan]

the spacers should keep it from bottoming out metal spacers if nylon , i believe you should have shanked bolts that bottom out on the bolt itself as to keep that from happening. that said , seems to be no good info on trailers and multiple applications i tightened mine until they were at 60 ft lbs i believe is what i had looked up preload on bearings was 20 and the half inch bolts on my trailer were 50 , the ubolts for springs and other items was 40 because they were galvanised and 3/8ths if i recall

 

[mickyryan]

https://www.suspensionspecialists.co...nformation.pdf

https://www.portlandbolt.com/technical/bolt-torque-chart/
I used grade 8 zinc coated to rebuild my trailer and galvanised u bolts grade 8 was the trailer assembly as mine is a bolt together not welded galvanised trailer.

 

[mickyryan]

from etrailer assuming nylon spacers id guess since he is worried about crimping springs as well .

The torque requirements for leaf spring u-bolts depend on the diameter of the u-bolts that are being used. If the gross weight of your tandem axle trailer is 7,000 lbs, then you likely have two 3,500 lb axles. Typically 1/2 inch diameter u-bolts are used with leaf springs for 3,500 lb axles and they have a torque rating of 45 ft/lbs to 70 ft/lbs.

The shackle bolts do not require a specific torque rating because tightening the shackle bolts too much will squeeze the shackle straps against the leaf springs and the whole suspension system will bind and cause problems. The best thing to do when tightening down shackle bolts is to use lock nuts and tighten them until they are snug and then backed off 1/4 turn. Lock nuts should be used because they resist loosening with vibration or torque.

Finally, I strongly recommend welding your leaf spring hangers to your trailer frame. Mounting the hangers with a bolt only will not provide a secure connection between the trailer frame and suspension, even if the bolt is torqued down properly. There are some hangers that come with bolt holes on top, but they should be welded as well as bolted. If you want to use a bolt as well as welding your leaf spring hangers, then you can follow the same torque specs as the leaf spring u-bolts.

A 1/2 inch diameter bolts should be torqued between 45 ft/lbs and 70 ft/lbs. A 9/16 inch diameter bolt should be torqued between 65 ft/lbs and 95 ft/lbs and a 5/8 inch diameter bolt should be torqued between 100 ft/lbs and 120 ft/lbs. I have attached two FAQ articles on trailer suspension for you to check out.

 

[66Holiday924]

The shackle bolts do not require a specific torque rating because tightening the shackle bolts too much will squeeze the shackle straps against the leaf springs and the whole suspension system will bind and cause problems. The best thing to do when tightening down shackle bolts is to use lock nuts and tighten them until they are snug and then backed off 1/4 turn. Lock nuts should be used because they resist loosening with vibration or torque.

This is what I read too, and it's what I ended up doing. I thought it felt mighty loose with that 1/4 turn, but my bolts came with stover lock nuts that must be designed to be on there loose like that, and not come off.

 

[mickyryan]

yeah the locknuts will keep it in place, if you really felt nervous you could have used red thread locker.... they never coming off then , lol

 

[66Holiday924]

Well, it looks like I will have the opportunity to do that. When I put the bolts on I couldn't get the bolt head to tighten down flush with the shackle straps. It felt like I was about to break or strip the bolts, or deform the leaf mounts, but they just would not completely tighten down with the knurls. I watched a few videos and in one of them they say the orientation of the shackle straps matter. The holes are slightly flared so your bolt goes in further on one side than the other. Sure enough, I went out and flipped my straps and the bolts seated perfectly. I feel like it's all unusable at this point. Ordering new hardware and taking another crack at it. Nowhere did it say on the website I got the straps from that it matters which side you go through with the knurled bolts. I have red thread locker and I'll be using that too.

 

[mickyryan]

dont you love how much stuff is sold without directions? or even guidance?