1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Got the rivets yesterday, they sure are long!

I'll try and flush the boat out this weekend and try and get a new transom cut.


And since the 65hp on my jetstar seems to be working out, I will be using my $35 find on this nova

basics; I saw an ad listing a junk boat with out trailer for $50, engine appeared to be a perfect match for the 65 I mounted on my Jet, thinking spare parts engine I took a look

Engine was the same, but the cowl was missing, and it had some minor damage to the cowl mounts
seller took $35 for the engine only, and would not take the full $50 (score!)

While taking the engine off I noticed that the original tag from 1975 was still on the tilt tube (took off to save, but cannot find now...)

and the boat it was taken from was last licenced in the late 70's

got it home and took these pictures of one super clean engine

Ever wonder what an impeller would look like after sitting for 36+/- years?

Here is a shot of the dist cap

Out of my 5 other mercs, I have never seen a drive shaft end look this clean (pulled straight out, no wiping)

General lower unit
I think the writing = assy markings...

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

One super clean output shaft

my other 650 is rusted pretty badly, I think they did not start using SS until 77 or 79
might be chrome finished?

The general damage

I have the bracket replaced now, new timing belt, and a new (used) cowl.

Carbs have been rebuilt and reinstalled, and a new impeller installed

all that is needed now is to see if she runs

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Gibbles, you are a true bottom feeder and deserve some kind of award!

How about the Big Green Thumbs Up Award?

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Gibbles, you are a true bottom feeder and deserve some kind of award!

How about the Big Green Thumbs Up Award?

ty

I need more duct tape....

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Gibbs - lookin' good man. Nice to see that good deals turn out to be good deals!. Motor looks to be in great shape for its age...and glad to see you are to get back to the Nova and on to another splash this season.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

my hero.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

You know the old saying; If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.






And with this engine I have one of the most expensive parts of the boat taken care of.

the rest is just plywood ($60ish), steering ($130+arm), and paint ($100ish)
Paint is optional tho

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Gibby - It's hard to kill a Merc. She's gonna run fine.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Gibby - It's hard to kill a Merc. She's gonna run fine.

yeah, I these old mercs I keep finding have been impressing me. (prob just been lucky).

And in my manual it calls for a PN: 89638A3 for the steering link rod assy
Doing some digging I found some information that said it replaced 89638A1

So for that engine I found a new in package rod for $20 or $30 shipped, took a chance and bought it
It worked perfect!

Last night I found one listed at an auction price starting @ $9 + shipping
today I got it @ $13 shipped

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

There ya go. How many Mercs do you have now? I think you need more tinnies to mount them all. LOL

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

6




lol

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Last weekend I cut the wood for the transom, yesterday I coated the inside halves with Epoxy (west system) and clamped them together to cure

I also got the inside of the boat powerwashed, then the wind picked up with a little rain and coated the inside with pretty little blossoms... :facepalm:

Wife took the camera this weekend, so no pictures yet...

I have got to find her camera... this whole sharing thing is not working out.


HF had a little sale so I picked up some air tools to help me along

Palm sander as my electic one fell apart while working on the jet...
I gave it a good work out on the transom, and seems pretty solid ($20)

Polisher/sander, $25, needed to help me get the windsheild restored, and prob some paint work later on.

this turns a bit slower than I wished, but it seems to work pretty good over all.

Grease gun: I'm curious how well this will work as an air tool, but for $20 why the heck not.

Right now I have a few HF air tools from doing my roof (nail guns), only one I had to take apart and polish the insides to get it to run smoothy...

Anyways I'm making slow progress

Once I finish the transom I'll start slow work on the flooring...

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Sounds like some good progress there Gibbs...and some good finds at HF. We have something called (and for the .life of me I don't know why they called it this) princess auto... which is a great place to find a whole assortment of stuff you need, might need or have no use for, but its just cool to say you have!

Keep r goin!

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Sounds like some good progress there Gibbs...and some good finds at HF. We have something called (and for the .life of me I don't know why they called it this) princess auto... which is a great place to find a whole assortment of stuff you need, might need or have no use for, but its just cool to say you have!

Keep r goin!

Jim, in the early 60's and before Princess auto was a surplus and auto wrecker, hence the name.

Gib your making some good progress and stocking up the tool shelf at the same time!!
Glen

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Wife took the camera this weekend, so no pictures yet...

With how quickly new models of digital cameras come out and make the previous ones obsolete, you should EASILY be able to find a perfectly acceptable one for use on your projects for like $20-30 on CL or ebay. Wouldn't have to worry about getting dust on it either.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Pictures of transom out

A little corroded!

Swiss cheese!

Looks to of had two engines on there

second set of holes appear to match my merc 650

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Transom being sealed with epoxy

New Transom plate

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Lookin' good Gibbs... that'll seal her up good and tight. Not to much corrosion... at least not any more than you'd expect.

Glad you were able to take some photos!!

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

Been busy hopping between this and the Chief

Rear deck cut/fit and coating with epoxy

The little cutout a the rear is my idea of not having a large hole down to the bulge
Something that always bugged me with my FIL's boat, things fall in there and are never to be seen again!
I'll install little doors later on.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 1973 Starcraft Nova 15' rebuild

I figured out how to get the nose piece off with little effort or risk of damage...
gotta remove the whole rub rail channel and then it slides right off.

Damaged rail