1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

[jbing81]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

I have a '68 Merc 1000 and its telle tale is weak on the hose as well. A lot of water pressure is lost when the water leaks between the LU and the leg. OB water pumps are designed to work under a vacuum, not under pressure. Thats why you should never rev your motor while on the muffs, the hose just cant keep up. I think you'll find as soon as its in the water the pressure will perk right back up. Just my .02

Ive been looking for a better trailer myself. Ive been hoping to find something like EZ has, but so far no luck... I look forward to seeing some progress pic on your trailer and the boat!!

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Todays progress...

I stripped the trailer. The bunk brackets are on order. After fitting those I will send it off to get sandblasted.

That nasty trailer is looking better already.

The scrapped parts...

I also adjusted the carbs a bit. The carb kits are on order. And the tell tale is still weak running in a bucket...so I ordered an impellar too.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

You're not wasting any time with that thing are you? Impellers are cheap, and it's better to be safe than sorry with them. That's and interesting trailer you've got. Not sure If i've seen any like it before. It has a lot of good points, and a coat of paint will make it look a lot better.

 

[douglas1978]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Nice boat Bunker108 don't let the merc scare ya there good motors just ask mike and ez lol. I love my 1974 115 runs great just need to find a good teak ladder for my boat to save my back from pulling the kids out of the water.

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Heyyou...no not messing around anymore. The impeller will be here next week. Please point out the good points of the trailer because I could use a positive opinion on that thing. It actually towed really well almost 200 miles home so I can't really complain.

douglas, I think the Merc is a really cool old motor. I would be just nervous with any other motor too. It seems the quickest way to sink a solid project is with a junk outboard.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

NICE!
Welcome to the insanity of Starcraft!
I really dig that ladder!!

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

I think the trailer cleaned up and new paint will be nice. I would not give up on the side bunks you put in the scrap pile , painted and new bunks should work well. The extra braceing would be nice to have if you were trying to load it on a windy day. You could bump them fairly hard and they would not move. Going to be a great boat .

 

[Jayb123]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

In your scrap pile pic I see the fenders..... you dont have to keep the sides (I would though... they would make loading much easier)... but you may need to keep the fenders in order to take it on the road, without possibly getting a ticket. I would at least check into it before you threw them out. I may be wrong.... just wondering.

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Thanks Jay, the trailer is getting new steel fenders. I couldn't handle one homemade diamond plate fender and one fiberglass fender.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

The rails (for lack of a better word) for walking on on the front side should help load, and would help getting in and out of the boat out of water. Too bad they're not on both sides. The large rollers will support the boat better, that would be more important with a glasser, when they get old, they get cracks there a lot. Sort of overkill, with the boards, and 4 side rollers to help load. Shouldn't have to worry about getting it on straight tho. The lights are actually up where they can be seen and worked on. Looks to be homemade, and I'm guessing quite stout with all the cross supports and heavy C channel on the sides. Springs should be easy, if they're not russted in, to replace, or beef up. Does it have electric brakes? Ugly now, but my guess is it should be quite functional. And it will look a lot better when it gets cleaned up and a new coat of paint. You might also need a deep ramp to launch and load. And a good repair manual for the outboard will make it not quite as scary. Again scary isn't quite the right word, but I think you know what I mean.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Welcome aboard Bunky, that's a pretty nice SS you found

I'd check the compression on that motor prior to investing a whole lot. Easy to do and will let you know if you should spend time and money on it.

There are some real Merc gurus here on iboats that can help you do just about anything that motor will need, just post questions in the Merc outboard forum when you get confused.

I agree that you will want those side bunks, especially if you launch and retrieve on a river.

Good luck to ya!

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Posted this over in the Merc section too...

We might have a little problem! Checked the compression and we have good and bad news. First the bad. The compression is low. Now the good. It is the same on all cylinders. My gauge is reading about 98psi, or just shy of 100, almost dead even in every hole.

So now what? Proceed? Try to sea foam? Look for another motor?

I will probably just keep going. This one fires right up and seems to run good. I have carb kits, fuel pump kit, and impeller on the way. I also want to replace the plugs and wires. I have read that <100 is not a deal breaker but at what point do you throw in the towel?

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

The main thing is that you have a solid grouping, think of it like shooting target.

The fact that all cylinders are within 10% of each other is good news

I'd be willing to roll the dice on that motor if I were you, but maybe double check with another compression tester.

As long as parts are available for a reasonable price you might be happy with that motor.

You will get better advice in the Merc forum as well I'm sure, just my opinion.

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

So I need to put seafoam or straight 2 cycle oil into the cylinders to soak...crank and repeat? Will this have the same effect as a fogging oil?

I am with you angler, I am going to roll the dice. Hopefully I can get the compression up.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

From what I understand, the actual NUMBER reported by those compression testers isn't particularly accurate but they ARE consistent. So the fact that yours are all nice and even is a very good thing. I wouldn't worry about it.

Also throw my vote in for keeping those side bunks. I have them on mine and they're the greatest thing ever.

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Well progress has been slow...

Been scrubbing on the interior with magic erasers and simple green...the interior is looking good.

Been working on the wiring. Got a new bilge pump wired with a float switch. Got the rear area all set up with a new battery box and sorted out the wiring back there too. Still need to sort out the rats nest of wires under the dash to get my nav lights and some accesories powered.

Got two new 6 gallon tanks, fuel line and a new primer bulb.

I changed out the impeller this morning. It was a pretty easy job. I also replaced the upper housing. There is a void space in the housing just above where the impeller is, that looks like a seall could go in there. So does something go there or does that circulate water to cool the shaft? Anyways got her fired up again and my pee stream still seems rather weak. Ideas?

I also got my order in from iboats this morning. I got my bunk brackets, a keel roller carb kits and fuel pump kit. I don't know how that 4th of July guy did it. I have been working everyday and it seems like I have gone nowhere and keep finding more to do!

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Why do I have to do everything twice? Anyway I removed the lower unit to have a look at the impeller and upper housing I just replaced. It all looked good so I did my best to flush everything out and I guess it worked because I am proud to announce that I finaaly have a strong pee stream!

I have begun the process of sanding to prep for paint. I am knocking down the rough areas with 80 grit down to aluminum and blending the rest with 120 only going down to bare metal where needed. It is going quickly and I will need to remove the boat from the trailer in the next couple days to access the rest of the hull. Paint to follow. I am shooting for a splash date of July 29!

This has already been a project full of highs and lows...today is a high. Good stream, the tower of power sounds incredible and fires easily and now on to paint prep!

 

[bunker108]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Days like today make me want to throw in the towel. Everything is going good, working on getting the tach wired up before I pull the boat off the trailer. Bump the key to fire it up to see if I have a working tach...nothing. switch a couple wires...still nothing. Oh well i think, I can sort that out later. Have a look at the pee stream and nothing. Then it dawns on me that I don't have the hose running. It must have run for a minute or two at idle. I turn the hose on fire it up again and nothing out of the tell tale.

So I drop the lower unit. There is a little oil/water mix visible and the impeller and upper housing look like the remains of an old candle. I can't get the impeller off now because the drive shaft has a groove worn in it.

Lord help me...the motor was running great, had a solid stream, hull is almost ready for paint and now I killed it. I don't know where to go from here.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Sorry to hear that bunker...maybe you just fried the impellar and it just needs a new one?

It could be worse than that, have you checked compression again after happened?

 

[chuckndiscs]

Re: 1973 Super Sport...I bought it!

Days like today make me want to throw in the towel. Everything is going good, working on getting the tach wired up before I pull the boat off the trailer. Bump the key to fire it up to see if I have a working tach...nothing. switch a couple wires...still nothing. Oh well i think, I can sort that out later. Have a look at the pee stream and nothing. Then it dawns on me that I don't have the hose running. It must have run for a minute or two at idle. I turn the hose on fire it up again and nothing out of the tell tale.

So I drop the lower unit. There is a little oil/water mix visible and the impeller and upper housing look like the remains of an old candle. I can't get the impeller off now because the drive shaft has a groove worn in it.

Lord help me...the motor was running great, had a solid stream, hull is almost ready for paint and now I killed it. I don't know where to go from here.

Oh man, that sucks!! I hope that you dig in to it and find you just cooked the impellar and not the whole motor. Feelin for you buddy! Good Luck!

Chuck