1976 chris-craft rebuild

[mikey&amy]

hi guys, first off let me tell you that i love this site. last year i took my first boat a 1978 stamas and did a i/o to outboard swap and it worked out very well but now iv got a new project and I'm lost before iv even got started i bought the boat 4 the trailer but then liked the looks of the boat. iv started working on it on the weekends. i took the motor and trans out both were rusted and water logged because the back filled with water. iv got another 305chevy for it but don't know what the trans is... also the gas tank needs to be removed but unless i cut the top off the boat i don't see how it will come out. well i hope you guys can help. mike

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

Welcome Mike!
Post up some pics.The guys here are great and will have plenty of ideas!

 

[DJ]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

Give is a pic. , or two.

We love resto's. We'll help but we have only a "minds eye" idea as to what you're working on.

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

pics it is....o and its a 26' if it matters.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

I dont get it. Is that two boats in those pics? One is i/o and one is outboard. I see you were talking about a swap. Did you do that. I dont get it.

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

the first pic is the stamas in-which i did the swap. the rest of them are the chris-craft sorry for the confusion.:redface::redface::redface:

 

[oops!]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

we will need to see pics of the motor compartment and approximatly where the gas tank is........uasually the deck must be cut away to get the tank out.

its no big deal and it will let you have a look at whats down below the deck.....you will have to see if there is any rot under there.

btw....our guys here can tell between the types of transmissions inboards have.....so if we can see it ,,,,,we can help you !

cheers
oops

 

[WizeOne]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

Hmmm? Not a very auspicious start here!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

are you in Jacksonville, i see the Notty Gator's home port was Jax.

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

thanks for all the replies but no i don't live in jax, i live in brooksville next to springhill, fl also i got some more pics of the trans and motor area the fuel tank is in the back but it notched into the stringer and into the floor. the motor cover is a 4x8 Peace of ply wood so it is easy to get almost everything

 

[mikey&amy]

1976

1976

i took the trans apart and its a rusty can i sand blast all the parts and be ok ???

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1976

Re: 1976

As long as you can maintain the integrity of the seals..... sand blasting or soda blasting will work.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1976

Re: 1976

Unless you're an accomplished tranny guy, might consider pricing a good used/rebuilt one instead...if it's price competitive with rebuilding the old one. If so, make the old rebuild a long-term project so you have a spare if needed. I think those tubes/stringers you are pointing to with arrows are the old style upside down pipe stringers they used to use. If they are original, they are probably hollow.

 

[oops!]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

as far as the half round stringers.....

yes they are.....they are fiberglass covered cardboard or pvc tubes......dont worry....all the stregnth is in the fiberglass.

how is the rest of the hull forward of the hatch?

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

it really not bad the only thing that worried me was that on the top were the corner of the cabin is a sunken in like1/2 inch but my dad told me that that's because of the way it is constructed with very little support and all we has to do is spread it back apart and put some spacers in there and i think ill fill it with foam....does that sound like a good idea? and thanks for helping

 

[oops!]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

we will need to see pics of the overall area where the cabin is sunk.....it could be because of a rotten deck......uasually the guys that engeneered these thngs messed in cosmetic ways because of shrinkage or other stuff.

but as far a the structure for stress.....they did allright.....but there is nothing that you cant fix.....we can walk you right thru it

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

this is where it is sunk not bad but i need to fix it. thanks everyone

 

[pole position]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

Hi M&A, I had the same boat. The transmission is a Paragon 1-1. The fuel tank is a pain to remove. When I replaced mine, I emptied it, washed it and capped the vent with duct tape and purgedit with argon gas,and then sawed it out in 3 pieces. I had a new rectangular tank made, I can't remember the dimensions but it wound up at about 55 gallons. I had to make the tank bed flat and had to remove the mufflers to slip it into place. I hope this helps you out.

 

[mikey&amy]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

cool, thanks a lot that's what i needed to know. how long did you own your boat anything you can tell me about it that might be helpful and again thanks

 

[pole position]

Re: 1976 chris-craft rebuild

Glad to help. I owned that boat for 9 years, the only reason I sold it was because I bought a 1975 28 ft. Pacemaker sportfish. It's got twin 350s and it was a lot better fishing boat. I do miss the large v bunk in the Chris Craft though. I think you'll like your boat when you get it done. They are a nice economical and comfortable boat. You should be able to cruise about 23 - 25 mph and burn about 8 gallons an hour with a 305.