1977 Cruise Boats Restore

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Excellent work, the boat looks great with the custom paint job.

Looking forward to seeing some more photos. This thread is extremely helpful for any type of project.

The wiring especially carries over to all types of hulls and I like the way that you installed, it. Thanks for the helpful documentation.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

That cowling came out awesome! Did you end up having to trim up the stripes to make them parallel?

EZ,

Thanks for the compliments. No I didn't trim anything. Before installing I studied your photo you posted here. I also studied some other engine photos. I noticed that the side decals have a straight edge and a slightly curved edge. One thing that I noticed on your motor was when you applied your side stripes it looks as though they were put on with the straight edge following the top and bottom of the cowling. In many photos I saw it looked like that should be reversed meaning that the curved edges should follow the top and bottom. This allows for the straight edges to be running next to each other framing the center Johnson decal. This seemed to work out and actually followed contours fairly well and still looked balanced.

So eventhough you tried to drive me crazy it didn't work.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Excellent work, the boat looks great with the custom paint job.

Looking forward to seeing some more photos. This thread is extremely helpful for any type of project.

The wiring especially carries over to all types of hulls and I like the way that you installed, it. Thanks for the helpful documentation.

HA,

Thanks for the compliments. I have followed much of your work on here and I really appreciate the inspiration that you and so many others have provided to me and many new restorers. I am so close to the end of this and I can't wait to wrap this up and start using this boat.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

One of the other small jobs I brought home was the remote control. The remote was pretty beat up and the tilt/trim switch on the throttle level wasn't working correctly. Here it is before:

I carefully disassembled the unit so that I could work on the separate halfs:

Once I had the unit emptied, I sanded, primed and painted each half of the remote casing. Once that was done I reassembled the body of the remote. Looking nice and clean now.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Next part of the remote rebuild was to replace the tilt/trim switch and clean up the throttle handle. I ordered all new components for the throttle handle - five new pieces and I cleaned up and repainted the shift lock piece. One of the previous owners split the throttle handle apart, breaking it, to get to the tilt/trim switch. And then when he put it back together, he used sillycone. There was no way I could remove all of the sillycone in order to repair and repaint so that is why I obtained all new pieces. Here are the side by side comparision shots:

New outer plastic throttle handle w/new TnT switch and OMC placard (on right):

New metal throttle handle body, painted black, w/new top piece and painted shift lock lever (on left):

Final throttle handle assembly:

And then the final remote assembled and ready to go:

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Nice looking project! I haven't had a chance to read all of it, but looks like you are doing a nice job.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Arch,

Thanks for looking and checking it out. I have been a long time follower of your thread as well. All of the specialized work you did on your boat and trailer was amazing. The whole package turned out perfect. How's the house on the lake coming?

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Thanks! I still have a list of things to get done to my boat before next season, but have a lot of other irons in the fire at the moment. Right now I'm just trying to get the retaining wall built,the house will be in a few years. I'm almost ready for the 100 loads of fill, we should be able to start on that if I get one more nice day to finish prep work. Looking forward to seeing your project move along!

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Oh okay. I thought I read that that was a foundation wall. My bad. I see that you are prepping the spot to put the house. Looks like a beautiful location. Good luck with all that. Building a house is all consuming but like anything else very rewarding. Keep us posted.

 

[sasto]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Greg, that cowling on the dinner table looks more inviting than a turkey on Thanksgiving.

Your progress and work is outstanding. Keep it up...and Good Luck in all you do.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Thanks Sasto. That's very funny. I needed a laugh this morning. My truck died on me in my driveway while I was clearing some snow off it. My guess is the fuel pump crapped out. At least it didn't happen while on the road.

 

[sasto]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Thanks Sasto. That's very funny. I needed a laugh this morning. My truck died on me in my driveway. My guess is the fuel pump crapped out. At least it didn't happen while on the road.

I know the feeling. I went thru 7 quarts of oil in the boat yesterday. Found a massive leak coming out the oil sender unit. Replaced sender and now all is well.

Good Luck on your truck, Greg.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Thanks.

 

[drewpster]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Hey Greg, Sorry if I missed it before, but can you give me a run down of the primer/ paints you used to do your Johnson? (the motor, not the other thing) I really have not selected anything for my Merc yet and I need to make some decisions.
(sorry I am a bit crude....but my good looks make up for it)

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Hey Greg, Sorry if I missed it before, but can you give me a run down of the primer/ paints you used to do your Johnson? (the motor, not the other thing) I really have not selected anything for my Merc yet and I need to make some decisions.
(sorry I am a bit crude....but my good looks make up for it)

Drew,

I didn't do a complete disassembly and repaint. I was just looking to freshen up the overall appearance. Here is a rundown on what I did:

1. Cleaned the entire motor to remove wax, grease, grime and oil from the outside.
2. Wire wheeled the metal parts to remove any loose or flanking paint.
3. Sanded the surface to smooth out any rough spots and scuff the surface. I had some rusty parts like the steering leg that I really couldn't get to so I did the best I could to remove as much rust and scale as possible.
4. I taped off electrical, grease and fuel fittings. I also completely covered the powerhead to prevent overspray from getting on anything.
5. I applied two coats of Rustoleum metal primer (red). There was very little bare aluminum showing so I didn't use any zinc chromate primer. This primer also can be used on rusty metal (steering leg). I sanded lightly between coats of primer and after the final coat.
6. I then applied 2-3 coats of the Moeller Marine's Johnson/Evinrude Engine Paint. This paint forms a thick coating (almost plastic like) so go easy with it when applying, and definitely apply light tack coats first to control running and checking. I sanded lightly between coats but this particular paint doesn't sand very easily. No sanding on final coat. It will buff out fairly nice if you decide to do that.

The engine cowling is fiberglass so you know how to handle that.

Most of this stuff you already know but I hope this was helpful.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Well even though we got 6'" of new snow last night, I was able to get down to the boat this weekend and get some things accomplished. First thing I wanted to do was finish up the electrical installation. I got the bilge pump installed and wired.

I also got the new stereo installed (new grab bar also).

Once all the wiring was completed I installed covers to protect the back sides of the switch panels and make everything look nice.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

The next thing on the list was to install the steering wheel and bezel.

And then finally the speakers. Everything sounds great!

Next step is to install the seat boxes and seats and hang the motor. I am getting near the end. I can't wait to splash this baby! Come on spring!

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Really nice looking work! Keep it up!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Pro work as usual. Glad you got some time back on it. Can't to see it completed. I should be dragging mine home in a few weeks to start on some improvements. Today's weather is not encouraging.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 1977 Cruise Boats Restore

Really nice looking work! Keep it up!

Thanks Arch.