1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

tgordon1234

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Sep 21, 2013
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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

i know the block is out of a truck. i figured that much out already but from what i read as long as the cam and all installed was marine its fine... we shall find out!
 

tgordon1234

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Sep 21, 2013
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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

well i couldnt wait for the weekend so put the starter in she turned over little gas in the carb started right up and runs like a champ. only problem is it wont go into gear forward or reverse the lever will push forward but nothing in reverse. outdrive wont engage with direction and cables appear to be moving?
 

jasoutside

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

Give us some video action of that engine running and your cables doing their thing eh:thumb:
 

tgordon1234

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Sep 21, 2013
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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

i should be able to get a video of it this weekend i tried today but was a little short on time. but she runs and that was half the battle (and fear) :) doesnt knock seems to run pretty smooth for the short time i had it running. so im pretty happy about that now just get it to go into gear!
 

daveydoodle

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Jun 15, 2011
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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

Sorry for getting off track of thie Islander, sounds like a neat project and $ above all was right,,,I just get carried away with the old tinny finds.
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

no worries daveydoodle :) i like to hear about finds and misses. i like to hear about what other people are doing:) until i joined the iboats forums i had no idea there were so many people out there that like these old aluminum boats. I just really like old things, nothing i buy is anykind of new :) (other then my car for work and such) anything older with a motor is how i roll :) farm tractors, cars, whatever now boats. im much more mechanically inclined then detail oriented i can make them function for the most part but making them pretty might be trouble :) anyway no worries i like to hear the stories :)
 

jpstude

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Feb 5, 2010
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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

Welcome aboard. there are a ton of people here, that have a ton of knowledge to share with you, about these tin beauties. Nice folks. I purchased a '78 Starcraft Chieftan 18' about six weeks back, and went through similar symptoms, with the shifting. I ended up pulling the outdrive and finding out the driveshaft was rusted into the Gimbal bearing, the universal joints were rusted, the bellows were all rotted, and the shift cable was broken/rusted. Like achris suggested: get yourself over to the MerCruiser Forum, those guys are incredible. The cables could be rusty, on the inside, they may be broken at the transom (or disconnected), the outdrive could be stuck, or any number of other stuff.
Get the serial# off the outdrive, engine, and take/post pictures, and they can help you much easier. - We're pullin' for you - Hey, it's just money... right? - J.P.
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

yup just money, trying to give myself a realistic budget and time frame for this thing but hey so far the motor runs so that expense can be subtracted from the rebuild cost at this point, unless something bad happens :) im going to try and get the motor out in the next couple weekends so this spring i can get started right on the transom and floor... the motor runs real good by the sounds of it, just a little sceptical about the truck engine turned marine :) but im going to run with it!
 

Brenn

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

sweet news on the motor running,hopefully it keeps going good.
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

if everything goes according to plan ill be running it for a while on muffs tomorrow and get the not going into gear situation straitened out. then out they come :) i have to get a better camera to document this whole operation!
 

dozerII

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

Great news on the motor, look forward to following alone.
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

ok guys i need some guidance here in NY its getting cold so im going to do what i can do until the snow flies but im budgeting for this. I know theres a lot of you guys out there that have done this many times and are very well informed on how to go about a rebuild and those every day materials you use IE. resins and glues ect. im looking for pointers on things o stock up on im very much the kind of person that wants to have all ducks in a row before i start so im not running out everytime i need something. ive read a lot about resins and gluvit 3m 5200 just looking to get an idea on the basics of what i might need to make this brain child come to life :) thanks guys
 

dozerII

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

You will need 1-2 small gluvit kit's. Depending on how fast you move along, if you go with the large tubes of 3M 5200 and 4200 you will probably find they that what you didn't use last time has set up and ruined the tube, so I purchase the small tubes and find way less waste, and expense. Pop rivets in varing lengths and dia. 5/32 x 1/4 and 1/2, 3/16 by 1/2, 3/4 and 1 1/4 all should be of the Aluminum/aluminum type. I prefer the ones with large heads for the deck. You will have to have an air powered rivet gun just ask around!!! I prefer 5/8 ply for the deck over the 1/2 factory stuff and 3/4 is over-kill in my opinion. Either two part epoxy or Urethane Spar varnish to coat all your wood parts, I prefer the later just because it is real tough for me to get Epoxy, really any sealer we put on the wood is more than StarCraft did when they built these boats and look how long they lasted. Goo-off Aerisol Graffiti remover works great for getting rid of glue residue. Depending on your plan for paint, Rustoleum Pro is a great choice right from there Self etching primer through to the color with Valspar hardener added, just make sure you have the proper safety gear for spraying. A large assortment of stainless steel machine screws and screws, but it always seems your running to bolt store for them.

Have fun
 
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tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

cool thanks! im going to start stocking up. ive desided im going to remove the motor drive and transom and make the transom over the winter... possibly start the floors in my basement too. farmers almanac predicts a harsh winter with heavy snowfall this year so i doubt ill get a lot done outside on it this year :) thanks again for the input/help on my grocery list.
 

laurentide

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

tg, Dozer's got you covered on everything, but I'll add what I think was my list of lumber supplies for an 18'er with bulkheads: 2 sheets 3/4" BCX, 1 for transom, 1 for bulkheads (and I still have lots of useable scrap left over...I think I made my splashwell sliders from these 2 sheets as well, though they may be from the 5/8 stock...can't recall), 3 sheets 5/8" BCX for deck and cabin deck, and 1 sheet of 1/2" for side panels. I got a 1 gallon kit (1 1/2 when you include the hardener) of epoxy from US Composites. It was just barely enough...for your Islander, I'd get a 2 gallon kit. Titebond III worked well to bond the transom halves. I also got some fairing compound, and if you really want to level everything out on your plywood, you'll definitely need at least 2 gallons of epoxy. The BCX is pretty rough in spots. If you go with spar varnish, you may want to upgrade the plywood grade so you have nicer surfaces that don't require fairing. ACX isn't that much more expensive, I just couldn't find any around here.

Good luck with the demo work, and I hope that merc works out for you!

EDIT: Lowes discontinued the blue foam panels, but if you can find them elsewhere they're cheaper than the green ones. I used the equivalent total of 4 4x8 sheets for under the deck and behind the side panels. The blue panels are also somewhat easier to score/cut than the green ones, which are denser and more rigid.
 
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tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

around here marine grade plywood doesnt exist :) so ill have to shop around and see what i can find. whatever i use has to last longer then whats in there ha ha.. it looks like someone may have changed the transom once before looking closer. i want to change it only one time in my lifetime it doesnt look like a good time to do :) ill take pictures when i get started removing everything... thanks for the help guys.
 

classiccat

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

around here marine grade plywood doesnt exist :) so ill have to shop around and see what i can find. whatever i use has to last longer then whats in there ha ha.. it looks like someone may have changed the transom once before looking closer. i want to change it only one time in my lifetime it doesnt look like a good time to do :) ill take pictures when i get started removing everything... thanks for the help guys.

what county do you hail from TG? Heights lumber in New Windsor, NY carries both Marine and ACX.
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

im in schoharie county. betweem eastbumble and nowhere :)
 

tgordon1234

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

still no luck on marine plywood around this place :facepalm:
 

jasoutside

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Re: 1977 starcraft islander deal or no deal

How about MDO? Arauco? Exterior grade? Anything like that stuff?
 
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