advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

[pjimpin]

hello everyone im looking at buying a 1983 glastron bow rider, it comes with a 115 mercury and a trailer, the boat itself is in pretty good shape for the age of the boat. the guy who is selling it is asking 600 dollars for the whole thing and im thinking that i cant really go wrong for the price, even if i part everything out i think i can make my money back. i really just wanted to know if glastrons are decent boats and if anyone can tell me about this mercury motor im not sure what the year is but the guy said it ran a few months ago but he thought the starter was bad, are they pretty decent motors iv only ever had Johnson's and evinrudes. im just planning on fixing it up and keeping it for a few year until i find something nicer any opinions would be appreciated thanks.

 

[86 century]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

As with any boat that age condition is everything if she has solid transom,floor and stringers she is good to go.

As for the eng it is real tuff to tell anything about it since it will not turn over.

At this point the eng is only worth what you can positively tell is in good working order witch isn't much.

 

[southkogs]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

Glastron is a fine boat (ask James Bond ), their hulls are usually nice running boats. My biggest concern with that boat is rot. She's been left outside unprotected for a while, so there's a good chance that you've got some structural issues going on.

Trailer looks good though, so you can probably recover $600 back outta' it all if you can't make it go.

 

[pjimpin]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

yeah thats pretty much what i was thinking, im gonna take a battery and my other boats gas tank and see if i can at least get it to turn over once, if i can get it to do that im pretty sure i can get her to at least spit and sputter. thanks for your advice guys.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

An engine is not worth much to me if it's not running. The engine looks to be about a 1980 model--good engines. That boat should perform well with that engine.

If you buy the boat, you should immediately have the lower unit pressure and vacuum tested for seals. New seals are about $300 including labor. And, have a good mechanic look at the lower unit's condition.

I'd also have the 3 carbs cleaned out and the fuel system checked out. On every used boat, clean and repack the bearings on day 1.

 

[79Merc80]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

If it was me, ,I would NOT try and start it without having a mechnic take a look at it. The waterpump impeller should be changed BEFORE trying to start it. IF not and it does fire. It doesn't take long to damage the engine from lack of water flow.

If you can get the serial # off the engine we can tell you waht year it is. The cowlings sugget it's between 1980 and 1983. 1983 is when Mercury went to prop rating their engines. If it is prop rated, that boat should FLY!!!

Craig

 

[Texasmark]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

Glastron is a fine boat (ask James Bond ), their hulls are usually nice running boats. My biggest concern with that boat is rot. She's been left outside unprotected for a while, so there's a good chance that you've got some structural issues going on.

Trailer looks good though, so you can probably recover $600 back outta' it all if you can't make it go.

On the Bond movie I understand that Glastron built 12 of those boats just alike for the shot; red and white as I recall. In case a viewer missed it, they were running down a canal/river in Florida at WOT in a chase scene (Bond being chased) and there was a road across the route; just a raised grassy levee if you will with a shell road on top. Bond (stunt man???) ran up the rather steep bank at WOT became airborne sailed across the road and the rest of the levee and hit the water on the other side still going. Don't know how many of the boats didn't make the stunt before the shoot. An Evinrude V4 was the power plant.

Glastron used to be made in Austin, TX. President Lyndon Johnson had a couple. One for him and another for the SS. As the story goes, he usually ran on Lake Marble Falls N. of Austin and the boat the SS had didn't have the big 400+ big block Chevy that was in the boat Glastron especially made for him. So he could outrun them and is said to have enjoyed that. His ranch was just up the road from the lake near Johnson City, TX.
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Boat has been sitting out as others said. If it sat with the bow up and the drain plug out you may be ok except for where the seats attach to the deck and the seats themselves....rotted wood.

The engine not running could hide some serious flaws that could cost a bunch to fix. In starting an engine that has been sitting, I agree that you need to lube things up and ensure adequate cooling before you turn it over.

I noticed a whales tail and wondered why one would need a tail on that small a boat with that large of an engine. Then I looked and noticed no PTT. Probably the reason.

$600 isn't a lot of money and as said the trailer would probably bring that. If the engine is not reasonably recoverable you could make some more $$ parting it out on ebay or something of the sort....Craigs list???

Good luck.
Mark

 

[mr 88]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

The engine has Power Tilt and Trim as I can see the SS hydraulic line.That alone is worth 3-400,used SS prop 150-200 all day long. The motor is probably a 83 as well and after changing the impeller I would not hesitate to try and fire it up.The starter motor may need to be taken apart and cleaned,check all wiring for breaks and clean connections. A compression test would be nice and I know you can't judge a book by its' cover but that shroud and general condition of what I can see of the motor looks good to go to me.Depending on the last time it was run and how it was stored will determine if the carbs and fuel system needs to be gone over,the guys in the Mercury forum on here can help you with all that,go for it.Lose the whale tail,that setup does not need one.As far as the hp I believe that the 115 is a wolf in sheep's clothing as Merc did not want to compete with itself as they had introduced the V6's in the lineup,including a 150 so the 115 was pretty much a 150 badged a 115

 

[krakatoa]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

If it was me, ,I would NOT try and start it without having a mechnic take a look at it. The waterpump impeller should be changed BEFORE trying to start it. IF not and it does fire. It doesn't take long to damage the engine from lack of water flow.
Craig

IMHO It will not hurt the engine If you start it for a few seconds, BUT if there is no water coming out then you have a problem. Anyway a perfect working thermostat will not open to let the water flow until the engine reach its temp. Some boat owners like to change the impeller annually but It depends on how much you use your boat but that is another story.

Glastron boats are very good ones whitout mention the nice looking hull. I own a 1993 SSV190 bowrider for over 4 years now, no complaints. Almost forgot, my OB is a 1993 Mariner 115HP and still kicking over 42 mph, not bad for an oldie....

 

[pjimpin]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

thanks again guys, i think ill go pick her up and bring her back to the house and clean the foot and change the impeller and see what noise she makes and go from there i appreciate all your advice you guys have been a big help!

 

[79Merc80]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

Just so you are aware and don't go trying to find it. There were NO thermostats on the inline 6's. If that engine was built in the second half of 93, then it is most likely prop rated wich is the same as the 140 from 78 - 81

Craig

 

[V153]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

Yes definitely replace the impellor, soon. But hell I'd go ahead'n check the motor for signs of life, provided it turns freely. The very first thing I do when trying to resurrect one of these things is check the compression. If something's not right then yer wasting your time going any further. Good luck!

re Bond boats: Reportedly 26 were purchased by the production company. 4 or 5 were destroyed either purposely or unintentionally.(Wrecks by stunt drivers, the one stuck through JW's cruiser, etc) Legend has it the GT 150 which did the record leap was the same hull that made the first fledgling test jump. Only mods were a couple of 'stabilizers' outboard the keel to keep it level going up the ramp.

 

[JEBar]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

thanks again guys, i think ill go pick her up and bring her back to the house and clean the foot and change the impeller and see what noise she makes and go from there

really looking forward to your coming reports .... I hope you have found a good one

Jim

 

[H20Rat]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

If you are planning on changing out the impeller anyway (as you should in this case) there is no harm in starting the engine up. Even 20-30 seconds of run time at idle isn't enough to overheat it.

 

[jsimms724]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

I recently brought a 1984 115 back to life, all from good advice from here, the best advise i got was to install 10 micron fuel/ water separator the three carbs dont like to be bothered with h20 or particulate matter. The boat has been sitting for a while , so here comes all those ethanol problems maybe at first use a smaller independent fuel tank

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

I really love mine--look in the restoration setion on iboats for the reastore.

with a little work it could be a great boat. the trailer is worth $600.

 

[pjimpin]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

well i ended up getting her for 440 dollars. im sure ill run into a few problems and need some advice and ill be sure to get back on here when i do, you guys have been a lot of help thanks.

 

[krakatoa]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

If you are planning on changing out the impeller anyway (as you should in this case) there is no harm in starting the engine up. Even 20-30 seconds of run time at idle isn't enough to overheat it.

THANKS!!! I dont know why you guys have to run in a hurry to change the impeller in order to test the engine for a few seconds or a mnt or 2. The engine will be fine. Again if there is no water coming out then you better shutdown.

 

[southkogs]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

well i ended up getting her for 440 dollars. im sure ill run into a few problems and need some advice and ill be sure to get back on here when i do, you guys have been a lot of help thanks.

Congratulations ... if it all works

Let's see some photos. It makes it easier to tell you what to work on first if it was our boat

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: advice on buying a glastron with an old 115 mercury

shouda done the compresion test before buy.....let us know updates! good luck!