Buick V6 conversion

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Hi Andy,

I'm in Perth, also with a Bertram 20... Nice boat and a great project...

I should point out a couple of things that you may not know or have realized.

1. Those stainless manifolds look a lot like some that were being made in Qld a few years back... They had no end of problems with them cracking...

2. the engine has a lot of Ali parts. If you're not running closed cooling you'll find them disappearing faster then you can replace them...

3. Flywheel housing... Any chance of taking a Mercruiser Gen II housing and modifying it?

4. Engine coupler... Have you sorted that yet?

As for using the Commodore engine, great idea. I just wish we had access to the abundant and cheap engines that our USA brethren have...

Chris.........

Hi Chris
Yes the boat will be running a closed cooling system with a glycol mixed coolant.
At this stage I?m planning on re-using the existing 470 heat exchanger but if that doesn't work then I will source another. The 470 cooled the manifolds and everything and since this is only cooling the motor I think the 470 heat exchanger will be sufficient as the manifolds will be the only salt water cooled component.

As for the manifolds cracking that will be all trial and error and there will no doubt be some teething problems, there is a mob near me that sell a similar manifold for this engine for $2500 and they put a 5 year warrantee on them so I?m guessing they cant be all that bad.

Engine coupler will be the genuine merc one I just need to centre it and drill the flywheel to suit.

Bell housing I have a merc one coming so will see when it gets here how close a fit it will be, will work that out when I get it hopefully, but I have a plan B to build one if it comes to that.

And yep I?m with you on the engine, if the chev engine was more common here I would have gone that way. The main reason I went for the commodore motor is they are everywhere, easy to get parts for cheap to fix and since I used to work for Holden I know them backwards. All the parts to rebuild this cost me a 1/8th of what I would have paid for Merc bits and I can get parts for it any day of the week, without the 2- 4 week delay of ordering from the States

Cheers Andy

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

That buick 3.8 really is a great engine, it has been discontinued here in the states about 2008 but there will be exaples rolling all over for a long time to come, the supercharged versions are my favorite.
The intake manifold you all have over there looks much more high performance than the cheap plastic junk the 3.8 used here.

Wonderful looking engineering and craftsmanship on the this job and the oil filter adapter is great, the letters and numbers look damn fine considering they were done on a manual mill.

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

That buick 3.8 really is a great engine, it has been discontinued here in the states about 2008 but there will be exaples rolling all over for a long time to come, the supercharged versions are my favorite.
The intake manifold you all have over there looks much more high performance than the cheap plastic junk the 3.8 used here.

Wonderful looking engineering and craftsmanship on the this job and the oil filter adapter is great, the letters and numbers look damn fine considering they were done on a manual mill.

Yep they discontinued the engine here at the same time.

They called this one the Ecotec and the new replacment is the Allytech but they should still be around for many years to come and they are the most popular engine for conversions into other vehciles, as said earlier I have put the same engine in a Toyota hilux and my wifes Commadore has one too as standard.

They came from factory with a supercharger option and if down the track I want a bit more power then that may be another option.

cheers Andy

Cheers Andy

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Did the final bit to the engine today being the sump and the oil pickup.

Because the motor cam from a Commodore the sump well was at the front of the engine and with the motor going in a boat it thought the well and the oil pickup would be better suited at the rear.

Wouldn't want the motor starving of oil while the bow is pointing at the sky.

The sump is all alloy so I cut it up and welded some alloy checker plate in to get the shape and capacity I needed.

The ball valve is my quick change oil method, I can put a hose on it and feed it out through the bung hole into a bucket to change the engine oil.

Much better than draining in to the bilge and then washing the muck out.

Cheers Andy

 

[achris]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Hi Andy,

Great mod... the idea of draining the oil out through a hose through the bung hole isn't new, Merc's been doing it for a while now....

'Interesting' date on the photo.

Chris........

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Well today Carol went out with the girls to have Hot X Buns and coffee and the kids went to Nanna and Pops so I had the day to myself.

with that I decided to get stuck in to the Boat first was to fire her up just to hear it run for the last time and take a pick (date stamped for next week for the Ebay advert, it was wrong and forgot to change it so cant sell before that date LOL. Should have read the post above for the reminder.

Then it was time to start ripping stuff out.

Gave the motor a real good clean and was amazed how well it came up as it looks brand new and there?s no corrosion anywhere.

then it was time to get into the bilge this is a before pic of all the crap in there LOL.
You couldn't see down here while the old motor was fitted but i new it would be bad as I had stuck my hand down there a few times for a feel around. It was about an inch thick of dreid up jelly type sludge.

spent 3 hours cleaning the engine bay and this is the end result of soap water, scraper, wire brush, pressure washer etc etc.

To my amazement I found a 9/16 combination spanner and a 1/2 inch socket 4 hose clamps and nuemerous busted cable ties and stuff all burried in the muck The spanners wern't mine so they must belong to one of the 2 previous owners but they were well preserved LOL

Nearly past the point of no return Cheers Andy

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Looking good!

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Can anyone tell me if this is standard fittment for one of these motors as it looks very rough and poorly finished where the old engine mounts were fitted.
Stringer has been cut into and the center one is not even sealed to prevent water getting into the timbers, lucky for me it is still solid (must have been the grease lol) But I will need to do some Glass work to tidy things up a bit more.

It had a steel crossmember fitted between the two outside stringers and the large cut out on the port side stringer (just above that grey area) apeared to serve no purpose so I am assuming it was cut out for a different engine at some stage.
Either that or they built the boat for one engine and then changed their mind as the old engine number does match the age of the boat.

all the cut outs except the centre one have been bogged up so I will need to grind the bogg out, and glass them properly. on that side one they have simply put the steel crossmeber in and then poured some resin in behind it to fill the space.

I'm wondering if this may not be its original engine??? but as said the age of the boat does correspond with the engine number and leg number

Nearly past the point of no return Cheers Andy

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

while things are getting very close to going back together and me Just waiting on customs to clear the Gen 2 outdrive so I can pick it up (hopefully Tuesday due to the Easter break) I thought I better get my act together and whip up an alignment bar.

A quick dip in an electroplating bath to add some zinc protection to it.

And Vwalla one zinced and one about to be. The handles are also knurled but can't see it in the pic.
The dull Zinced one should polish up nice and bright but since it's a tool I don't think I need to bother.

also made an extra one for a freind while the lathe was tooled up for it.

Cheers Andy

 

[triman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Geez, you don't mess around do you? Electroplating an alignment tool, no less!!
After the jo is all done are you going to mount it on a polished rosewood plinth?

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Geez, you don't mess around do you? Electroplating an alignment tool, no less!!
After the jo is all done are you going to mount it on a polished rosewood plinth?

I just had visions of using it once then sitting it in the shed for the next 12 months only to find the bare metal all rusty.

The fluid in my bath needs changing so not sure how long the zinc will last on these as I ran out of stuff to mix a fresh batch. When I change the fluid I could feel inclined to give them another dip.

As for mounting it, No! but it could replace the baseball bat behind the front door

Cheers Andy

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

"As for using the Commodore engine, great idea. I just wish we had access to the abundant and cheap engines that our USA brethren have..."
I was reading your posts an thinking "My god that's alot of work to use that particular engine, why"?
Now I know. Never even occured to me that a small block Chevy might be hard to find in other parts of the world.
We's spoilt on this side of the earth.
That is some impressive fabrication to be sure.
As the other guy said, make sure you get the electronics marine use ready. With your EFI electronics, Can i recomend that as well as sealing them up, you mount them with some inpact dampening? The automotive units don't get the pounding that the marine enviroment dish's out.
Oh and that engine probably is original. I build high dollar boats for a living and having to make little cut-outs like that aren't uncommon. All that stuff is layed by hand and things tend to move a little during curing. Would have been good of them to at least gelcoat over it, but your was a production boat.
Make sure you get all that wet wood dry before you seal it up.
Looking forward to the test run results.
Jim
Lake Havasu City, AZ.

 

[triman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

"As for using the Commodore engine, great idea. I just wish we had access to the abundant and cheap engines that our USA brethren have..."
I was reading your posts an thinking "My god that's alot of work to use that particular engine, why"?
Now I know. Never even occured to me that a small block Chevy might be hard to find in other parts of the world.
We's spoilt on this side of the earth.
That is some impressive fabrication to be sure.
As the other guy said, make sure you get the electronics marine use ready. With your EFI electronics, Can i recomend that as well as sealing them up, you mount them with some inpact dampening? The automotive units don't get the pounding that the marine enviroment dish's out.
Oh and that engine probably is original. I build high dollar boats for a living and having to make little cut-outs like that aren't uncommon. All that stuff is layed by hand and things tend to move a little during curing. Would have been good of them to at least gelcoat over it, but your was a production boat.
Make sure you get all that wet wood dry before you seal it up.
Looking forward to the test run results.
Jim
Lake Havasu City, AZ.

Jim, I've been following this thread in the background and giving Andy a bit of advice here and there, although he really doesn't need my interfering. Andy is also posting all this on a local forum we are both members of.
As for the SBC, they are relatively common down here but the prices are nothing short of outrageous. With the GM 3.8 parts are available at the corner store on a Sunday and the basic starter engine is as common as, well, SBCs in the US. I think Andy went for the GM as his boat doesn't really need serious grunt to get him out there and back.
As for the damp timber, we've already discussed that, but it is nice to have an opinion supported by someone experienced in the field.

Cheers
Roy

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Yeah, I didn't really think he needed help from the like of me. But it coldn't hurt and gave me and excuse to give him a well deserved nod.
That's funny about the SBC prices. Here people offer to give me blocks and complete motors that they are just tired of looking at. I think I have 5 in my garage. (Two 400's)
One thing for sure, He's a fabricator.

 

[triman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Jim, SBCs are not that common, but I do have 2 old 85HP Johnno outboards out the back waiting for me to have a go at getting one working from 2.
Ebay Oz has the GM 3.8 for change out of a hundred, yet strangely Andy is the first i know of who has made a serious attempt to get one into a boat.
BTW a bloke who lives nearby has put a Lexus 4.0L into an inboard.

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Hi Andy,

Great mod... the idea of draining the oil out through a hose through the bung hole isn't new, Merc's been doing it for a while now....

'Interesting' date on the photo.

Chris........

Even comes with a clip that is attached to the drain plug and drains out of there like cold maple syrup.

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Well this started out as just a motor conversion.

Now I think I'm getting carried away lol.

Decided while the motor was out then why not strip everything else and freshen her up a little more.

It could still do with another coat of Flowcoat but the dam weatherman has forecast rain all week so it won't be ideal conditions for fibreglass.

Also need to do inside the floor kill tank, but that was the only place i could stand.

Now I've Just got to decided what I?m going to do to the bulkhead to spruce it up a bit too.

So far I have not found a single peice of damp wood but from the history of this boat it spent it's life garaged and was used on the Murry river which is fresh water for those who don't know.

Cheers Andy

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

hey how's the progress? i guess your waiting on parts?
nice work so far!

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Great looking flowcoat and cute vacuum too.

 

[4bait]

Re: Buick V6 conversion

Great looking flowcoat and cute vacuum too.

Yes I used to do volunteer work for our local Kindergarten, when they upgraded thiers this one came home to become the shed Vacume. He is great company LOL



on a more serious note all the bits turned up on Friday so Yee Haaaa.

Unfortunately the seller didn?t send me the leg that was shown in the pics. The one he sent still seems in good nick internally but it has corrosion pitting in the top box which has been repainted over and the Mercruiser decals are missing and the uni joint and drive shaft have been sand blasted to clean them up.

The one that he showed me had all the proper decals and original paint in near perfect condition but I guess when you get stuff shipped halfway across the world there is a risk.

All the other parts like the transom Assy tilt pump etc etc etc are all excellent and are what was shown.

Don?t get me wrong this one still seems ok and the price was still excellent but it is not what I Purchased and probably would not have purchased it if it was shown to me.

Cheers Andy