Going to look at a Chieftain

ezmobee

ezmobee

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

The 165 is a GREAT GREAT motor!!!!!!!!
 
Starcraft Enterprise

Starcraft Enterprise

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

Get on your hands and knees and look at the block underneith the intake / exhaust manifold near the freeze plugs. If it is cracked, you will see a horizontal rusty line or crack of any possible length right in that area. You might even see a freeze plug or two popped out. That is where I have always seen them crack.
From what I have read, the manifolds and heads will also possibly be cracked.
I always checked the block first, if I seen the crack there, I stopped looking. So I am not sure of the areas to check on the heads and manifolds.
You also might want to check the lower unit for cracks. If the prop shaft seal had failed and let in water, it is possible that it had froze and busted also.
 
jasoutside

jasoutside

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

Um, I have...

...in writing....

...EZ describing an IO as....

....GREAT....

...not once but twice my friends, yah that's right, he said GREAT, GREAT and he was talking about an IO, wow.:D
 
paparoof

paparoof

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

WELL... as long as it doesn't sell first, I'm gonna throw the kids in the car and make the drive down this weekend to check it out. So now I'm thinking about how to check out the motor when I'm there in person. Bought a compression testing kit at Harbor Freight on my way home tonight.

Assuming it really is "winterized", what would we have to do to it before we could attempt to start it up safely? do I really have to drop the boat into the lake to test run the motor?

When I work on my little 6hp, I throw it on a stand with the lower unit submerged in a garbage can full of water. everyone does this with outboards right? why can't you do that with an I/O?

I know about "muffs" too, but I've never used 'em. Are they only for outboards? If they work for I/O's can you show me a link to exactly what I'd need? If it'll get the motor started for me, it'd be worth a small investment to know the motor actually works and isn't cracked.
 
ts

ts

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

I have to go with Jas on this one. For $700 I'd take it and run without checking much of anything other than looking for gaping holes in the hull. Assume the motor/outdrive is bad, and if they're not, GREAT!

Assume the floor and transom are rotten (they most likely will be), and assume the whole thing will need to be gutted, bearings on the trailer replaced (tires too), and just be prepared for a project.

Anything that isn't bad, is definitely icing on the cake!

Oh, and really, for $700 I don't think you will lose any money on the deal if the whole thing goes south (ebay the parts, trailer, and scrap the hull...you'll probably still come out ahead).

Good luck!
 
jasoutside

jasoutside

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

I am pumped for ya! I hope you make a sweet score on it!

I am with TS here too.

At that price point the seller has already done the guess work for you. He's priced it as if the motor is junk. But that is the beauty. It may very well not be!

If you are not interested in picking up that boat without getting that motor running than you will want to call him and let him know. He may say "ok don't bother coming then" or maybe even "yah, that is cool - let me see if I can get it going before you head down" or "sorry it sold already, shoot, I only priced it at $700 and I took $500 cash for it" or "actually I got it running this morning and it's great - price is now $2500"

If you are totally bent on getting it to run before you buy (and he is willing to entertain you doing this) than you will want to buy yourself some extra, extra long jumper cables (or a new battery), find yourself a couple hundred feet of hose, buy some muffs and then...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=192804

You probably shouldn't have to complete everything on that list, but you get the idea.

I think you should assume that you would be buying/providing this stuff and doing this work yourself and expect him to be annoyed and wanting you out of his yard.

If it were me, I would go buy that boat. I would do so assuming that I'd need to rebuild the whole deal, motor and outdrive included. That way, when I rebuild everything I'd have no surprises and nothing to be upset about. BUT, if there was something that did not need to be redone that WOULD be a surprise, and a good one at that!

I would do a careful visual inspection of the motor. If I had some red flags maybe that is a deal breaker, maybe not, maybe negotiate the price based on what bad stuff I find.

I donno man, I would suggest not making the trip if you aren't up for a total rebuild. Does he have some extra photos for you to help the decision?

If you are game for a complete overhaul than ROCK ON! I'd suggest that you don't forget your 2" hitch coupler and bring some extra cash for a bearing job and new tires just in case the stuff that's there is totally trashed. You sure don't want to have a blow out/blow up on the highway with Memorial Day traffic!

Either way, have fun and be safe!
 
paparoof

paparoof

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

Yeah, I think we're all on the same page.

I emailed him last night and he's gonna try to get me some pictures of the motor and outdrive today and he's even gonna hold the boat for me till Saturday "pending my inspection" :) I don't think I can really ask for more than that. The brother-in-law lives ten minutes away and has volunteered his yard for me to do a trailer-bearing swap on Sunday. I know I'm gonna have to replace tires too so I may as well just do that right away. Jas you're absolutely right - I don't want to spend any time on the side of the highway on Memorial Day - 'specially since I'm bringing my kids with me.

Now to start calling around town to storage rental places....
 
jasoutside

jasoutside

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

paparoof said:
Yeah, I think we're all on the same page.

I emailed him last night and he's gonna try to get me some pictures of the motor and outdrive today and he's even gonna hold the boat for me till Saturday "pending my inspection" :) I don't think I can really ask for more than that. The brother-in-law lives ten minutes away and has volunteered his yard for me to do a trailer-bearing swap on Sunday. I know I'm gonna have to replace tires too so I may as well just do that right away. Jas you're absolutely right - I don't want to spend any time on the side of the highway on Memorial Day - 'specially since I'm bringing my kids with me.

Now to start calling around town to storage rental places....
Click to expand...

Dude, he is holding it for you! That is great! I was going to suggest that you shoot him a deposit through PayPal or something just to have him hang on to it. Sounds like you have a good plan there - yah, side of the road, Memorial Day traffic, trailer blow out on a 22' boat, kids, very scary!

Rock on!
 
Starcraft Enterprise

Starcraft Enterprise

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

paparoof said:
Now to start calling around town to storage rental places....
Click to expand...
When storing in the winter or long periods, pull your outdrive (it's easy) and keep it at home. For summer time, there are lockable nuts you can use to prevent theft. It is common around here for outdrives to be stolen while a boat is in public storage.
 
paparoof

paparoof

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

Thanks for the tip SE. Sounds like a good idea.

The one nice thing about the drive home is that I've made this exact same drive (Madison to Minneapolis) about a zillion times since I moved to Minneapolis 12 years ago, so I know exactly where services and resources are at every point along the line.

This is getting tortuous. I have no dispatches today so I'm just sitting at the office twiddling my thumbs. Having a big boat is a dream I've had since I was five years old. "Giddy like a school girl" doesn't begin to describe it. Someone say something to bring me back down....
 
paparoof

paparoof

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

My kids have been on this trip a half a zillion times too (my parents still live in Madison) they sail right through this road trip with no problem at all. When they were 2, 3 and 5, I had a TV and VCR setup in the car and a stack of video tapes.

They're 9 and 11 now so they understand sitting in one place for five hours straight. They talk, read or watch out the window for deer and turkeys the entire time. Honest to God - they're angels.
 
paparoof

paparoof

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

even at full resolution, it's awfully hard to tell the difference between cracks and spider webs. I figure cracks would show rust and therefore they'd be brown - right?
 
ts

ts

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

From the pics I'd say it wasn't neglected like I'd expect. Does look like the trim/tilt needs work (maybe trim cylinder replacement or ?). Either that or that is his version of a trailering support?

Hoses are looking good, nice hose clamps. Return spring present on throttle. Little details can mean good things....not a guarantee, but better than the alternative (cracked rotting hoses, rusted hose clamps, etc.). I've seen some doozies in my time! :eek:

Really, I'd say you're still looking good. :)

My vote is still, "go for it"!

TS

-
 
ts

ts

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

OH, I just realized the pictures get bigger! Wow, okay, no broken bolts, belt looks more recent than old, no rust running down the lower side of the block (probably no cracks there). Anodes are present and look pretty good, especially the steering fin on the o/d. Skeg looks good for it's age. Alternator is correct marine type (good for a rebuild if necessary, and sure beats having to do a complete replacement of an automotive type).

Bilge pump present, that's a good sign. Bilge blower hoses are present and don't look ancient. Same for the bilge pump hose. O/D trim hoses look good. The o/d bellows are present and don't seem to be falling apart (still might be cracked, but not glaringly obvious, which is promising).

Man, I think you may be hitting on a really decent deal.
 
jasoutside

jasoutside

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Re: Going to look at a Chieftain

Just as a point of comparison for you.

On my decision day, this is what I was looking at....

P1000668.jpg


P1000677.jpg


You win and it's not even close!!!!!
 
ezmobee

ezmobee

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