randymbtech
Cadet
- Joined
- May 3, 2010
- Messages
- 6
Hey guys, new to the site, wanted to share some info on a recent restoration of my 1988 Four Winns Liberator 241. I bought the boat with a badly rotted floor, rotted stringers, and no motor. It originally had an OMC King Cobra drive and a Ford 460 motor.
I started by removed everything in the bilge, every screw, wire, and hose, including the OMC transom assembly. I sanded down the bilge, filled all the holes, and re-painted with Awlgrip epoxy paint. Then I ripped up the floor and cut out the rotted stringers. I ended up replacing both the foward and rear bulkheads as well. I used a ton of West Systems resin, it's expensive, but it works awesome. Screwed down the new floor and glassed it in. Had a carpet guy lay down the carpet, and installed all new interior.
I repowered the boat with a used Mercruiser big block 454 with an Alpha One drive. I have a friend with an 1987 241 Liberator, and thats how his came from Four Winns in '87. I know some people will crap on the idea of a big block with an Alpha, but if you don't abuse it, it works just fine. My Alpha is a 1.32 ratio, which was built for a big block application. It works absolutely perfect with the 17 pitch Mirage stainless prop. It comes out of the hole with ease, and the RPM's ans speed are perfect. I saw 53 mph on GPS at 4800 RPM the other day. The WOT RPM is a bit high for a stock 330 horse 454, but I added a Comp Cams Extreme Marine cam kit, and an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, so it's not totally stock.
The boat rides just awesome. It has a great feel to it. It handled a nasty 3-4 foot chop the other day really well for a 24 footer. I couldn't be happier with this boat. It was a lot of hard work, and a decent amount of money, but it was definately worth it. The boat has great lines, and it looks incredible in the water.
Thanks for reading, hope you like it!
I started by removed everything in the bilge, every screw, wire, and hose, including the OMC transom assembly. I sanded down the bilge, filled all the holes, and re-painted with Awlgrip epoxy paint. Then I ripped up the floor and cut out the rotted stringers. I ended up replacing both the foward and rear bulkheads as well. I used a ton of West Systems resin, it's expensive, but it works awesome. Screwed down the new floor and glassed it in. Had a carpet guy lay down the carpet, and installed all new interior.
I repowered the boat with a used Mercruiser big block 454 with an Alpha One drive. I have a friend with an 1987 241 Liberator, and thats how his came from Four Winns in '87. I know some people will crap on the idea of a big block with an Alpha, but if you don't abuse it, it works just fine. My Alpha is a 1.32 ratio, which was built for a big block application. It works absolutely perfect with the 17 pitch Mirage stainless prop. It comes out of the hole with ease, and the RPM's ans speed are perfect. I saw 53 mph on GPS at 4800 RPM the other day. The WOT RPM is a bit high for a stock 330 horse 454, but I added a Comp Cams Extreme Marine cam kit, and an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, so it's not totally stock.
The boat rides just awesome. It has a great feel to it. It handled a nasty 3-4 foot chop the other day really well for a 24 footer. I couldn't be happier with this boat. It was a lot of hard work, and a decent amount of money, but it was definately worth it. The boat has great lines, and it looks incredible in the water.
Thanks for reading, hope you like it!
