Been a long time lurker and occasional poster..would like to ask ya'lls opinions on this.
So I purchased a 95 Century Arabian 240 bowrider off CL about a year ago. It was a project boat....that needed more work than anticipated. So right now I am on the fence. I have a ton of money and time tied up into it, can't decide if I should keep it, or sell it for a huge loss and start over. I will start with the pros/cons list:
Pros:
Stuff I have done:
Brand new white and blue interior
New teleflex white face gauges
Dashboards have been smoothed and re-done w/ countless hours worth of work. (lots of fiberglass and sanding to replicate cracked up sundried originals)
New OEM mercruiser gimbal ring, steering lever, shift cable, ujoints, bellows and exhaust manifolds, seawater pump, trim senders, tune-up, belts...etc, etc. all the little bs that adds up to ALOT.
Rebuilt the carb
New trailer brakes and master
Installed REALLY good stereo
New batts
It's a huge BR, handles big waves very nicely
Hours and hours stripping originally cracked decals and waxing.
"Freshly rebuilt 7.4" (receipts from PO not me).....and see below:
Cons:
I've had it out 7 times this year w/ 2 somewhat sucessful trips. The outdrive is noisy, see below....
It started to run hot the last couple trips. I didn't think it got that hot, a little over 200+ for a few seconds, but apparently it was enough....becuase I think it is done now. It started out as only running hot when running hard...4k+ rpm on the first few trips, but fine anything below.
When I had first noticed this I replaced the seawater pump (twice for good meausre) and cleaned out heat exchanger....(which wasn't dirty) then it started to get worse, would get hotter the harder you ran it.
Last trip out it started getting really hot, anything above idle.. would start instantly overheating. Idled back to the trailer.
So then I pulled the exhaust manifolds to inspect for blockage, they were pretty much falling apart when removed, ton of junk/rust falling out of them. Replaced manifolds w/ OEM mercruiser, ran it on the muffs, overheats anything above idle, same thing as before on the water. Noticed steam coming from the exhaust, which it never did before on the muffs. So I suspect a blown head gasket(s)? Probably because of the clogged manifolds....
It also has a noisy outdrive...suspecting worn gears or bearing in the upper unit. Already replaced u-joints....really sounds like worn gears in the upper, because it's more of a chatter than a groan. Previously owned a boat with a bad gimbal bearing, this doesn't sound like that at all.
I have maybe 4hrs of boat enjoyment out of it. I'm tired of working on it, did all the work myself except the interior, have a ton of money and time in it, should I spend more fixing the engine and outdrive, or cut my losses and sell it?
It idles fine, no knocks, but expecting the worse....bent rod, cracked head, full on rebuild. And a rebuild of the upper unit. I can do the engine myself but not the drive, unless I want to learn, lol. If I sell, it will be for a fair price, becaue I would feel guilty for putting someone through the hell it is going to take to fix this. I'ts gonna be at least a 5k loss if I get out now, but it might be cheaper to sell it, any thoughts?
So I purchased a 95 Century Arabian 240 bowrider off CL about a year ago. It was a project boat....that needed more work than anticipated. So right now I am on the fence. I have a ton of money and time tied up into it, can't decide if I should keep it, or sell it for a huge loss and start over. I will start with the pros/cons list:
Pros:
Stuff I have done:
Brand new white and blue interior
New teleflex white face gauges
Dashboards have been smoothed and re-done w/ countless hours worth of work. (lots of fiberglass and sanding to replicate cracked up sundried originals)
New OEM mercruiser gimbal ring, steering lever, shift cable, ujoints, bellows and exhaust manifolds, seawater pump, trim senders, tune-up, belts...etc, etc. all the little bs that adds up to ALOT.
Rebuilt the carb
New trailer brakes and master
Installed REALLY good stereo
New batts
It's a huge BR, handles big waves very nicely
Hours and hours stripping originally cracked decals and waxing.
"Freshly rebuilt 7.4" (receipts from PO not me).....and see below:
Cons:
I've had it out 7 times this year w/ 2 somewhat sucessful trips. The outdrive is noisy, see below....
It started to run hot the last couple trips. I didn't think it got that hot, a little over 200+ for a few seconds, but apparently it was enough....becuase I think it is done now. It started out as only running hot when running hard...4k+ rpm on the first few trips, but fine anything below.
When I had first noticed this I replaced the seawater pump (twice for good meausre) and cleaned out heat exchanger....(which wasn't dirty) then it started to get worse, would get hotter the harder you ran it.
Last trip out it started getting really hot, anything above idle.. would start instantly overheating. Idled back to the trailer.
So then I pulled the exhaust manifolds to inspect for blockage, they were pretty much falling apart when removed, ton of junk/rust falling out of them. Replaced manifolds w/ OEM mercruiser, ran it on the muffs, overheats anything above idle, same thing as before on the water. Noticed steam coming from the exhaust, which it never did before on the muffs. So I suspect a blown head gasket(s)? Probably because of the clogged manifolds....
It also has a noisy outdrive...suspecting worn gears or bearing in the upper unit. Already replaced u-joints....really sounds like worn gears in the upper, because it's more of a chatter than a groan. Previously owned a boat with a bad gimbal bearing, this doesn't sound like that at all.
I have maybe 4hrs of boat enjoyment out of it. I'm tired of working on it, did all the work myself except the interior, have a ton of money and time in it, should I spend more fixing the engine and outdrive, or cut my losses and sell it?
It idles fine, no knocks, but expecting the worse....bent rod, cracked head, full on rebuild. And a rebuild of the upper unit. I can do the engine myself but not the drive, unless I want to learn, lol. If I sell, it will be for a fair price, becaue I would feel guilty for putting someone through the hell it is going to take to fix this. I'ts gonna be at least a 5k loss if I get out now, but it might be cheaper to sell it, any thoughts?
I'd say unless you're really sick of looking at it & have some good leads on selling it, keep it & make it something special. Century boats are some fine looking boats!