stangclassic66
Cadet
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2005
- Messages
- 25
Hey All,
I've got a 1984 Grady White 20' overnighter 3.8L OMC Stringer (closed cooling). I purchased it last year for $1500. The starter was siezed.....at least that's all I thought it needed....silly me... In any case, i'm going to assume the worst and that the owner left the engine hatch open through a winter. The steering is frozen, the carb has signs of water, the intake manifold has rust and calcification, the manifolds are due for replacements, etc. etc.
Last month I purchase a good running donor boat a 1983 Seaswirl open bow. Starts and runs after I rebuild the carb, goes in and out of gear, o/d probably should be gone through. Compression is good on motor. Bought it for $800. The hull is in good shape, I should probably just sell the Grady.....silly me....
Anyway, this past weekend I pull the motor on the Grady and my thoughts were correct. Risers were bad, engine was barely connected to the bellhousing (3 bolts), as corrosion ate away at the bellhousing mounting holes and the ears just simply fell off. The steering is siezed, the intermediate shift cable was stuck and after messing with it trying to salvage it for 1hr, I was forced to cut it.
I have to pull the donor boat from my storage yard this weekend and tuck the Grady back there while I work on pulling the donor parts but here's my main question....
The Grady 3.8L has a power steering system that from the steering box to the hydraulic system has completely frozen up. The donor has a tru-course non power steering system.
My plan is to take EVERYTHING from the donor boat and move it over, EXCEPT for the manifolds. With the exception of the steering cable length, can I convert my Grady from power steering to Tru Course? I figure without the power steering system, there are less parts prone to leak and/or fail. I would get the correct length steering cable from an ebay vendor or something.
I'm going to take the heat exchanger that I pulled from the Grady and will have it pressure tested. If it tests well, that will be the only thing I retain from the original setup. If it tests bad, I may either be ordering a new one or will run the donor setup raw water cooled. Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Erik
I've got a 1984 Grady White 20' overnighter 3.8L OMC Stringer (closed cooling). I purchased it last year for $1500. The starter was siezed.....at least that's all I thought it needed....silly me... In any case, i'm going to assume the worst and that the owner left the engine hatch open through a winter. The steering is frozen, the carb has signs of water, the intake manifold has rust and calcification, the manifolds are due for replacements, etc. etc.
Last month I purchase a good running donor boat a 1983 Seaswirl open bow. Starts and runs after I rebuild the carb, goes in and out of gear, o/d probably should be gone through. Compression is good on motor. Bought it for $800. The hull is in good shape, I should probably just sell the Grady.....silly me....
Anyway, this past weekend I pull the motor on the Grady and my thoughts were correct. Risers were bad, engine was barely connected to the bellhousing (3 bolts), as corrosion ate away at the bellhousing mounting holes and the ears just simply fell off. The steering is siezed, the intermediate shift cable was stuck and after messing with it trying to salvage it for 1hr, I was forced to cut it.
I have to pull the donor boat from my storage yard this weekend and tuck the Grady back there while I work on pulling the donor parts but here's my main question....
The Grady 3.8L has a power steering system that from the steering box to the hydraulic system has completely frozen up. The donor has a tru-course non power steering system.
My plan is to take EVERYTHING from the donor boat and move it over, EXCEPT for the manifolds. With the exception of the steering cable length, can I convert my Grady from power steering to Tru Course? I figure without the power steering system, there are less parts prone to leak and/or fail. I would get the correct length steering cable from an ebay vendor or something.
I'm going to take the heat exchanger that I pulled from the Grady and will have it pressure tested. If it tests well, that will be the only thing I retain from the original setup. If it tests bad, I may either be ordering a new one or will run the donor setup raw water cooled. Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Erik
