Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

[Pugetsound]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Congrats. The area you boated sure looks low on water. Do you ever go to lake lowel or Deer flat wildlif refuge? we used to live right next to the water fo two years befor we moved back to Pullman Wa. That was in the 60s. THE BOAT wise man says if it aint brokr don't try to fix it. Reference floors -interior-Transoms. It look very nice as is. if its solid dont tear it apart. My brother just retired as Hatchery Supervisor for Idaho F-W in Boise first as a officer -hatchery manager then Supervisor of the whole works 37 years. Looks like lucky peak in the photo but they must be preparing for big runoff soon as low as it looks at the ramp. The motor sounds iffy but fixable ,is the motor manual shift or electric? thaks for shareing the photos. I have a 16 SS like yours and it received a full restro. as it was toast. I also bought 5 years ago in Post falls idaho a 22 ft Holiday and never have had toi rebuild anything. It has org floor, sides and ,transom and is just fine . Powered by a 200 Johnson OB lots of fun keep safe and enjoy the summer

 

[jbing81]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

not much work needed there! great find! once you get the motor sorted out she'll be a fine vessel!

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Congrats. The area you boated sure looks low on water. Do you ever go to lake lowel or Deer flat wildlif refuge? we used to live right next to the water fo two years befor we moved back to Pullman Wa. That was in the 60s. THE BOAT wise man says if it aint brokr don't try to fix it. Reference floors -interior-Transoms. It look very nice as is. if its solid dont tear it apart. My brother just retired as Hatchery Supervisor for Idaho F-W in Boise first as a officer -hatchery manager then Supervisor of the whole works 37 years. Looks like lucky peak in the photo but they must be preparing for big runoff soon as low as it looks at the ramp. The motor sounds iffy but fixable ,is the motor manual shift or electric? thaks for shareing the photos. I have a 16 SS like yours and it received a full restro. as it was toast. I also bought 5 years ago in Post falls idaho a 22 ft Holiday and never have had toi rebuild anything. It has org floor, sides and ,transom and is just fine . Powered by a 200 Johnson OB lots of fun keep safe and enjoy the summer

I have not been out on Lowell or the Deer Flat. We are hoping to enjoy the boat as is. We have had it out just the two time, and have no water in the bildge. There are a few cosmetic things that will need to get done...when I have the time and money. (Seems to be quite a few of us operating that way.) It is a powershift II, My understanding is that it is not electric. I think most of the Johnsons changed in '73 if not '74 for sure.

Love the SS tundra... looks great in its original state You planning a resto or just gonna have fun for the summer?

Just going to have fun for the summer...If I can get the motor sorted out.

Glad you got her out but sorry about your motor issues. The shifting is probably a cable adjustment of some sort. Don't know about the other stuff as I'm not real mechanical. I would say it's definitely worth a professional diagnosis before throwing in the towel on it.

Professional diag is: Exhaust gasket...Do to the price and time of labor and parts vs just parts, I will be tackling this myself along with my OEM Service Manual. Tech said it should be pretty easy, just time consuming. It does require the power head to be removed. I did this with a small 5.5 Johnson, but this doesn't look to be quite as easy. Hope the tech is right. I get the parts later today.

Thanks jbing81, starcraft16ss - I had to do some rewiring on the boat and trailer, and swap out the winch. Other than that it has just been the motor issues that I have tried to iron out.

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Update...Power head has been removed and the exhaust gaskets have been replaced. That is the short story...This is what I found while removing the exhaust housing...

Milky white everywhere.

Here is what it looked like without the housing...

Upon putting it back together one of the many bolts that hold the housing to the block broke. I had to removed the entire housing again, and thankfully easily removed the broken bolt with vice grips. The bolt was hanging out by an 1/8 of an inch. It has been put all back together and has been torqued to spec. Next up dropping the Lower Unit. It is currently off, and has been inspected. Whom ever last took this apart did not put everything back as they should have. The seal for the exhaust was upside down, and there is a missing bolt which is supposed to be installed underneath the trim tab. The Lower Unit was dropped to try and replace the water intake screen. This screen hits the drive shaft bearing house when you try and remove it. It has stalled here for the time being. I have another post in the Johnson forum on this. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=486032

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Water intake screen has been replaced, and lower unit has been reinstalled. Tonight if I have time or tomorrow I will be installing the power head. My plan is to hit the water and give it another go this weekend. This has all been fairly easy work (Even for the rookie that I am), it has just taken me longer to get the motor done with the amount of work that I have had lined up the last couple of weeks.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

I think you've got a much better boat there. Looks like other than the engine it's in great shape. Wished I would of seen a pic of your side panel before I did mine, or the one I've finished. Sounds like you lucked out on the broken bolt. Good luck finishing the motor.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Hey Tundra, great you got out on the water, SS looks real good. It is nice to be able to do your own repairs, who can afford the shop rates, and then there is trying to find one that does good work.
Glen

 

[chuckndiscs]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Water intake screen has been replaced, and lower unit has been reinstalled. Tonight if I have time or tomorrow I will be installing the power head. My plan is to hit the water and give it another go this weekend. This has all been fairly easy work (Even for the rookie that I am), it has just taken me longer to get the motor done with the amount of work that I have had lined up the last couple of weeks.

Ill be ripping my own powerhead off next week Had a piston ring break and TEAR up he inside of one of my cylinders.... Professional bore on all four cylinders, new pistons and rings, and gaskets for all $900.00 Oh well, its all for the love of boating!

I cant wait to get an update and hear if your fix it job went well!! Ill have to look up your other post and see what the johnson/rude pros are saying. Life's tough when the boats sitting on the trailer!

Chuck

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Power head was put back on last night. It made me much happier seeing it put back together.
We took the boat out today, and success No more water in the cylinders. Well...almost success. We had been traveling for about an hour when the engine just lost all power and stopped dead in the water. It would turn over...choked it and I was able to get it started. Once started It would not idle long before needing more choke to keep it running. Primer bulb was a little soft, so I was thinking fuel pump...I then got it started with choke, moved the throttle forward, and at 3/4 throttle we were doing about 3mph. Not thinking fuel pump as we made it back to the docks without having to pump the bulb. Seemed like it was only running on two cylinders. Possibly lost spark on a cylinder??? Rechecked plugs, no milky white this time! Back into the iboats forum shop I go...

I think you've got a much better boat there. Looks like other than the engine it's in great shape. Wished I would of seen a pic of your side panel before I did mine, or the one I've finished. Sounds like you lucked out on the broken bolt. Good luck finishing the motor.

I am very pleased overall with the condition of the boat. I was extremely happy about finding the sliver of bolt hanging out of the block.

Hey Tundra, great you got out on the water, SS looks real good. It is nice to be able to do your own repairs, who can afford the shop rates, and then there is trying to find one that does good work.
Glen

It may be nice saving money doing my own repairs, but it can be very stressful not knowing what I am getting into. I have only done minor work on my '61 5.5 hp Johnson engine. I cannot afford the shop rates so, into the rookie shop it goes.

Ill be ripping my own powerhead off next week Had a piston ring break and TEAR up he inside of one of my cylinders.... Professional bore on all four cylinders, new pistons and rings, and gaskets for all $900.00 Oh well, its all for the love of boating!

I cant wait to get an update and hear if your fix it job went well!! Ill have to look up your other post and see what the johnson/rude pros are saying. Life's tough when the boats sitting on the trailer!

Chuck

Good luck on pulling the power head...( With my manual, it was pretty much a breeze, although I hope not to be doing that again any time soon. Job went well, except for the new problem with loss of power that I experienced today.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Did you by chance pull a vacume from your fuel source by not leavind the vent open . Esp if you had a soft primer bulb after running for awhile. Just thinking of things I have had in the past.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

As Puget says, the power loss is probably a real easy fix. The primer bulb should get soft in the first 3. While you are running it, loosen the gas cap, that will take care of a plugged vent ,they can all be cleaned. It could be an O ring allowing it to suck air. You have one on each quick coupler on your fuel line. I buy them by the bag, and they cost about 20 cents if I remember right that way. They are easier to replace with a O ring pick. It could be a pinhole in your fuel line, in which it's usually easier to replace the line. If you can find the spot near the end of the line, you can cut it off, and reattach the quickconnect. If the line is attached with hose clamps, that is a good place to look first. Sometimes tightening, other times taking apart and cleaning, and yet other times cutting end off, as pinholes appear here often. A little bit harder to fix, but not a lot is carb, or fuel pump. Your manual will explain them. You can also have leaks in those lines. It could be in the engine which you don't want. You did have the engine and head checked to see if they were just a little warped. Doesn't take much to suck air. I'd check the easy stuff first tho.

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Ahhhh....Finally got it fixed! My family spent a couple of hours on the water yesterday and spent a whole tank of fuel. It is nice to have most of the problems worked out. The little time that I had working on the engine to diagnose the problem is the reason it took so long to have fixed.

What fixed my problem...I replaced all the fuel lines(some were kinked and wrong size). Other issues were discovered, like the PO who had at some point done some carb work, put the fuel intake bowl on the top carb instead of the middle carb (Don't know that it would have made much difference, but possible making the bottom carb run leaner than it should. After replacing the fuel lines I took the boat out last Wednesday to see if there was any improvement with the engine. Checked the vacume tube after running the engine, there was no gas in the line it was dry. Fuel pump passed the test. There was not any improvement with the engine running. I would have to choke to start and keep choking it to run as it would bog down then die if I didn't. The bottom cylindar was not getting any spark. Coil tested fine...Power pack was the problem. Replaced the power pack and we are good to go. The only issue I have now is trying to keep it at an idle without dying. From what I read on the forum, I think I need one or two sizes up on the slow or idle (not sure which) jets. I can live with a touchy idle. It was frustrating to think that after the previous work was done, it ran great for the first hour, before the engine just shut off and found a bad power pack...The joys of working with a 37 year old motor . I've also got to get my tach working...I think it is wired incorrectly.

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Where have the day's gone? It's almost been a month and I have yet to touch the boat . The wiring in the boat was a mess, and most of it did not work correctly or did not work at all. Here is what I will be putting in the boat today.

There is a missing fuse at the battery, and a couple of interior led lights that I am waiting for as well. I also picked up a couple of seats. One back to back and one pedestal seat. I think I will be mounting the pedestal seat on a plywood box that I will build. I see that I have captured a pic of my 1961 Johnson 5.5hp for the '61 Starcraft Starlite 12 I have in the back yard.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Glad you got the O/B running fairly well and had a chance to run the SS some. Liking the idea of a back to back lounge seat for the crew and a pedestal helm seat. Gives you a bit more cockpit room. Why do POs make a mess of wiring? Every boat I've looked at had spaghetti wiring. Miss the glasser?

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Great layout with the seats. You can fit a nice cooler behind the drivers seat for stuff like lunch and beverages. Still having idle problems? Sounds like you are going to tear into those carbs again. If you are in there, make sure the passages are clear as that can mess with your idle.
GLG

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Great layout with the seats. You can fit a nice cooler behind the drivers seat for stuff like lunch and beverages. Still having idle problems? Sounds like you are going to tear into those carbs again. If you are in there, make sure the passages are clear as that can mess with your idle.
GLG

Thanks. I wanted a little more room for fishing or just storing a supplies. I don't look forward to tearing into them again...It would be the third time . I have a few things I am going to test whether choking or increasing throttle helps. I didn't spend much time working on this problem.

Glad you got the O/B running fairly well and had a chance to run the SS some. Liking the idea of a back to back lounge seat for the crew and a pedestal helm seat. Gives you a bit more cockpit room. Why do POs make a mess of wiring? Every boat I've looked at had spaghetti wiring. Miss the glasser?

I took me all day to get the wiring almost done. I still have a couple more things left with the wiring to finish up. Then I need to make a box for the captains chair and mount the back to back seats.
...Do I miss the glasser...Let me think...Nope. This has been a breeze to work on and i am not dealing with the 25-30 gal of water in that hull. I do have some flooring that will need replaced, but it is located under the splashwell. The rest of the floor is pretty good. I have a feeling this may turn into a larger restore this winter or next or the next we will see.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

You're into learning the oddities of a new boat now. It will get to the point where you just do it without thinking. At least you can go boating and see what your priorities are. And you still have good summer and fall boating time left. Enjoy!

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Seems like forever since I have had a chance to hit the lake...Took the boat out yesterday, and well things started well and ended fast. Fifteen minutes into the trip engine shut down like it had when the power pack went out. I was thinking that the power pack that had just been installed went bad or one of the coils had gone out. Engine would start and idle but die when going shifting forward. (My thinking is it was running on two cylinders but did not have all the tools to diagnose further. Paddled to help and got towed to the dock. After arriving home I put it on the hose and tested spark. Spark test ok on all three cylinders. Pulled the plugs and this is what I saw on the plug and then what I saw when looking in the plug hole on the middle cylinder

Pitson has a nice hole in it . Not sure what could have happened, looks like it may have been running lean on this cylinder for some reason. Looked good after the previous trip out. I guess I'm in the market for a new engine. Thinking Johnson/Evinrude 85 Late '77-'79 or newer if the price/condition is right.

 

[Jayb123]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Ya know Tundra... it also almost looks like the piston hit the top of the plug....like was a plug too long installed at one point. Sorry to hear the news that really stinks.

 

[TundraRocks]

Re: Sold my '67 Caravel for a 16' '75 Starcraft SS

Ya know Tundra... it also almost looks like the piston hit the top of the plug....like was a plug too long installed at one point. Sorry to hear the news that really stinks.

From the angle that I took the photo it may appear that way, but I took the picture from the side. When you look staight on there is nothing. But you may be right as I am only an amature trying to make a go at it. Pluggs that were installed were L77JC4's which I'm pretty sure is correct. Never the less what has been done has been done.