Thermostat housing on '72 302

The plastic housing is correct. If it is leaking between the halves, a new gasket may be in order. If you cant source one, then get some gasket material and cut your own. Got any pictures of your boat? I love the early 70's Skiers.

Wow, that is a beautiful boat- and mostly original. Very cool. Where are you located?

In regards to parts, is there anything in particular that youre looking for? Most of them are common to other marinizations- I havent found anything too hard to find yet.

Drop me a line if youre missing interior parts when the time comes... I can help you out with the buckets if you dont have any.

That thing is a real looker!

I am fairly certain that the Conq/Crusader takes a normal (automotive style) thermostat... though I'd buy a marine one. Get the 143deg.

That windshield is in fact original- the square framed one was optional. The speedo looks to have been a period correct surface mount airguide judging by the hole pattern, so that should be an easy drop in.

I would amass a list of things youre missing and start the search now. Depending on what the items are, it can take a long time for things to become available. The seats are one of those things... I looked for several years for a set and finally resorted to making a mold for them. I can make them now, but lead times can still be pretty long!

Skip that Sierra impeller- get a genuine Sherwood or a PCM. SkiDIM or a CC dealer (N3, White Lake, etc) would be the best source. PCM parts are generally higher quality than Sierra, in my experience.

About 12 years. I have a boat rental business and storage business. I have a fleet of 16 rental boats that each run ~200 hundred hours a year, so I'm not stranger to impellers. I get to deal with 3,200 boating-hours worth of problems each year.
I know some people prefer to buy name brand, but I've never had a premature failure. Some have failed when renters decide to run a motor while stuck on a sandbar, but then I don't think that is Sierra's fault.
Admittedly, I do run Quicksilver impellers on my Mercruisers. My storage customers(75 boats) have their choice of the cheap impellers or the factory replacements. No premature failures on any of them. The only ones that fail are the customers who choose not to have it replaced.
I do plan on keeping the boat as original as possible, and will be asking questions about certain functional upgrades.

I have a Sierra impeller in the Mercruiser pump on our BFN, and use Sierra parts on my Johnnyrude outboards... no complaints with the quality. What we have seen here though, is that the size or tolerancing of the Sierra impellers for the Sherwood pumps seems a little off- causing cooling issues. Stick with OEM on this one.

FYI, the square framed windshield that was optional 71-73 became standard on the Skier for 74-75... and you can see it in the brochure in our reference section.