'86 Barefoot Nautique 2001

Thanks guys!

So I'm pretty sure the electric choke is busted - which is why it's cranked to the leanest setting (always open).

But the real problem is still the carb for now. I had my brother-in-law driving while I was watching and the secondary doesn't open if you are cruising slow and then hit it to WOT. It opens very slowly. I adjusted the springed nut on the primary pump - but I think I made the situation worse by lowering the amount of travel.

Anyway - any thoughts on tuning in the secondary to open sooner? I think I might just need to buy a 4-barrel tuning guide at this point.

Thanks and happy 4th if you're all enjoying fireworks tonight!

EDIT:
One thing I just thought about is the the baffle that's at the top of the metering block side that has the power valve. It's a small brass or copper piece - and I'm wondering if I had put that on wrong. Does the V of the baffle face up like a V or down like a ^? Just wondering if I may have put that on upside down. Just bugging me the throttle response is worse than before it was rebuilt.

BuffaloBFN wrote: windexh8er wrote: Oh - and, when I changed the oil (used the 20W-50 VR1 recommended BTW) I couldn't find a passage down into the pan from oil fill. So I used the cheesy oil drain tube - took forever ???

Greg he went on the recommendation from Tim

TRBenj wrote: 2. Valvoline VR1 20w50. Lots of ZDDP for an older flat tappet motor. Wix/Napa filters are some of the best.

BuffaloBFN wrote: What's your handle?

From his google pic account I'm gonna guess it's David Meier


Nice looking boat David... I really like those observer seats, pretty neat. Don't give up the fight, we'll get you back up and running puuuurrrrrrfect in no time.

As far as what your voltmeter is reading on the dash as compared to what your multimeter reads straight off the alternator.....it's a common problem. They ALL do it. Common problem is the smaller gage grnd wire to the instrument panel from the factory. Your gages will probably peg to the right when you turn the nav lights on. Those here who have taken the time to fix it just went to a heavier gage gnd wire and it remedied the problem.

I didn't say 'don't trust the stick'. Again, that engine looks all factory, so the correct parts should be there. Does your pan drain from the rear center?

The diaphram I mean is in the secondary vacuum chamber/pot. That mechanism opens the secondaries. Double pumper means it has 2 accelerator pumps.

handle=name      Cheesy old line from Smokey and the Bandit.

SD...on my list of places to see some day.

windexh8er wrote: I've been watching a lot of videos since I've posted and I'm thinking it may be the accelerator pump at this point, so I'm going to do a little tweaking tomorrow to see if I can resolve the problem.

I was thinking that the secondaries might not be coming in as soon as they should. That's why I asked about the diaphram. Sometimes the port can plug up too. I think the accelerator pump is more for initial kick at lower rpms, but I could be wrong.

windexh8er wrote: As for the electric choke I found one good article on how to adjust it properly so I'm going to give that a try. I think it may actually be broken or not working correctly however based on what I've read. I took it apart and it looked clean inside - but since I've only dealt with mechanical chokes in the past I was slightly confused as to how it was supposed to work. Either way I'll learn something from it I guess!

It should be almost closed when cold and wide open when warmed up.

windexh8er wrote: 7 quarts? I was scared to put more in after I hit full when changing. I ran it for a few minutes, let it drain back down, checked and added another .5 quart (total of 6). Came to the full mark on the stick (almost exactly). Seemed low for such a big engine

From your pics you look to have a completely unmolested engine from the factory, so I'd assume you have the same pan that I have...but we all know about that word.

windexh8er wrote: 60 pounds is where the gauge seemed to hover. Odd thing is it didn't sway a whole lot on idle vs under load. So maybe it's another gauge I have to replace.

Or maybe the sender. Marine senders are different than auto. Ohms I think; others can explain it better. There's also the wiring issues that can affect any/all of the gauges(most). I run between 20 and 60.

windexh8er wrote: Oh - and, when I changed the oil (used the 20W-50 VR1 recommended BTW) I couldn't find a passage down into the pan from oil fill. So I used the cheesy oil drain tube - took forever

???

What's your handle and what's your 20?

Thanks BuffaloBFN - I appreciate the feedback!

I've been watching a lot of videos since I've posted and I'm thinking it may be the accelerator pump at this point, so I'm going to do a little tweaking tomorrow to see if I can resolve the problem.

As for the electric choke I found one good article on how to adjust it properly so I'm going to give that a try. I think it may actually be broken or not working correctly however based on what I've read. I took it apart and it looked clean inside - but since I've only dealt with mechanical chokes in the past I was slightly confused as to how it was supposed to work. Either way I'll learn something from it I guess!

To answer your question the boat has been in my wife's family for quite a while (over 10 years I believe). Although, taken care of cosmetically very well (stored, covered, winterized, etc) the mechanical side has been neglected somewhat. I don't think the carb was ever rebuilt based on what the gaskets looked like. Amazingly none of the diaphrams were ripped. So what I did was rebuilt with a kit - so all is new in terms of carb internals. The only thing I really ended up "tuning" while in the driveway (because it seemed to be running very well) was the fast idle screw. I didn't touch anything else (which, I found odd). Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply - I'll keep plugging away on Google until I have a lot of suggestions to try tomorrow. Sucks that there's so much boat traffic this weekend, but it is the holiday I guess!

7 quarts? I was scared to put more in after I hit full when changing. I ran it for a few minutes, let it drain back down, checked and added another .5 quart (total of 6). Came to the full mark on the stick (almost exactly). Seemed low for such a big engine - my Tundra takes more (4.7 V8 comparably). 60 pounds is where the gauge seemed to hover. Odd thing is it didn't sway a whole lot on idle vs under load. So maybe it's another gauge I have to replace. So far both speedos now work (with new pickups), volt meter seems to be off (compared to a reading I get off a multimeter on the alternator) by about 2 volts (low), temp gauge seems to work (what's hot for this motor BTW?) and fuel gauge bounces around like a super ball (but at least gives somewhat of an idea!). Oh yeah, the tach works too.

Thank again for the commendation! I like to do things the right way, and - at some level - I feel like I rushed to get it out onto the water for the weekend. But I told my wife I'll probably pull it back out if it makes sense to work on other things.

Oh - and, when I changed the oil (used the 20W-50 VR1 recommended BTW) I couldn't find a passage down into the pan from oil fill. So I used the cheesy oil drain tube - took forever, so I changed the plugs and rewired the new bilge while it ran like molasses. Maybe nobody's used that tube in a while, but it seemed painfully slow (and the oil was still warm - had it running maybe 45 minutes prior).

Lots to do still. I think in the next two years I'll have the boat figured out! I'd like to get it to a point where it's one of those 'coveted' old school boats. But, not having a good background in boating it's going to be considerably more work on my part!

Well after a lot of late nights this week I got the boat back in the water. Everything was running much better when in the driveway then last year. The 454 idles much smoother now. I think, at this point, I'm lacking some tuning of the Holley though. In the driveway it would start right up, maybe with just a touch of throttle. I had it out for a quick run down the lake back to the cabin and it seemed to run well - although this is where I noticed one of the differences. About mid throttle there seems to be a rather large flat spot now. It pulls relatively well on the low end, then once the boat planes out and I opened it up there was a 4-5 seconds where it felt like a slow spool and then once I got over the hump it took off again.

Are there any good tuning posts, videos or any other reference material out there? Most of the stuff I've found was geared towards car tuning and I'm not sure most of it applies.

The other thing is that the electric choke is cranked way past the markers that are all along the top. This is the way it was when I started working on the carb and, I figured after the rebuild, that I would be able to go back to the markings - but it refused to idle at all directly in the middle.

The only thing I really adjusted on the carb was to make sure the floats were level and then adjusted the idle screw up from the 1/4 turn further open as suggested in the paperwork that came with the rebuild.

Also - off hand how much oil does the PCM 454 take? I only got 6 in it before it said it was full. Oil pressure seems to be a bit high when running.

Thanks much in advance gents!!!

Oh - I also found out we have two of those "judges" seats that were original with the boat. So if anyone needs any dimensions let me know I can get more detailed pics of one out too if that helps.

TRBenj wrote: Good move on the simple tee for the garden hose. Those screws on the rear metering plate come out pretty easily with a large phillips screw driver... but Im curious if anyone knows a better trick!

Yep Clutch Head Screwdrivers

TRBenj wrote: Those seats are removeable and were optional in BFN's starting sometime in the early 80's. They were called "judges seats". CC started offering something similar in those about 10 years ago and called them "jump seats". They work great as additional removeable seating... Im going to build a few some day.

Thanks TIM, I am going to look into that a bit more.

OK, good deal, I just didn't know if they'd be in there too tight and I didn't want to potentially wreck any soft metal.

So can I get away with reusing those screws? Or can I get something that's not a special order to use in place of? Was hoping to get it all done in the next two days.

Really? Why's that (the need for new screws)?

I'll put up better pics once I'm all done, but thanks! I'm guessing it was standard. The upholstery on it is identical to the rest of it which is the only reason I'm making that assumption. I could very well be wrong though!

Thanks for the fast update (as usual!). Per your advice I soaked the riser bolts overnight before I attacked them with some DeepCreep - the very last one was a PitA (go figure) but the rest weren't too bad. I was amazed at how bad those gaskets were and the chunks of material in the water side of the outflow. Clean everything out and scraped the riser and header down to shiny metal. However I didn't happen to get new bolts when I ordered the gaskets so I'm off to get some grade 8's to replace today.

I have the carb completely apart (save one piece) and cleaned up. The question I have though is to get this last plate off what kind of screw head is that? The only thing I ran across online was a Holley jet remover that looked similar. Do auto parts stores carry this? I haven't rebuilt a carb in years and wasn't sure. I can probably get them out with something else, but would rather do it right.

Hoping I can get everything put back together this evening. Then all that's left is the electrical and throw in the new bilge. I read through the controversy that is feeding the boat water thread and all of the debate over collapsing hoses, etc. I think I'll swing over to Lowe's and build your setup TRBenj.

Thanks much if anyone has any insight on that Holley question!

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys!

So far I haven't made a ton of progress, but I'm getting there. This weekend I pulled everything out of the boat in terms of seating and then the long plank that covers the tranny, pipes and prop shaft. Things were rather dirty so I spent a few hours degreasing, cleaning and regreasing where appropriate - I can now see the original color of the fiberglass! :)

In the mean time I ordered a bunch of things. Particularly a new bilge, carb rebuild kit, riser gaskets and a few electrical. I also did order the DUI7k and the LiveWires (although after talking to a guy who did my order I'll have to wait at least a week for that since they're swamped).

Tonight I'm doing the carb rebuild, plugs, bilge, and riser gaskets. I'll get some updated pics of where I'm at. But - a few questions of course for the experts!

I'm going to buy a new battery - I see that group 65 & 48 will fit the battery compartment. Any suggestions on type? I have a DieHard Platinum in my truck (gel) and love it. I know I don't need deep cycle for just starting, but figured I'd look for some feedback. Mainly on the size I should get...

Next up is electrical panel. Wow, CC did a horrible job wiring all of the accessory switches. Once I got under there I was surprised at how bad it was. They have a main 12v feed coming into the very bottom breaker (blower switch/breaker) and they Y that off in a daisy chain recursively all the way to the top breaker. Have any of you replaced that cluster of daisy chained awfulness with a power bar? My thoughts are take the 12v lead and drop it into a power bar (similar to the grounding bar that's back there). I've just found that a lot of the splits, in their 20+ years of service, are getting rather fragile.

As for plugs - any suggestions? On the sticker it states "AC#MR43T".

What size flush T do I need (I forgot to check and am now not anywhere near the boat)?

I'll also try to get some video after I get things fired up! :)

windexh8er wrote: OK guys, first of all - thanks for all of the suggestions. :) I've had a few other things come up in the mean time and am finally getting around to doing a few things in the next couple of weeks. Here's a few pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/djmeier/BarefootNautique?authkey=Gv1sRgCJvC-7qclMWASQ&feat=directlink One thing I was wondering is that @TRBenj mentioned an electronic ignition. I'd like to do this - what should I get? My plan right now is the following: 1) Rebuild carb 2) Redo ignition 3) Change oil (motor & trans) 4) Filters 5) Try to fix the broken speedo sensor 6) Get all of the lighting working

Links don't work like other sites.
here's your link to the pictures

So for the distributor is this correct (I had been looking at the DUI based on another thread I found that you were talking about):

M12720 - All Small Block & Big Block Chevrolet V8's
and
C9051 - SB Chev - Under Headers

-------------------------------------------------------

Also, where would you go about getting the riser gaskets from?

Finally - is this the right bilge pump? I'm on a buying spree today. :)

http://www.n3boatworks.com/eshopprod_cat_5045-68032-69650_product_868314.Bilge_Pump_Rule_500_GPH_Fully.htm

EDIT:
Riser gasket?

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RM0099

And would it be wise to get the exhaust rebuild kit, or just the riser gaskets?

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RP173091

Oh, and in terms of water test - I've driven the boat plenty last year. That's why I'm doing all of this this year while it's still out of the water. It needs to be done! Been neglected, or barely maintained, for quite a while.

OK guys, first of all - thanks for all of the suggestions. :) I've had a few other things come up in the mean time and am finally getting around to doing a few things in the next couple of weeks.

Here's a few pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/djmeier/BarefootNautique?authkey=Gv1sRgCJvC-7qclMWASQ&feat=directlink

One thing I was wondering is that @TRBenj mentioned an electronic ignition. I'd like to do this - what should I get?

My plan right now is the following:
1) Rebuild carb
2) Redo ignition
3) Change oil (motor & trans)
4) Filters
5) Try to fix the broken speedo sensor
6) Get all of the lighting working

       Welcome! You're going to love that boat.