1965 Nautique Update

Last summer the rebuilt 71C transmission with maybe 10 hours of use failed.  I was pulling into the boat lift, went into reverse to slow down, and the boat stalled.  Went to neutral, started the boat, and it lurched forward, almost going through the lift - that would have been bad!  Shifting into reverse stalled the boat again. After getting the boat safely on the lift I determined the transmission was stuck in forward.  Could have been so much worse as I think of the times where I have pulled up to a dock, counting on reverse to slow me down.  Well that was it for summer of 2022.

The swap went well.  I used some lifting ears that came with one of the engines to suspend the rear of the motor.  Glad I installed studs in place of the lowest two bolts when the first transmission was installed to help guide the transmission into place.

After getting things bolted up, I went to the boat ramp.  Boat started, no leaks, so far so good.  Let it warm up, then checked forward and reverse.  Still no leaks and seemed to be going into gear properly.  Checked and added some fluid and took a cruise, everything worked fine.  I now have a couple of hours of cruising and all seems to be ok.

One of my winter projects will be tearing into the transmission that I pulled out to find out what happened and hopefully can fix it.

Thanks for all your efforts into a fantastic restoration.

I'll send a tracking number in a PM later today

I dug through my "pile of parts that might come in handy for somebody one day" and came up with what's in the picture.

It's the cam and the plate you need.

I found a dead switch, but that won't do you any good.

This plate takes the newer NSS that has a 7/8 hex head. The PCM part number is R153011 for the switch. The part number listed and linked earlier will fit. There's a wide variety of prices when you get looking.

It's cheaper than the old bigger switch too 

Send me a PM with your address and they'll be on the way to Iowa for a worthy boat.

We'll call it a donation to your project

The distributor is a Mallory marine unit with points.  I'm running a Carter 4 BBL (I believe this to be the original carb) converted to electric choke.  Idle is smooth, throttle response is nice and snappy with no bog.

Initial start on a garden hose went well until it started to rain, Next I dipped the boat in the Cedar River on the trailer to finish breaking in the cam, test the complete raw water system and transmission shifting.  Found my thermostat housing was leaking, fixed that, then trailered to Lake Delhi for the shake down cruise.