1969 Spoiler

The rear lifting ring is where Papa always connected the ski rope. He used to trick ski 😉
So, that's where we always connected. Does it need something else? I'm afraid of lifting with the lift rings....I know that I should be able to, I'm just worried I'll rip them out.

I work in a granite shed, family business, thanks Papa! We have an overhead crane. I remember Papa saying he was going to lift it with the crane, but I don't think I ever witnessed it. My uncle said he thinks that's how Papa painted it white, but isn't sure if someone else did the painting. I would think that the shed is too dusty to do that good of a paint job.


OH! When I first got the Spoiler from my uncle, Papa tried to convince me that I did not want it. That it was going to be a lot of trouble in the future for whoever had it. He said that the pieces of wood that are covered by fiberglass that run the length of the boat are rotten. He said that he doesn't know how far they are rotten but getting them uncovered and fixed is going to be an issue for someone and that I didn't want that problem. I told him I didn't care what had to be done to it, there was nothing in this world I wanted more than that boat. I told my husband that if it came to a choice between the house and the boat it was always going to be the boat. It will always be the boat. Told I told that to Papa too about the cabin I was living in, that he built!

Now, I have been awful when it comes to doing right by this boat. I'm going to admit EVERYTHING.

Begin 2021 - It sounded "off" to me and I noticed oxidation on the intake manifold. Almost like it had developed a layer of powder. Took to Papa. He checked everything new plugs, compression test, the works and even took a Dremel tool with a wire brush and cleaned up the intake. Then, said we were good to go. We were.

Late 2021 - Parked outside, uncovered. Left the plug in, didn't realize for a month-ish? Mama needed her now sun-bleeched wakeboard and that's when I noticed it was holding water. The carpet was wet but I don't think it was more than an inch and mostly toward the back. Drained, cleaned, and I opened all the little ports for winter. Pulleys in trouble?

2022 - Ran great a few times. Started having Carburetor issues - according to Papa - toward the end of summer. It would bog down when trying to accelerate or when engine was under a load. I parked it at my grandparents, in the sun, like a dummy. BUT the plug was not left in. Papa was now going down hill, so we couldn't work on it together. He told me I could get the Holley carb off the 76 TransAm and use it, but I wasn't going to mess with "the last race car engine" he ever built. I just couldn't. I needed to get a new one. Edelbrock 4 barrel 600CFM Marine

Papa passed in Feb. 2023 - My wedding was in my Mama's living room at his bedside. My only requirement for our wedding was that Papa would be there. 🥰 It was perfect!

March - 2024 moved The Spoiler to the Pavillion

Mother's Day - New Carburetor - thank you Husband, Mama and Best Friend!

June - serious bath! Pressure washed carpet, all upholstery spotless!

Oil change, heard tick, talked to mechanic friend. He said sea foam and run it. Tick gone.

Now, squeaky Serpentine belt that will slip on engine start revs. Replace - easy fix? I notice rust around the block in a few places. Blue paint from HM exhaust peeling. Noticed during clean up. Old or overheated? I always check that warm water is coming out with the exhaust - Papa said that's how you make sure the water pump is working. Time before last, on the water, I noticed the rubber hose that attaches to the exhaust manifold on one side had a small tear and water was leaking out of it. Not much.

Last time on the water - short visit - dramatic loss of power. Turned off engine. Felt heat around gas petal for a moment. Opened hatch. Didn't seem overly hot.... I tried to crank...turned over but didn't seem to want to crank. I let the babies swim and waited about 30mins. It cranked. The hatch was still open so I looked and listened. The hose connected to the exhaust manifold was ripped about 8in. Turned off. Got the kids in the boat. Turned it back on and put-putted back to the dock - hatch still open and bilge pump on.

I hope to have a replacement hose for the exhaust manifold this week.

There is more. Much more - mostly cosmetic? I plan to do as much as I can this fall, winter, and spring.

Also! I recently (just before the last time we went out) saw somewhere that the max passenger weight should be 500lbs? Me, my husband, and 3 children (12, 11 and 3 yrs old) are about 680lbs and that's just in human weight. Plus - skis, wakeboard(s) and a 20lb-ish cooler. Did I push it too hard? I didn't put the throttle to the floor....but my 11 and 12 yr old (280ish lbs) did ride the tube time before last that we were out. But, all seemed to go well?

Again, I appreciate anything yall are willing to share! Thanks!

Candi...Welcome back and condolences from all of us on the loss of your precious Papa. Glad to read that y'all got the boat back up and running again and he got to enjoy driving The Spoiler again before he passed. Precious memories for sure. I know without a doubt that y'all turned a few heads with that boat cruising round the lake. That boat is the definition of Cool!  

And, when you go to reassemble, check if there is a torque spec for those bolts, if not one could be suggested here. They may tighten up just fine but if you try to over tighten you'll strip them and need the thread inserts, not the end of the world but I suspect you'll tighten up OK with some care.

Candi,
Pulling thread pieces is pretty common with older aluminum castings that have been around moisture. Continue on and after a good cleaning if the threads look real bad, thread inserts can be installed. A slightly larger hole is drilled, tapped. and the insert is then threaded into the new tapped holes. The inside of the insert will have the original size threads for the original bolts.

Thread insert:

Right, I was referencing Joe's suggestion. Also Candi, as you are looking at the u-joints if they seem OK look for a zerk fitting in the joint, may have to rotate to find it, get some grease into it.

It seems like the damper plate idea was forgotten in this discussion. Once the U-joints are checked out I'd not rule it out, sounded a lot like mine when the plate was bad. And, goes from metallic rattle at idle to smooth as silk with a few rpm which is the case here.

Candi, that is just a beautiful boat, put a smile on my face to hear your story and that your dad will be able to ride with you as you put it back to good use. As for your uncles ...... I'd keep them away from it from now on!

Diagnosing bad U joints and U joint replacement.

8122pbrainard wrote: Candi, I've watched the video a couple more times and I'm not too sure there's a U joint problem. I'd pull a plug on the top of the V drive and get a bore scope in to take a look at the two gears. Also, when you had the intermediate shaft disconnected, did you turn the V drive box by hand feeling for any roughness or binding when rotated?

I did, it spun just fine...I spun it slow and back and forth trying to feel for anything in the gears and it was smooth. No slips, resistance , or roughness...

For the first several minutes it did great but when we were coming back to the dock from a second short test run it started again... I am not used to driving it yet so I was super careful. When I pulled back up to the dock I was at a slow speed and started pretty far away idling and it was perfect. But, when we were on our way back in for a second time, after being put in forward and reverse a few times more it started. It started right when it was taken from one gear to another not while cruising in the same gear.

Candi,
I've watched the video a couple more times and I'm not too sure there's a U joint problem. I'd pull a plug on the top of the V drive and get a bore scope in to take a look at the two gears. Also, when you had the intermediate shaft disconnected, did you turn the V drive box by hand feeling for any roughness or binding when rotated?

OK in Petes pic theres a plug there thought that was what he was talking about

Pete if you look at her pic it looks like it has a piece of threaded pipe(copper color) where the plug would be.
I'd have to go with the bad U-joint also
noise link
https://youtu.be/SdvctTMJg9Y

SNobsessed wrote: Sounds like a bad u joint to me.

Me too

Honestly, I couldn't find any plugs on the side...

We got the graphite packing back in the brass fitting and put everything back together and took it to the lake!

It was perfect for about 10 minutes.

Then the noise came back..... I have no idea what it could be, but it doesn't sound like it is coming from deep inside of the gearbox....maybe a barring????

Here is a video of the noise....

https://youtu.be/SdvctTMJg9Y

8122pbrainard wrote: Candi, Regarding the gearbox, was there any oil in it when you looked? Can you describe the noise better?

The plug on the side of the box is the level of the oil. Which plug did you pull and again, could you see any oil? The fill level is until the oil starts to come out that hole in the side.
If I remember correctly, the oil used back then was a straight 30 weight non detergent engine oil. [/QUOTE]



This is the "plug" I took loose. I could see the oil but it looked pretty low.

I took a bamboo shish kabob and stuck it down into it all the way to the bottom and it came out with oil on the bottom 3inches.