Carb rebuild or replacement???

I have a 1985 SN that has a 351 Ford that has been converted from points to electronic. The boat cranks fine when cold and extra gas is given to the boat. The boat then warms up very rough for a min or so, but after this the boat runs very well as long as I don't turn it off and let it sit for more than 5 min. If I stop at a beach or friends house, (for say 5 min or so) it seems that the boat is flooded and can't crank unless I give it full throttle. Is this caused by an old needing rebuilt carburetor or is this because my float is not floating any more? I just don’t know what to do, and I don’t have a dealer around here for 300 miles to work on it. Any suggestion would be appreciated!!

Definately a rebuild. A new carb would run 4-500. Get a Holld rebuild kit from a CC dealer somewhere. I just did that with my '81 ski w/ the holly 4 barrell. It's simple and well worth the $118 it cost me. Oh, make sure you get the metering block with it. That may be the problem in and of it self.

I got a Holley marine renew kit from Summit racing for 39.95 + shipping. No need to pay inflated dealer prices.

Spark plug gap: .035" for points, .045" for electronic ignition.

I have never heard of alignment problems causing a drive shaft to break! How bad was it?

The hard start flooding problem is most probably the result of a needle valve not fully seating on either the primary or secondary side of the carb. You have two options: Either clean or replace the leaking needle valve, or rebuild the entire carb. You can tell which needle valve is leaking by looking down the throat of the carb either while it is idling or after you shut the engine off. If you see excess fuel dribbling out the bottom of the venturies, then the valve is not closing off fuel supply. After the engine is shut off, the fuel continues to leak past the valve and drips into the intake manifold thereby flooding the engine. The long the engine is off, the more flooded the engine becomes until the fuel pressure is depleted and the dripping stops.

Add a wedge plate....   Couldn't resist.

well, gaboy (there was a guy down the hall from me in college that i called that! but only because he shaved his legs more than me and i was sick of seeing his dark and curlies in the girl's shower!) i just got my holly carburetor rebuilt (national carburetors up in jacksonville, fl. they have a GREAT reputation) and had it installed on my 83 2001 (i was able to remove the carburetor, much to the amusement of my husband and his lazy friends, but a reinstall was out of the question!) by secc. they fixed some other little things and we were off! we drove the boat for about 10 minutes and the transmission started slipping. we trailered the boat and took her straight back to secc. they told me that i had blown a seal (hey! that's personal!) on the transmission and that the carburetor was bad. i told them that it was just rebuilt and they told me that they never recommend a rebuild, always a new carb. the short (but sad) ending to a long story is that it is going to cost me $800 to fix the transmission and about $500 for a new carb. OH! and i know i shouldn't tell this story, but when i took the boat in, i asked them if i had hooked up the lights right for the trailer. they told me no, but that was no big deal since i didn't lock the trailer onto the hitch right! DUH!

If ur gonna buy a carb u can pict up a holley 4160 from summitracing for a lot less than you think

If you want to make the Coast Guard happy and live a long, prosperous life, you'd better get a marine carb! For the most part, they're not any more expensive than street carbs...and a whole lot safer!

I would agree with IrishFooter. Summit has a pretty good deal, as does Jegs, Michigan Motorz (where I got mine). Spend a few more bucks and buy a NEW, not a rebuilt, unless you know and trust the rebuilder. Lots of crooks out there today, so buyer beware!