78/79 ski-tique rod knocking

Bri892001 wrote: This is how the previous owner of my boat had mine. But mine is all white Gel to start with, with just decals. A guy at the 2010 NE reunion knew my boat from when it belonged to the previous, previous, owner, and that guy had it done up like a zebra. In very specific lights you can still see the outlines a little. I wouldn't do that though. I wouldn't do the zebra thing.

So I assume your boat had "Ski tique" on the side of it before right?,... Do you just sand all the way through the lettering and stripes? Im learning about gel coat and it would make sense to do that,... however i dont know how far you can sand into it before its too far.

I would highly recommend AGAINST removing the lettering from the sides. The big painted logos were one of the coolest things on the CC's from the '70's.

Concentrate on making the boat ready for the water rather than cosmetics. The longer you have the boat, and the more Correct Crafts you look at, the more you'll come to appreciate original details.

Yeah, you are probably right,.. When I get into a hobby I usually go all out so like normal I'm planning out the next few months of this boats life already. I THINK I have the running part beat,.. In theory at least. It'll probably end up taking more time and $ than I am thinking right now anyways.

Brainstorming,.. A lady's husband that I work with has a 460 marine engine that he will sell me the whole thing for $500,.. It IS reverse rotation. I don't know enough about this to make an educated guess,... Will it fit? Will it bolt up to my tranny?

Yeah, I figured it would be to big for the space allotted but I wasnt sure. That would be a butt-load of torque though! Im not trying to spend any unnecessary $ yet,. at least not untill i get it running good. If the opportunity arose to get something for nothing, I would jump on it but as far as doing bottom end work and cams and all, Im not ready for that yet. It would be fun though to have a 350hp boat though!
Damn,.. I havent even gotten it in the water yet and Im already talking about making it faster...lol

8122pbrainard
Remember Im a noob in this

I like the way that "naked" boat from above looks,.. everyone has their own opinion I suppose and maybe mine will change but I like that look. This is coming from someone who hasnt even ran their boat yet so my opinion is very subject to change. This is my last car I built:


So I hope you can see why that boat was apealing to me. lol

on a side note..those 70 boat the graphic are painted while the 90s were decals!
so to remove you need to do some sanding!...

Got some GREAT news! After calling around go all my car buddies I am getting a complete 302 HO motor that came of of a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer for $50! It's a complete LONGBLOCK with the H.O. heads! It had a blown head gasket so I can't just swap cams and all but still,.. That SOUNDS like a hell of a deal! I'm thinking I should still replace the lower bearings and rings. If I do all that AND have the block honed I'll still come out ahead,.. Just as long as this block will bolt up!
Those heads aren't the ones everyone keeps talking about are they? The GT heads or whatever they are called?

kapla wrote: gt40p heads...

Ok,.. thats good right? Does that mean I can swap over the cams out of my heads and it'll work? I hear a lot of guys on here talking about how great the gt40p heads flow.... Did I just luck up?
Im gonna go get the motor tonight and I guess go ahead and break it down for the machine shop,.. If I am reading everything correctly I will need to order a new set of head gaskets, oil pan gaskets, crank/rod bearings (after the machine shop says they are ok) and probably an intake gasket,.. um,.. are there any extra "cam gaskets" of anything I should order?

not sure at all about the fuel pump,.. Im not opposed at all to putting in an electric pump,.. like maybe a warlbro 255 or something,.. unless there is a reason why I cant do that.

I THINK the distributor will be fine on a 98 model wont it? Will wait for more Ford Gurus.

I Just got off the phone with a guy from this site : http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page568.html
He says that he has "marinized" a few 302's and the problem comes into play when you start looking at how the crank is balanced,.. if it is internal or at the flywheel.... I dont know which is which but if anyone on here does, please speak up. It sounds like if the crank on my old motor is balanced internally and so is the new motor I should be ok,... that is,... so long as everything else bolts up (which I dont see how it wouldnt)

You need to slow down a bit.

A distributor from a '98 302 automotive engine is NOT what you want. You need a MARINE unit in the name of safety. If you cant find a good used one, this is one piece worth buying new. You can get a nice new Mallory Marine points dizzy for $200.

What would your intent be with the marine 351w? Some parts would swap over to your 302, others would not (like the distributor). If you planned to use it as-is, then you need to make sure its a RH engine. $1300 is a bit steep for a used engine- and if its a lefty, forget it. If its a righty, then it would be a better platform to build from if you want more power since it has more cubes... but out of the box, youre taking a weight penalty and only gaining 20hp- so $1300 would be better spent on your 302 if you want more power.

The GT40p heads that came on that Explorer motor are good ones. It will cost you a few bucks less to have them rebuilt (valve job, resurface) than it would be to buy ones already rebuilt ($400ish). For $50, grab them and pray they arent cracked or have bent valves, etc.

As far as the balancing goes, someone else may chime in on that... but you definitely need to match components up correctly- namely the flywheel, balancer and presumably the crank.

allanonjj wrote: not sure at all about the fuel pump,.. Im not opposed at all to putting in an electric pump,.. like maybe a warlbro 255 or something,.. unless there is a reason why I cant do that.

JJ,
An electric fuel pump needs to be marine rated/ignition protected as well. You sure don't want more automotive junk on that engine!!

I'm going to let the carb experts chime in but there are other issues with putting an electric on it.

BTW, I too feel you need to slow down here!!

allanonjj wrote: [QUOTE=TRBenj] You need to slow down a bit. QUOTE] lol,.. If I had a dollar for every time . . . Yeah I hear ya. "I can't wait to have patience!" Oh, and $1300 includes a MARINE distributor and carburetor.

Keep dialing back on the throttle!

Again, the 351w and 302 do NOT take the same distributor.

took a few pics this morning with my GoPro camera,..I am going to start pulling the motor and all tonight, hope to have it down to bare block by Tomorrow afternoon. If you guys see anything alarming (well,.. other than the other 10 things that youve already told me about) let me know.
Thanks again














What is supposed to cover the battery? I hope I am missing some sort of cover.

8122pbrainard wrote: allanonjj wrote: What is supposed to cover the battery? I hope I am missing some sort of cover. Yes, you are missing the cover. It should be a ply carpeted and "T" molding around the edge piece. With the extra pictures, I again stress the importance of checking the stringers.

Oh yeah,.. meant to say it already but Mack (boat mechanic) checked them for me and said that they are very solid,.. he used those "rings" and picked the whole boat off the trailer and examined the hull and said that the boat is structurally sound.

JJ, welcome aboard! If you are serious about getting that boat ship shape you are in the right spot! I a newbie to the boating world as well as you.
I bought a 72 southwind knowing it needed an engine or at least a rebuild to get it going. I was told by the PO that the floors were "very solid". Boy was that wrong. In removing the engine I found the lag bolts holding the motor mounts to the stringers they would just spin and spin. I had to pry and twist to remove them. This is the first sign of rotting stringers. I decided to bite the bullet and fix the boat right. I've since cut out my floor and found secondaries and bulkheads that are completely rotten. Under the floatation foam there is about two inches of pooled water. If I've learned one thing on this forum is LISTEN TO PETE(especially about checking stringer condition!!!). Get on those lag bolts with a ratchet and see how they feel. Any thing that is wrong with that boat the collective knowledge on this site can steer you to make it BETTER than new.
Scott