Several members have asked me to open a post on this forum to discuss "all things Commander Marine Engines." 

I was the Past GM and Chief Engineer for them some 4 years back in the 80's. 

Lot's of stories there and will share quips and tech as they come up. 

The other post I created addressed Ford 351W/302 Engine and Starter Rotation. See that if you are having some difficulty understanding what rotations you need. 

Welcome. All

Jim Rohr 

 

Hi Jim, thanks for doing this, really interesting to hear some history from the inside.  I read the other thread and look forward to learning more here.

I had never heard of a "Clevor", and the explanation that it was a "real" 300 HP version vs. the Commander 300 that was more of a run of the mill 260 HP was a good piece of information.

There's an early manual here in the CCF reference section, that has a diagram on page 11 of 12. One of those 12 pages is missing..............guess which one 

What years was the company in business and what years were the early/late years.

A popular misconception for many years on CCF was that the only USCG legal fuel line from the pump to the carburetor was metal. I seem to think that Commanders came with a USCG approved big rubber reinforced fuel line from the factory. Numerous photos and the ones I've seen in real life show that line. There's a thread here on CCF from a few years ago about a new never started 1979 SN that was in storage for 35ish years and it has a rubber fuel line. Since the rubber was probably more expensive than the metal, was there some special reason for the rubber line other than it was easier to work with and met all the requirements?

No need to explain the requirements, it's been hammered out more than once on here  what the requirements are for rubber fuel lines and connectors 

You might need to review some ABYC and USCG regs about fuel line 

Here's an old thread with lots of discussion and links to ABYC and USCG requirements

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38399&title=holley-4160-bowl-screws-stuck" rel="nofollow - link

Both steel with internal flare fittings or Fuel Hose USCG approved Type A1-15 are both acceptable.

I'm still partial to steel for the stated reason(s). 

This way there is no way for the pressure side to move (i.e. on engine). 

I can't speak for the early years (pre-1982 something)...

I can speak for the four years I was there and what I designed for GM and Fords.  We had steel lines produced to match pump to Holley routing. It's a big deal if a fuel line fails and the engine is deemed at fault. A very big deal.   

 

Well, since nobody else seems to be asking anything, here's another question 

You have any details on the Commander 351 Turbostar in the link below from 1982?

http://books.google.com/books?id=Gv-qxhaoz9IC&pg=RA1-PA136&lpg=RA1-PA136&dq=commander+marine+turbostar+351&source=bl&ots=Ra2E77fj4P&sig=ACfU3U12NnUHidgKBix0m2OuzBK5QZvv6Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwixptP2m_r1AhUCkYkEHfiMCggQ6AF6BAgTEAM#v=onepage&q=commander%20marine%20turbostar%20351&f=false" rel="nofollow - link

Heading down to storage this weekend. (Only 300 miles away.) I will look for my Commander archives when there. I have some but not volumes of stuff. 

Specifically looking for the Commander Parts Manual > Ford P/N "conversion file(s)."  

Still looking?

Work on my 1986 Martinique continues. 50% point. Engine is done, aft stringers now replaced, new seats here and covering boards off to be recovered. Fuel tank going back in this week. Control being restored. Teak is being restored. Lost all the vinyl's to sun and time.   

I did find some Commander engine "pro photos" in my photo book and will post when I have time. 

BTW: This is the PCM restored and fully operational. 320 hours showing on the clock. 

 

Here is the wiring diagram from the owner's manual of my '79 ski nautique.

It seems like no matter how hard I try, I can't get 12 volts to the ballast resistor with the key in the Run position with that diagram

Or get a signal to the tach from the coil either.

Maybe somebody can straighten me out  

OHM your ballast resistor (wires off), back trace your resistor wire to the tach positive and then on to the key switch ignition side. Are you getting 12VDC ignition and start outputs from the key switch? Is the key switch not energized at all? Does the starter operate correctly? What IS working?

Make sure your ground connections are all low resistance (less than 1 ohms). I have seen grounding issues drive bad positive lead results.  

The only thing that's broken is the wiring diagram itself 

There are other issues  too, like the neutral safety switch and the main breaker neither of which show up on the drawing at all.

Here it is rotated and blown up some with the "broken" area circled in Red