Re: Explorer Mysteries?

By the way I did call him and ask about the Explorer. He's in his 80's and
the plant did shut down in 1971 or 2 so some of his recollections are kind
of shaky. He did say however at that time they would build almost any combo
a dealer would order. They also built some off the wall combo's for the
engineering dept. and relatives of Ralph Evinrude. I recall seeing some real
bizarre OMC boats in Waukegan Harbor. Designs that where never produced.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Shuster (M_LibS)" <lib1@...>
To: <omc-boats@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: Explorer Mysteries?

> I suspect the Explorer ad could have several informational mistakes
including:
>
> a) year (1970 vs 1969)
> b) hull length (16 vs 19) (the V8 would imply a 19' hull)
> c) power rating (230 v 210) (water hose shows a "210" marking on it)
>
> but what the detailed photos clearly show:
>
> a) Explorer name plate on transom curved-style (not rectangular/flat
style)
> motor cover
> b) small block Chevy in engine bay (most likely a 307 in the 1969 - 1970
> timeframe)
>
> So some unresolved mysteries that come to my mind are:
>
> 1) Were there any 19' Explorers?
> 2) Did someone retrofit a 210 V8 into a 16' Explorer or was it originally
> installed at the factory?
>
> Cheers
>
> Lee Shuster
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Phil Budne" <phil@...>
> To: <omc-boats@...>
> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 9:17 AM
> Subject: Re: Sport '16 vs Sportsman
>
>
> >
> > > Also, does anyone know if the factory 210 hp engine was ever installed
> > > in the late 1969-70 forward contol 16' hulls?
> >
> > Not that I've seen evidence of, but I'm always learning something new!
> >
> > > This one appears earlier than the one on Phil's website.
> >
> > Why do you think this one is older? The boat in the ad is listed as
> > 1970. The only one on the web site I have solid data for was
> > described as a 1969, but the model number is supposed to be a 1970
> > model number.
> >
> > It looks like a similar design was sold as the Johnson "Frontrunner".
> > There's a photo of one on the website under "Other Johnson Models".
> >
> > > Here's one that I found listed (incorrectly ?) with 230 hp and it's
> > > listed as an Explorer 16'. A 16 foot hull must fly with the
small-block
> > > Chevy!
> > >
> > > http://boats.iboats.com/evinrude/bow_riders--1004/15346-ad.html
> >
> > The infomation I have is that 200 and 210HP engines were only sold in
> > 19' boats. Evinrude never sold anything described as a 230.
> >
> >
> > ---
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ---
>
Received on Thursday, 16 October 2003