Re: [OMC-Boats] So, I got a chance to look over the boat...

They both took the words right out of my mouth.  ;-)
 
I've been having performance problems to the degree that I finally pulled and rebuilt the carb.  She ran pretty well after that....untill the fuel filter clogged up with crud from the gas tank.  I finally decided I had to remove the tank to clean it.  Good thing I did because it has so much GUNK in the tank that it likely would have taken 5-6years of fresh gas to get it all out.  I drained the tank of the brown and rusty water, filled it with soapy water and then went to town with a wire brush.  I rinsed it out many times and then finally vacuumed out the residual with my shop vac.  The gas now runs clear in the filter.  A week later I pulled the carb again and found more gunk, presumeably what was left in the line and the fuel pump.  So...in theory I have it completely cleaned up.
 
I also continued to have some preformance problems so I replaced the wiring (did an earlier tuneup with new points and plugs), reset the idle adjustment screws 2.5 turns insted of 2 and bent the float up to allow more gas in the fuel bowl.  Hopefully this will resolve the stalling problems at 3000 rpms.  I'll be taking it out again tomorrow in hopes that I have finally resolved all of the problems....sigh....just in time to maybe wrap up this season.
 
-Bill
Dallas, TX
1970 Evinrude Explorer - 155 Buick V6 - OMC Sterndrive
http://www.photobucket.com/evinrude_explorer
 

--- On Fri, 8/28/09, Lee Shuster <lks@...> wrote:

From: Lee Shuster <lks@...>
Subject: Re: [OMC-Boats] So, I got a chance to look over the boat...
To: bchowk@..., "Evinrude & Johnson Boats of the 1960's and 70's" <omc-boats@...>
Date: Friday, August 28, 2009, 9:43 PM

BC pretty much took the words out of my mouth.

1) Engine:  Simple in theory:  It pretty much is all about delivery of perfectly timed spark with the proper amount of clean fuel. But in practice with 40+ year old parts it's another story, that even taken a step at a time can interfere with our basic need to "I just want go fishing/skiing/diving/wakeboarding/crusing, not spend a lifetime working on this old tub."  You basically need to step back and commit to learning how to do basic engine tuning )setting points, dwell, timing, etc and performing some mechanical repairs such as carb cleaning, rebuilding, adjusting.  Or find yourself a trusted mechanic.

The single largest contributor to electric shift failures is that people don't know how to keep them running at their design idle speed properly. Your Buick should idle smooth as butter at 550 RPM, after a few minutes of warm up time (130 -140 deg F at thermostat.) when it's dialed in or properly tuned up to published spec. These are things you need experience, tools and manuals to accomplish or alternatively a trusted mechanic.

2) Fuel -- Fresh fuel "helps" (maybe) but the entire fuel system can "hide" varnish, rust and moisture and can take literally dozens of hours or even entire seasons to fully filter or flush out. I always start any vehicle restoration by pulling the tank and having it profession cleaned and re-lined, you really have to start all the way up the chain.. Do a google on the RENU tank process. Also installing a modern fuel separation filter is a good idea over the off-season. Replace the existing fuel filters as well. Drop the carb bowls and check float levels and valve seating. If you decide to go the rebuilt carb roue (and I'm not saying you need too -- be sure and get a MARINE-rated replacement. Trust me, taking short cuts rarely pays off. She wants and needs the TLC treatment, skip it and she'll embarrass you at the worst possible time!

3) Steering -- 99.9% of the OMC built boats use the aircraft style rope-over-pulley (I believe I am one of the few who converted to TruCourse, a OMC push-push type steering). Is it perfect no? Can you avoid issues YES!  Never raise the power tilt unless the drive is pointer straight ahead. Don't turn the drive while it is in the up position. Try to resist extremely fast lock-to-lock helm wheelspins ) you know,  Cowboy turns to show off your OMC stringer's wonderful sharp turning ability? . (Don't install a "necker" knob on your steering wheel.) If you follow this advice you probably won't encounter steering  problems.

4) Table/windshield thing?   You'll need to provide more detailed photos. Perhaps another 67 Surfer owner can chime in? Nothing like that on my Sportsman. Have you downloaded the free. available Surfer owners manual? It usually explains these model-specific features. BRP/OMC may still carry your owners manual as well. Grab one while you can if they still have your specific model.

Lee

On Aug 28, 2009, at 6:22 PM, BC Howk wrote:

Justin,

Not much experience with the Buick V-8....

Some new Gas certainly won't hurt. Are you adjusting just the idle speed? have you messed with the idle mixture yet? Did you check the timing? Did you let it get good and warm?  Sounds like you have some mechanical experience so sure you got most of this covered but have to double check.... My experience with the V6 nailhead has been.... Fresh oil, fresh plugs, warm it up, check/ adjust the timing (if you havent put on a pertronix kit yet check your points and dwell and consider the kit), adjust the mixture (with a vacuum guage) adjust the idle speed, then repeat,  timing, mixture, idle until I can get no further improvement, and she runs great. Once it's dialed in the seasonal tune up isn't so bad.

I think it is just about universaly accepted that the cable and pulley set up is......"sub-optimal" particularly compared to the tru course system...that being said.. I still run the cable and pulley system and it works pretty well. Just check the cable for any fraying in the vynil jackets as this can cause you to slip a pulley , then you have to crawl under the dash and take apart the pulley get the cable back on, yadda, yadda, yadda....

If you have the time, run across a good deal on a true course set up and feel you want a project, convert!! Otherwise, if you take care of your cables/pulleys they will serve you fairly well. I restrung mine a couple years ago and think it may not have been the first time, but I detected some less than desirable methodology on the set of cables I replaced (missing shock springs ect.) If your set up is in good shape, just take it easy with the wild manuvers and you'll be fine,.

Knowing what I have under there I actually find the steering suprisingly crisp and easy at speed (remember, judging on a curve, I know whats behind that steering...amazing)

Cheers,
B.C.

On Aug 28, 2009, Justin DeSantis <duc1098desmo@...> wrote:

I found a few things. It fired right up, but the fast idle level seems
to make it idle way faster than I'd like. I had to turn it almost all
the way down to get it in to what I felt comfortable with. And no
amount of warming up seemed to let it want to run without the lever.
If I tried to get it to 1000rpm on the tach it would die. I'm thinking
(hoping) that filling it with fresh gas and running it a bit will cure
that. Not other major problems found. Horn has resumed normal
operation, I'm thinking the battery was just low.

Let me ask this, how reliable is the steering system? That cable
running back the length of the boat and changing direction a few times
seems like a good place for a failure to happen. Anything to worry
about there?

Still haven't figured out the table windshield holder thing, but
didn't really put any time in to it.

Looked at the transom. Sort of hard to read. It's maybe a little soft,
but not rotten. It pretty much looks and feels like 42 year old wood.
Anything I can put on it to strengthen it or keep it from getting
worse?

I think that was all the questions I came up with today.
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