Thread: 1960's seacraft restoration

hahahaha stringy... I can almost imagine the distinction in your voice when you say... "Definitely 3 strombergs". I guess its decided then! How many different types of single barrel strombergs are there? Any particular model I am looking for? Are the carbs I'm looking for the same as the strommy I already have fitted? Another question- an angled riser has been fitted on my manifold presumably to keep the carby level with the angle the motor is on. If i mounted the carbies on a slant, that would mess up my float levels. So I guess I'd have to make up another 2 slanted risers? Apart from looking and sounding cool, and being more difficult to tune than a single carb arrangement, what would the differences be with triples in fuel consumption and engine operation on a standard 186? I will have more questions to ask you Stringy after this weekend, when i get the hull back to bare ply =) One other question- how is the ply around the bow curved? Is it steamed and bent? Is it cold bent? Is it laminated from thinner sheets of ply? Just curious in the event i want to resheet the hull, and whether it is beyond my capabilities! Thanks all for your advice and input!

Chris

I just had a look at the manifold and came up with a solution. I've got some 6mm ali plate, can make up some flanges to suit the strommies and weld a peice of ali pipe as a runner in between. I can cut the end of the pipe to suit the angle I need the carbs on, and work enough clearance in to fit 3 strommies inline. Also found a decent place to buy rebuilt strombergs, so waiting for a quote back on that. You guys are a bad influence already! Won't be doing any of this stuff until i know the state of the hull, don't want to get ahead of myself =)

Chris

Chris

Unless you are going to do some head work and install a lumpier cam and extractors there would not be much advantage in going with twins and none at all with triples,
You can get quite a bit of power from a 186 head,cam, roller rockers and triple webbers (great induction noise) or a supercharger would give a big increase without any other mods.

Nick

Cheers utey, that's what I suspected. I'll get her up and running, then strip her down and do cam/head etc. I've decided I'm going to strip the carby and run her up with some fresh oil, and descale the jackets with some clr. I'm going to knock up a timber frame to run the motor on, and run a close circuit cooling setup. Bucket as reservoir, circulate some clr to try flush her out and get some fresh oil circulating. Besides holding the rudder stock, what is the purpose of the cav plate? Is this like a trim tab?

Chris

The cav plate is actually the opposite, it stops cavitation i.e. stops the prop sucking in air and spinning merrily while doing nothing.
Adjustable cav plates allow you to trim the boat.
By the way, I assume you've already worked out the Seacraft are now manufactured under the Syndicate name.
p.s. I had a 186 in my first boat. nice little donk and works fine in a small hull.

Ah thanks Murray! So seacraft is still around but called syndicate?

Originally Posted by Utey

Chris

Unless you are going to do some head work and install a lumpier cam and extractors there would not be much advantage in going with twins and none at all with triples,
You can get quite a bit of power from a 186 head,cam, roller rockers and triple webbers (great induction noise) or a supercharger would give a big increase without any other mods.

Nick

Sensible response Utey, but 3 strombergs would still look good. I have never seen 3 single barrel strombergs together mostly 2 barrel 350 Holleys or multiple SU's. Had mates with hotted up toranas with multiple SU's, yella terra heads and big cams back in the early 80's and I remember them being flat off the bottom end which is not what you would want in a boat.

The blower idea sounds silly, but in reality the most sensible as the motor can stay stock and the blower will give heaps of torque from idle.

The beauty about triples is if you just want the look but are not chasing performance, you can put a blanking plate under one and three and just use the single central carby.

That's exactly what some of the flathead blokes do with their tripple 2barrels, either blank off the middle one or the 2 end ones, it seems a waste of a couple of carburetors though!

Originally Posted by Stringy

it seems a waste of a couple of carburetors though!

Maybe so, but flogged out carbies are cheap as chips so you save a fair bit just buying one or two rebuilt carbies and just clean up a chuckaway carbies for the non-users. Also no problems with balancing multiple carbies.

yea, Burnsy's idea of blanking plates is the go if your going for the nostalgia or era spec look, the last thing you want is an engine that has too higher idle or is too rough at idle, (says me who had a 350HP windsor driving a hamilton jet as the familly runabout ), but in reallity you have to decide what you want, the blower will give you grunt with little dramas but maybe not the right look unles you can find an old wade or norman then that would be way cool.

Better get cracking on that hull Chris, summers not far

Kev

wow looks like there's a bit more activity on these forums than I imagined! Ok had to work late today, but still made some good progress! Today's update-

I bought some 90mmx45mm pine beams, and have made up a simple H pattern cradle for the 186 to sit in. Still using the original engine mounts, so am keeping the right angle. I pulled down the seawater pump and lubed it up a bit, should be fine to get her running. Pulled all the plugs again and dropped about 100 ml of oil down the bores, turned her over 20 times or so and all feels good. I've picked up some cooling system descaler, its an alkaline mixture, will be good to flush the motor with. In the morning, i'll clean up the adapter plates that fit over the head and block for the seawater cooling, and bolt them back up. Then i have to hook up new heater hose, fuel lines and wire up a basic ignition. I've got a large 30 litre plastic storage box, will use this as my cooling water reservoir. Running the flexible bellows off the manifold exhaust, and into a hole in the top of the plastic box. Heater hose will take a suction from plastic box, into s/w pump, thru block and head, thru manifold jacket cooling, thru sump cooling and finally discharge into wet exhaust. I know whatever the motor spits out the exhaust will go into my reservoir, so will have to keep flushing and changing water. I expect to run her for maybe 5 mins before it starts to get hot, but that will be enough for a flush, cool down, then new water and flush again. Will flush with water a few times to get out the loose scale, then with alkali cleaner, then fresh, then alkali cleaner and then fresh again, until i get clean cooling water. Have to open the carby up and take a look at the float and needle and seat also. Will be chucking a new oil filter and oil thru it at the same time, hopefully clean her out a bit, as i have no reliable idea on the history of the motor.

Have some mates coming round tomorrow also, will try and lift the hull off the trailer and flip her upside down so I can start stripping the paint.

As for the triples- I do really like the idea and have a manifold thats just screaming for it. I'll get the hull finished first and hit the water with the single and the motor untouched, then start collecting carbs and parts to strip the 186 down and freshen her up. Either that or pick up a second 186 to rebuild and keep the original in the boat till the new motor is ready. I guess i'd be happy with rings and bearings, small cam, ported head, elec dizzy and the triples. I can get refurbished strommies, polished, re plated, re kitted and jetted to suit for 170 a piece, so really isn't that expensive!

Chris

This is a neat unit and good value power to $
Not sure how or if it would fit without some modification, but could be interesting.

http://www.rodshop.com.au/supercharg...rcharger_2.htm

Nick

Thanks utey, i don't like the toyota blowers, was looking at them for another project. They're not friendly to rebuild and the teflon on the rotors causes problems when overheated etc. I have good news! Spent all last night and today knocking up the timber cradle for the motor, rewiring the ignition/alt/guages etc and throwing on a set of spare plug leads. Changed the oil and filter, cleaned up some mating faces for the s/w cooling adapter plates and used some rtv silicone gasket compound to help that seal up for an improptu engine run. Used a thinners tin for a fuel tank! Took a long time to get the oil out of the bores so that it would even turn over, the compression was enormous. Re set the point gap, cleaned the plugs up and replaced fuel lines/heater hoses and turned her over for a while by starter motor to get oil pressure up. She fired up like a dream! Idles very smooth and no misses, am very willing to beleive it was in fact rebuilt recently, but has not been run in 2 years. Used the big plastic box for water reservoir and exhaust dump, worked a treat. Can run the motor for about 5 mins before she starts to get too warm, didn't get too much debris out the exhaust from the water jackets with the fresh water though =( I'm getting a good 40 PSI of oil pressure, so very happy with that. Alternator is even working! I took a short video of the engine running, but its 30 meg so not sure if any of you will want to view it! Will post the link soon.

The weather here has been terrible, so didn't pull the hull out today, fingers crossed it will be a nice day tomorrow.

Chris