Swedish Ski Nautique 1969

Hello,

I have been reading a lot on this forum the last couple of months and I think it's now time to introduce myself and my boat properly. My name is Axel and i'm 25 years old, I live in Stockholm, Sweden and have since I could walk been into cars and bikes. I currently drive a -69 corvette with a fuel injected LS1 engine + t56 trans that i converted myself. I'm studying engineering here in Stockholm.

Last fall I found this beautiful boat for sale and me and my father jumped on it for what we fought was a good price. I have since discovered that I should maybe have read a little about classic issues with these boats before doing so but however, what is done is done and now I'm looking forward to skiing behind it.

The good part:
*The boat is so nice looking!
*The engine is changed for a newer and fresh water cooled 351
*The boat lies on a good trailer so I can pull it behind my vette in the summer

The bad part:
*I have no clue on the stingers' condition
*The manifolds were likely rusted through and the newly rebuilt 351 was full of water when I got it
*The boat has close to no interior at all.

As soon as I realized that the engine had water inside of it I took it out of the boat, disassembled it and oiled everything up carefully and I think the parts look fairly good. I can still see the honing marks on the cylinder walls and the engine is very clean inside with next to no carbon bild-up. I also removed one bearing cap to see how the bearings are doing (see attached picture). The question is now, what would you do with the engine, I'm thinking about only getting new gaskets for it and new manifolds and then putting it back together? Or do you think the bearings need changing too?

Now on to some pictures:
On the way home:


Parked among good friends:


The heart:


Not so nice on the inside :/


What do you think, does these need changing?


I'm planning to keep this thread up to date with pictures and info and I'm truly grateful for all the info, tips and pointers that you guys might have!

Axel,
Welcome to CC ownership and posting on CCfan. There are a couple good threads in the FAQ thread in the Maintenance section regarding rot in stringers. The best involves tapping the glass and listening.

Are you sure your boat is a Ski Nautique? From the ribbed fore deck, it looks more like a Barracuda. Measure the length and get back to us.

The engine you pictured doesn't look like it is fresh water cooled. The term can be confusing. It means that there is a heat exchanger that uses sea water to cool a closed loop system running through the engine.

To answer your question regarding the bearing you pictured, I would take the chance and put a new set of mains and rod bearings in.

No need to measure, that's definitely a Cuda and not a SN.

Welcome!

8122pbrainard wrote: TRBenj wrote: that's definitely a Cuda. With a SN windshield.

No, too short and too much rake... Never seen a CC with that particular windshield from the factory.

Or a early Mastercraft? Hard to tell without a better side profile.

Nope, your eyes are fooling you!

3rd picture shows the angle. Sn windshield is nearly vertical- your 67 is the same as my 67.

Century and MC are both good guesses.

Thank you, I'll!

I havn't got any pictures directly from the side but maybe from this one the angle of the windshield can be determined.


I'm now looking at rebuild kits, I want to replace all the gaskets, hone the cylinders out quickly to get rid of any pitting and put new rings in the engine. What do you think about this kit? I need one for a one piece rms engine...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-5-8L-351W-Marine-Re-Ring-Kit-gaskets-bearings-rings-1-pc-Se-Habla-Espanol-/151344893837?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item233cdbcf8d&vxp=mtr

Best Regards Axel

Like Pete said, you need to know rotation, critical for a one piece rear main seal.

Magic, it even has the same rub rail as your MC.. Good eye !!
Look at pic #1. Did the old MC's have the contoured motor boxes like the early Correct Crafts.?? The ddash pod in an MC was raised though correct? .Looks like the 69' here is flat..

It's definitely a Cuda but that windshield looks about right!

wow, I didn't expect this kind of response :)

There is a small raise on the back of the boat where your red stripe is 81nautique:


My garage is located 180 miles from where I am ATM so I have a hard time measuring and taking pictures right away but I believe that:
* The engine cover came of a later SN as it sais so on top of it (why I fought it was a SN)
* The engine is a STD rotation as timing order is 1 3 7 2 6 5 4 8 (counting counterclockwise on top of distributor) and the prop look like this:

Yep Cuda for sure...

Boy, I'm glad there is a swim platform on this beauty...

I have been looking at exhaust manifolds which is a big pain in the a-- as the Swedish market for 351 manifolds is next to none driving prices up. Shipping a pair from the US is also pricey. However I found an acceptable deal on a pair of new HGE-1-81 with HGE0082 risers, anyone hear used them? Is the shorter riser model ok to use on a skiboat?

Just go with it.

I'll do so

Have now ordered a rebuild kit that I'll be waiting for. Have been trying to read up on the bolts in the engine. I've understood that no bolts in the old 351 are TTY bolts, do you reuse the bolts or buy new (heads, mains, rods)?