85 2001 LVL Stringer Project

Jllogan wrote: yup it sure did. It was something I did not anticipate. but I must have just had a few blobs in that spot or something. I use a trowel but I wasnt super careful because I didnt imagine that could happen.

Wow, I have never had that happen. And Ive used both thick, expensive carpet, and thin inexpensive grass stuff (always marine or outdoor though). And I put the glue on THICK, with a brush.

What type of carpet did you use?

Got ya, thanks for the tip!! How long did it take you to lay everything?

yup it sure did. It was something I did not anticipate. but I must have just had a few blobs in that spot or something. I use a trowel but I wasnt super careful because I didnt imagine that could happen.

word of advice on the glue,be careful to make sure you dont use too
much. Mine had two little spots that soaked through, I picked at them with a razor blade and got rid of most of the glue but it was something I was not careful enough about.

This weekend I only worked on the boat Saturday. Sunday we went down and visited my granddad for fathers day since my Dad is no longer with us. So we got to spend the day Sunday on the lake having a good time. Talk about making you want to get a project done!!

So back to Saturday. I started off by cleaning up 27 years of tarnish off of the boats metal parts before I start installing them. They shine like a new penny now.



Once all that was finished I left my strut sitting out in the sun to expand a bit while I had the new cutlass bearings in the freezer. After a few hours I pulled the bearings out of the freezer and stuck them in the strut. I got them in about half way by hand and that was as far as they would go. I easily slid them the rest of the way in with a piece of all thread, a few washers and nuts.

Next was on to doing some work on wood. I cut out the rear removable floor and the brace that goes with it. I have not cut the access hole in it yet because I want to get a jig and cut it with my router so it is a nice straight circle.

Next I cut out the piece that goes over the front of the engine cradle for the carpet to glue to.

Finally I cut the top to the battery box. Once I glue these two pieces together I will cut the corners. That way they are nice and smooth.

Here is all 3 pieces


I do not think I showed you guys the welds after I got back my engine cradle. I knocked the tops of the welds off so they were somewhat flat but I wanted to leave some mass so that it would hopefully not crack again anytime soon.



The red stuff you see on there is just a little lumber crayon I used to mark the location of the welds on the wood that is going there. I routed out places on the wood for the welds so that the wood would sit down flat and I would not have to grid down so much of the weld.

One side effect of the welding though is the pieces moved a little. when I put it in the boat the pylon would not go in the hole!! So I massaged it just a little bit and got the pylon in. Then it did not line up with the mount in the hull. At this point I am freaking out a little, because it was fitting fine before I painted!! But after I relaxed a little, I took the pylon and adjusted the aluminum a little bit by putting in just the top and prying slightly and that did the trick. Crisis adverted!!     Now it slides right in and into the mount no problems.

Next I drilled the mounting holes for the cradle. 14 holes in my brand new stringers!! I filled them up with lag bolts to make sure everything fit and it did. Now I have to pull them all back out and fill them up with some cpes and then some 5200 and mount it back in for good.


I also had a bunch of parts come in this weekend so my parts pile is growing.

8122pbrainard wrote: Big Pappa wrote: Oh and just a note, the picture above was before painting. It was a pain to get that paint off the tag without removing the tag paint. It now looks clean as you can see in a picture above.    Kris, A tip I picked up over on the OWWM.com site since they are always dealing with old tags is to soak the tag overnight in water and dish soap. The paint will come right off without removing the original dye/paint on the tag itself. I truly believe it would even work with Eric's "deluxe" trans rebuild when he even paints the tag for you!!!

Good to know, Thanks for the tip!!

Big Pappa wrote: Oh and just a note, the picture above was before painting. It was a pain to get that paint off the tag without removing the tag paint. It now looks clean as you can see in a picture above.

Kris,
A tip I picked up over on the OWWM.com site since they are always dealing with old tags is to soak the tag overnight in water and dish soap. The paint will come right off without removing the original dye/paint on the tag itself. I truly believe it would even work with Eric's "deluxe" trans rebuild when he even paints the tag for you!!!

Thanks for the links guys. This is the tag on my trans, I just want to make sure to get the correct part.

its probably about time. You can get them cheaper from ebasicpower.com, skidim is over priced. I think I paid like 90. Check the springs and housing for cracks specifically. There was a recent thread with the part number. I forget what it is right now.

Wow, great work. I need to repaint my engine this winter and fix a leaking rear seal. You may want to consider changing your damper plate out since you have the motor out of the boat.

More time and more money, but I would change it.

Great build

Donald

Also does anyone know of a source for the decals on the valve covers? One says Pleasure craft and the other has timing info on it.

When I was unmasking the engine the one that says Pleasure craft pulled off about half way.

Looks fantastic BTW. Top notch work there!

I was able to get my engine mounts put back together last night after blasting and painting them over the last couple of days.



Then installed them back on the freshly painted engine.



I also bought some of this stuff, Roberts Temporary Carpet Protection, to go over my carpet once I get it installed for a little protection until I get a little closer to being finished. As I was in the boat last night I decided to put a layer down to see if it would protect my bilge from scratches and things until I had the engine and rear floor in. I think it is going to work pretty good.



I wish I would have had this stuff when I started and covered the entire top of the boat from the windshield to the Transom and the tops of the trailer fenders. That would have saved me a lot of clean up that I need to do now.

Finally I started cleaning up the Carpet trim to see how hard it was going to be and it went pretty quick, to my surprise. The key is to have ample acetone on your rag as you rub it down!! I took a 5' piece and went from this.



To this in about 15 minutes.


My carpet glue is supposed to be in today so that means that tonight and tomorrow is all about getting the carpet installed in the boat. Once that is done it is time to start throwing parts at the boat getting everything installed in preparation of putting the engine back in next weekend.

Anyone have any last minute carpet installing tips for me?

8122pbrainard wrote: I bought my cabinet off ebay. It was only about $125 including shipping. However, it was a cheapy made in China but works. The only issue I've had is the O rings in the gun getting dislodged. It was also a PITA putting it together especially since the first time I put the top with the window on upside down. That required me to unscrew what had to be half of the 500 screws/nuts that come with it! The garnet seems to be cutting about the same as the Black Beauty. I'll see it to stays sharper longer. My gun came with ceramic tips. Unless the steel tips are carbide or Stellite, the ceramic will hold up longer. Gary, My next step in media will be the silicon carbide. The cost is a real kicker though!

Yes it is expensive Pete but lasts much longer, so I bought a abrasive reclamer,it mounts on the side of the cabinet.I do use a carbide nozzel but silicon carbide media will still wear it out,just not as fast.I do use ceramic nozzles for back up.

Kris when it's time this place has info and parts for kits. I have had one of their built ones since 94 and could not be happier. Build the biggest one you can,you'll never know what you want to put in there. As for the media I have used everything but plastic and walnut shells. For aluminium I like glass beads, for rusty steel I like the silicon carbide followed by the glass beads. Silicon carbide does last longer but does wear out your nozzles and if not caught in time will go thru it and start eroding the gun too.