Diplomat Overhaul

[Turbot-bird]

well, since I got the boat I have been working on it trying to get it back to original condition. I plan on doing a complete overhaul on it all the way to the stringers. So far I have removed some of the old interior, got half of it buffed and polished, got the 470 running, and started reinforcing the engine hatch because it was cracked at one of the hinges.

start:

 

[Turbot-bird]

now:

 

[Turbot-bird]

I also Rebuilt the trailer

 

[Wonderllama]

wow, wish i had that garage.

my boat looks similar, i have an 82 eluder in the same color.

 

[Turbot-bird]

thats our shop from when we owned a dumptruck/contruction company. its 5 bays with parts room an 25ft tall roof. all prefab. its not going anywhere lol

 

[Turbot-bird]

ok, today got the outdrive off, the waterpump was toast! never thaught it would have been that bad. the pickup tube was melted, the pump housing is warped, the impeller is broke....

 

[daren34]

now you need to find all the peices of the old pump

if they are not all in the pump then they will be packed against the oil cooler or the heat exchanger

they could be in the metal pipe going through the transom

the new kit will come with both housings and a new tube

this is aslo the drive shaft seal for the lower unit

make sure to take your old one with you because they made a few changes over the years and there are small differences in the pumps

1983 your drive should be a r or mr

good luck daren

oh now is a good time to change the fluid upper and lower
make shure to replace the o-ring between the upper and lower housings
and fill the oil from the lower up
merc and sierra and a few others make a pump that goes on a quart bottle
it take about three quarts to fill the drive

 

[Turbot-bird]

ya, I have a new pump. the white one in the pic is the new one. where can I find the o ring? I didnt see one in there then I pulled it apart. while I have it apart im going to replace the gimbil berring and paint the drive. also change the bellows.

 

[Turbot-bird]

Worked on wetsanding and buffing and polishing last night. got it shining good so far....














this is the bow step up I was talking about in a previous thread..




anyone have any ideas how to get the waterline stain out?




Also put new reflective tape on my tool trailer too lol

if anyone rear ends it and says they didnt see it the cops just going to look at them and say BS! lol

 

[Turbot-bird]

worst part, waiting on gimble, drive seals, and other parts..............

 

[Turbot-bird]

Ok guys, got to work on it a little more. Tore out the interior more and started tearing out the floor. After sitting inside the shop all winter the foam is still saturated with water. stringer is done. going to have to rebuild it all. Good thing is no core rot so far......

 

[Turbot-bird]

ok, got the floor out, foam and 1 float box. The bow was rebuilt a few years ago so im going to try and save it. It is pretty sturdy unlike the rest. Best of all, No rot in balsa. Took my heat gun and dried the core.










Going to have to rebuild the motor mounts.

 

[Big Dave]

When we changed to the v8, we took out those boxes by the engine... they are just tabbed into place. all of the foam in them was full of water too
engine comp looks huge without them

 

[83PREDICTOR]

I say you forget about the 470 and drop in a 4.3 or 5.7 chevy

 

[Big Dave]

with what gas prices are now, I wish I would have fixed the 3.7
4 to 5 hours on 20 gals gas with the 400hp 350 if you stay out of the 4bbls

 

[Turbot-bird]

I want to build the motor mounts to give me the option of switching that is the reason for my other thread. Right now I cant afford to switch. How much lower does the boat sit without the boxes? where did you mount the battery?

 

[Turbot-bird]

Ok, got the other float box out and started grinding a little with a flap disk. Came out looking like casper lol

 

[Big Dave]

I want to build the motor mounts to give me the option of switching that is the reason for my other thread. Right now I cant afford to switch. How much lower does the boat sit without the boxes? where did you mount the battery?

Mine sits lower in the water from the v-8, but no change takeing the boxes out(I think they only work if the boat takes on water)
we put a flat board on the right side tabbed to the new stringers for the v-8 for Battery and trim pump

 

[wca_tim]

I just finished yesterday extending the original mounts and when setting it up took pics for you with a ruler or tape measure along sid ethe critical dimensions. I also made paper templates of all the wood pieces from the interior...

I would have had the new engine in and so forth by now, but have spent the weekend rebuilding stringers, floor and so forth... one of the foam boxes was full of water... never would have known, the wood on the other parts drilled dry... battery box that someone added in the past and a crack in the hose for the bilge pump discharge is all it took. floor was in decent shape, until got the gas tank out, then found one bad spot under it... it let water seep up the stringers that run parallel to the keel... so I pulled the floor and everything until I hit dry wood - under the front deck! 4 18 hour days, three sheets of dry plywood, some mahogany,ceder, 6 gallons of resin, 10-12 yards of cloth, 4 yards of mat and a huge mess later, and looks like I'll finally be ready to shoot paint in the interior this morning after double checking that there are no holes left anywhere that aren't sealed... and put the engine in this afternoon... hoping to be breaking cam in late today and with some luck test run on the river tomorrow...

I guess the positive is that between glassing I did get the time to detail paint some of the things on the new engine i wanted to... and it's ready to set in... and go.

 

[Big Dave]

Any more pic's?
I need to pull my floor up too, and may have time now as the upper gearcase exploded this weekend
too much power and too many rpm I guess.