update on my 200 dollar glastron

[recurve shooter]

ok guys so earlier this summer i went and picked up a 1972 glastron v156 with the 70 horse chrysler. boat motor and trailer cost 200 bucks. worth a try right?

well it sat around forever till finaly my pawpaw drug it down to the local boat mechanic/dealer. they charged 80 bucks to see what it would take to get it running. they said it needed the carbs (all 3 of them) rebuilt, and the points polished up, new plugs and fuel lines and mabey a new fuel tank, and they would be happy to take care of that for me for 600 bucks. i think not.

1 full days tinkering and about 30 bucks in parts later, she sat in the drive way purring like a kitten. i was impressed. after all, this thing hasnt been turned over in over 20 years, according to the previous owner.

so we drug it down to the river for a test run. ran PERFECT for about an hour, then it started acting up a little. it would get up and plane out, run at top speed for about 15 seconds, then the rpm would shoot up and it felt like the prop disengaged, so it would rev way up but loose speed. but you could back it down and idle it along without a problem. but when you planed up it would do the same thing again. so i took it back home, checked the sheer pin, prop, splines, ect, everything looked ok. took it back, tried a spare prop that came with it, pitch was too steep, put back on the stock prop, it started cavitating a little in corners, lowered the good ole "pull a pin" type manual trim, tried it again, and it ran well for about thirty minutes till dark.

sooo all in all for a hair over 300 bucks so far i have a working (though some bugs persist, which need to be worked out, but thats with most outboards) Chrysler 70 hp outboard, a glastron fiberglass runabout style boat, and a nice trailer. if we dont run into any new major problems with it, this is looking like an awesome purchase. 

[M-P]

Howdy,   It sonds like you got a deal alright!   So when are you goin' to start inviting folks out bowfishing?    Ron

[Rick Wallace]

You may want to check your weight distribution in the boat,sometimes to much weight forward will cause a little cavatation. congrats on the deal!! those deals always elude me,,,,,,,,,!!!

[brick]

I had an old glastron with a 70 chrysler outboard motor back when I was in high school I got cheap that had a similar problem. The guy almost gave it to me because it would fall out and eventually die on top end if I didn't let up on the throttle. It would restart and idle fine then die after a few minutes at top end again. After checking everything out as okay, we started trying to fix it on the water and it ran fine with the cover off and would mess up everytime we put it back on. Finally had to add an extra vent to the cover to keep it running and used it regularly up until I went to college and sold it. I don't know if this helps or not, but good luck either way and grats on getting a great deal.
Brick

[Pat B]

The missing problem could be one of a few different problems. After sitting so long there could be trash or condensation in the fuel or the ignition components are breaking down once the motor gets to operating temp. The "cavitation" could be the prop hub(rubber) slipping from drying out. Actually it is "ventilation" and not cavitation. Cavitation is a breaking down of the molecules in the metal prop due to microscopic bombardment of water molecules. Everyone calles ventilation cavitation and have for years.
  I don't know much about Chrysler but am factory traines for Johnson/Evanrude(at least 25 years ago  ). 
  Old outboard carbs are simple to rebuild. Factory rate allows 1 hour per carb and I used to be able to rebuild 3 or 4 in an hour. Good money maker. 
  Sounds like you got a pretty good deal on your boat, motor and trailer. One old addage about boats and boat owners..."a boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into!" 

[recurve shooter]

thanks guys!

pat your like the third person thats said that about the prop hub slipping. gunna have to go get that checked out. also pulled my plugs and after 7 or 8 gallons of gass through it they were realy realy fouled up. that helped with the idleing and starting issues but im thinking its in the prop where most of the problems are. and i probably need a new water pump impeller thing. ( can you tell im an expert with outboard motors?)
 
this is kind of a figure it out as i go thing. 

[Josh]

i agree with pat.. sounds like a spun hub on the propeller.  The prop has a rubber buffer between where it connects to the drive and the actual blades.  that rubber buffer is designed to break to help protect your lower unit and propeller from damage in case the prop hits a log or something. Some props you can get a new hub pressed in for less than 40 to 80 dollars.  I was unfortunate in mine when it happened to me as they dont make hubs for my prop anymore.  They also don't make propellers for mine anymore either.    I had to look online for a few weeks and finally found one though... I bet ya I am careful with this one!   Good luck with your boat! 

[recurve shooter]

josh i know that thing is there, but it dont seem to be doing it anymore. i ran it for about an hour to hour and a half this afternoon and it did pefect at top end, but now it idles rough. like when going through an idle zone with the prop engaged but going slow, and when the throttle is cut totatly back and put in nuetral, it dosent idle at all, it stutters and stumbles and cuts off.

i took out the plugs today and they were covered with black fouling, like a lot of it. cleaned them off but it didnt help. 

also it stumbles a little geting up on plane, it dosent just power up and get up there, it stumbles and misses for a few seconds and is kinda slow to get up on plane. i think tomorrow im going to get new plugs, go through the carbs again, and try to get to that water pump impeller and check it.

its a work in progress, but its progressing quite nicely, all things considered. 

[Pat B]

Outboard engines burn dirty and especially the older ones. You mix the gas and oil and lots of the oil doesn't combust so it is pushed out the exhaust. The older ignition systems were not as "hot" as the newer ones. There was always a lot of residue getting blown out of the exhaust. If this engine sat for a while it is probably caughing up old stuff from years ago. See if you can fine "engine tune in a can" at a boat dealer. Be sure it is compatable with your engine.  Basically you crank up your engine(on the hill with water supply) and get to operating temp. Then you slowly spray this stuff into the carbs. Read the can and follow the instructions. It should help to clean out of some of that old stuff.
  Did you get a new gas tank? If not, do so. It doesn't take much fine rust or moisture sludge to clog up a carb.   You can probably get a copy of the original repair manual for that motor. They are pretty simple to work on if you are mechanically inclined.