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  1. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    I have a theory on the oil I found. First, I check the oil level at the vent plug... just below the plug , where it was when I changed it. Oil still had some of it's blue tint, not the black/brown (no blue) seen coming from the bilge. Also, the smell was stronger of sulfur than what came out of...
  2. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Had the first outing today. Hit up Lake Waveland. Writing this while stopped on my way home. Mostly went well, but there's some issues. First, the shifter cover popped loose on the highway this morning (bungee cord elasticity failure) and took a chunk out of the gel coat (I have a generic gel...
  3. ratdude747

    MC1 anodes

    Considering the casing is made from aluminum, no wonder. You need a metal that is more reactive than the aluminum case for it to work... or at least less-passivating than the aluminum. Magnesium works because it is way more reactive than aluminum (anything higher on the list is the sort of...
  4. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    Apparently I already had the idle screw backed fully off. Guess I'll have to try it and see how it does. Doesn't act like it has a vacuum leak so short of leaky throttle plates I have no idea. There isn't a functional fast idle cam since this is a marine carb. All of that was cleaned up when I...
  5. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    Good point. It used to idle around 800... and it has always been a bit fussy to shift; hard to not granny shift without slamming the throttle too hard, and often it would take a slight push past neutral to get it to come out of gear. By no means unusable but a bit quirkier than youtube videos...
  6. ratdude747

    MC1 anodes

    I assume we're talking about the trim fin that also doubles as the anode. Anything that fits an Alpha (IIRC MC-1 is the same, as I'm pretty sure I the anode I installed on my MC1 is in fact an "Alpha" marketed unit). Otherwise, it depends on your application. What prop? Fresh or salt water...
  7. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    Seem to have fixed it. Opened both idle mix screws 1/4 turn. Started up at 600rpm, barely past idle on the throttle. At temp it's idling 800-900... I can live with that.
  8. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    Oh boy... this will be a long one. Got the trailer brake system installed last night; been working on it since Saturday when parts started trickling in. First, the night before last I got the breakaway box and all remote wiring installed: Breakaway box has a solar cell on it to top off...
  9. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    As far as I know the unloader works fine. We shall see when I muff test it. Electric choke does have good power (I did have to close up the spade connections through, they were a bit loose). I actually did some rewiring to prevent the opposite issue which was an early suspicion; I moved all of...
  10. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    The bottom end has never been apart to my knowledge... and it's relatively low hours. Not to say that there isn't chain stretch, but I'd be surprised if there was anything significant. The original carb/intake is long gone (before I got the boat, at least a couple decades ago), so 4 barrel is...
  11. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    A quick history on this boat engine... a lot more details are in various threads of mine, but of particular note is this one. The boat, as received in fall 2023, had the original intake and carb (2 barrel) replaced with an Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and a cobbled 4160 off a 1970's Ford...
  12. ratdude747

    Cold Starting RPM: What is normal?

    This is something I noticed last season (my first season of owning a boat)... it seems I had to run the idle awful fast on cold start. Engine is a 1976 Mercruiser 888 (302) that has been swapped to a Holley 4160 (4 barrel) marine carb. It would only start if I gave it enough throttle to get...
  13. ratdude747

    No water coming out of the exhaust on muffs

    I'm pretty sure I had one donut on the water tube, and another on the input shaft itself. The shifter (at least on my MC-1) was outside the outdrive casing, using a slotted slip joint that had to be lined up for the lower unit to fully seat on the upper (drove me nuts the first time, I tell you).
  14. ratdude747

    No water coming out of the exhaust on muffs

    Nope. You want the engine up to operating temp. Oil thins with heat; what oil to use is partially based on what temp the crankcase will be operating at, hence old engines like my 1976 Mercruiser 888 (302) calling out three different weights depending on water temps (as back then, good...
  15. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    Parts have been purchased. Going with TruRyde brakes, but the "pro" kit with Timken bearings and seals. Also using new chrome bearing buddies as the existing clear plastic loadrite ones I have doubts about holding up on a brake hub. Finally, I am trying a solar breakaway battery system as the...
  16. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    Other trailer sold... so I now have $400 to go to the brake and ladder fund. Will focus on the former since it's a bit of a safety item (I.E. not replacing wheel seals in hubs that I was going to swap for drums anyway)...
  17. ratdude747

    Cross country trailering advice/tips

    Agreed. With tapered roller bearings, always go loose rather than tight. Also why regular nuts with sheet metal retainers are better than castle nuts for tapered roller spindles: These are available at most auto part stores. But the shorter nuts... I don't know. Never tried the swap. The...
  18. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    Came home from lunch to find my wiring being inspected: The inspector says I'm nuts. Well. He has a point... Ok, you can stop booing now! Anyway, I wasn't happy with the section by the jack mount, so I redid it: I'll probably replace the spacers as white nylon and UV don't mix. But it's...
  19. ratdude747

    Cross country trailering advice/tips

    I have plastic "off brand" bearing buddies on my trailer. Installed by the previous owner a long time ago. Top them off every season, no issues. But when I add drum brakes, I'll probably swap to name brand metal ones since I don't think the plastic will agree with brake heat.
  20. ratdude747

    Modifying a 1975 Trail-R-Craft

    Tied up the wiring better: (Also got the reflectors installed... easy and cheap fix) The main cable will be locked in place with a zip tie or two once I have the truck hooked up to it next so I can get the length dialed in. A lot of this intentionally "loose" due to all the changes yet to...
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