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  1. ratdude747

    Ford 302 issues

    I've heard ignitior II's are unreliable. Why I went with an Ignitor (I) dropped into the stock prestolite marine distributor. Also, the ignitor version needs to match the flame thrower version... the coil resistances are different.
  2. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    On second thought, such a thing may not work so well with my trailer due to the way the tongue is built. Instead of having a single tube tongue, it has two tubes stacked most of the way down; the lower tube stops short and only the upper tube carries the actual ball receiver. I'll fetch a...
  3. ratdude747

    No lights on the Trailer there is but power at the Wires

    This is why on all of my "good" trailers (14' 7000lb car hauler + boat trailer) I rewired them with dedicated ground wires... can't stand chassis grounds on exposed bolts. Although finding lights that don't require such can be a pain- submersible LED lights seem to be universally this way,, but...
  4. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Understood. You'd think owning three trailers I'd know better... but the other two hardly see use. One was my FIL's old car hauler that he sold me for dirt cheap, the other is a cheap street-legal 4x8 that was used on the highway exactly once so I could use my '95 Ford Ranger to haul a bunch of...
  5. ratdude747

    Ford 302 issues

    I didn't bother with the I terminal since on Pertronix there's no need for a ballast wire and my ignition switch energizes "RUN" during start (not to mention my starter circuit is completely different from stock). If your ignition switch doesn't energize "RUN" in "START", then you will need the...
  6. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    The issue I had (and honestly, the extension didn't factor much) is that I got stuck trying to drive around and park the trailer beside my car hauler in the back yard. Same mistake I made at gas stations a couple of times on the first outing. Ended up resuming parking it in the front yard as...
  7. ratdude747

    Ford 302 issues

    It's not supposed to. The idea is that when cranking, battery voltage is going to be low, so the ballast wire/resistor needs to be bypassed (provide full battery voltage to coil) so the coil has enough juice to fire. When not cranking, it's open, allowing the ballast wire/resistor to modulate...
  8. ratdude747

    Ford 302 issues

    If the OP's 302 is like the Mercruiser 888 (302 based) in my 1976 Starcraft, the alternator is a factory-modified (1-wire) Delco-Remy 10si. No external voltage sense. Under load with engine off I do get substantial voltage drop to the gauges, confirmed by a GPS speedometer with voltage reading...
  9. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Which only works if you have good and well equipped local friends... ;)
  10. ratdude747

    1976 888 Fuel Questions

    Today I burnt roughly the same amount of 89 octane E10 I pumped in on Friday. No issues. Supposedly by the 70's they already were using butyl rubber in fuel pump diaphragms, so I'm not sweating the pump. I've read that one only needs to add lead substitute 1 out of 3 tanks of fuel... didn't...
  11. ratdude747

    Lucky Day

    Or any brushed DC motor. Often the commutator gets a bad spot, and if the motor stops with such on one of the brushes, the motor won't turn. Hitting with a hammer jars the rotor enough that both brushes are on good parts of the commutator, allowing the motor to start. If a motor needs tapped...
  12. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Fair enough... but hitch extensions I could get locally for cheap. Trailer extensions, not so much (about an order of magnitude different cost, and AFAIK nobody local to me or my parents in New Albany, IN sells them). That said, the hitch extension worked. But I will keep my eyes out for deal...
  13. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Launching was successful today. Ran the boat about 50 miles (per the GPS odometer) up and down the river. Docking was trouble as I'm a noob. Did smack the dock kinda hard due to some mental flatulence and scraped the aluminum rub rail channel enough that I'll need to deburr it later...
  14. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Was successful at launching. Extension and using the right part of the ramp made it more or less easy. Docking was an issue, but that's for my other thread. That said, while it drove around town and up the hill no problem with the extension (did not go down hill with it!), it did make yard...
  15. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Go figure... went ahead and removed the extension tonight when I got home from an afternoon/evening trip. May leave it attached on the way home from the ramp tomorrow since there is a hill I can go up that isn't fast. See how that does.
  16. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    ... and likewise, I found more things in research showing that the extra tongue weight is the issue. No good for long distances, and while I'm geographically close to the ramp, that requires descending a winding hill that BBQ'd my brakes the one time I tried it with the boat. May have to find...
  17. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Yesterday, I tried to dip the boat and failed. (see that thread for details). Part of it was filling up with gas on my way there... and per checks during and after the failed dipping, no more gas leak! Likewise, the gauge does read a full tank as a full tank. So far, so good.
  18. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    I thought fishtailing was more of an issue with tongue weight distribution of the trailer itself... which didn't change since the trailer itself is unchanged. In all the reading I did on extenders, I saw no mention of such being a hazard. If anything, the weight is increased as the lever arm of...
  19. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Well, a trip to a few places in town later, we have this: I went with a 12" extension as I figured that's what my chains (when fully extended) would allow. But it does look a bit loose... I can always choke the chains up with some quick links I grabbed while I was at it. My bunks are longer...
  20. ratdude747

    Will a mercruiser 120 prop fit on an 888 (302)?

    Which is a no-deal since it's not THAT great of a deal. But, the seller now knows what prop he actually has so hopefully one of the many other boaters around here will be interested.
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