First ever boat and motor 1972 Chrysler 17ft and 85hp 857hd .. IM LOST!! Need HELP

[akalt24]

Hello all. My name is William Trice. I have just bought my first ever boat and motor. its been 12years since i last been on the water and i have waited forever to get a boat. I am 26 and im a full time mid level auto mechanic at a used car lot so i know basics on how thangs run and work.
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I came acroos a deal.. My girlfriends step dad sold us a boat for 75 bucks It seems to be in great shape top to bottom. It`s a 17footer with the number on the back cbc23301m76j
.. a deparment of natrual resources officer told me it was a 17foot chrysler/cherokee boat. Only thang on the boat is the label chrysler. I cant remember the year the officer told me just 1970`s. Anyways got the boat and traler for a deal i thank.. theres just 1 thang! I did not have a engine!!!!!!!!!!! so im like ok i will find one for 400-500bucks no big deal so i thought!!! wow these 1970`s motors are selling for a arm and leg. hell i could rebuild my 2000 model car engine for cheaper!! So as you can imagine I was down for a few days untill I ran acroos some creiglist ad* chrysler 85 for 200$ he says it has been in storage for sometime now but it was runing last. ok.ok i know i know never take anyones word. But he was nice and said we could even attempt to crank it so before that I just made sure it would turn over by hand and damn it!!!! I broke the timing belt when i turn flywheel so trying to crank was a no go my fault but i guess it would have broke anyways.* okok thats my story now for thouse who are still reading thank you so much for your time!!
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Heres the deal I put 100$ down and will give the man the rest in a few days. He has supply me with a workshop book to give me a good idea of what i may have to deal with. Now i know cars but not boats and im not real familure with 2 storke type engines So thats why im posting here. I need you guys help!!! Please.* I know i need to order a new timing belt damn it was hard to find but got one for 31$. Now heres where you guys come in. What should I do before I attempt to crank. Clean the carbs and lines and what else should I do or pre check before attempting to crank? Is there any good part sources out there or even other websites and comunitys?
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If you guys will have me i plan on sticking around here for quit some time now. This is my first ever boat and im very excited. with haveing a 85hp engine on my 17foot boar is that a good combanation? anyone know what a 17foot should have on it? is 85 over or under power for this boat?
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I need a ignition mine did not come with one is there anyway to connect the wires and start it without a key ignition?* I know I will have a thousands questions for you guys to come but i will let you guys stair me into the right direction on prechecking the engine trying to crank and trouble shoot. One thang i noticed in workshop book is the fuel pump.. I dont see any pressure spec and or anythang showing or telling how to test the pressure can anyone help?* gosh thank you guys so much btw i live in middle georgia

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: First ever boat and motor 1972 Chrysler 17ft and 85hp 857hd .. IM LOST!! Need HEL

Hmmm! i needed to read the post a couple of times---

Every engine ever sold was running when it was put in storage--at least, that's always the sellers story.

But, ay 200 bucks, you didn't get hurt. Breaking a distributor drive belt is not an everyday occurrance and you breaking it by turning the flywheel raises my suspicions. First thing you need to do is turn the distributor pulley by hand to make sure that the distributor is turning freely. Yeah, maybe the belt was old and dry-rotted, but maybe not. Check it first.

Standard things to check are clean carbs, replace water pump impeller, replace fuel pump diaphragm, and change the lower unit oil. Once you get the new belt, you need to set the flywheel to top dead center and set the distributor pulley so the scribe marks on top match the flywheel.

There is so much to explain but if you search this forum for topics, you will see explanations for almost any questions the manual does not answer.

It is possible to crank and start the engine without an ignition switch but it requires jumping a couple of wires and I would not recommend it. If you just want to see if it cranks over, jump from the battery side (with a good battery connected) of the starter solenoid to the yellow wire on it. The solenoid should close and the starter turn. Be certain the negative cable is grounded to the block.