matzilla

In late October I decided to get a project boat that was a little different than what you usually see around here...

I found a '78 Formula, nearly local, on CL for $400. She has a freshly rebuilt 350 but needs a lot of work. The wiring is a mess, hull needs some cleaning and tlc (no holes just blems), interior was a complete loss, carpet needs to go...the floor is decent with a soft spot up front, stringers are in good shape. OMC stringer outdrive needs some work (stuck in reverse, most likely out of adjustment after engine install), is missing the trim tab and needs a new prop for sure, tilt shaft is broken due to hackjob clutch repair, and the select trim motor needs rebuilt. I need to find replacement rub rail/trim. I offered the guy $350 and took the boat home...

more pictures and info are here http://matpei.blogspot.com/

before hitching it up and bringing home


Had to remove the glass to fit her under the garage door...just fits diagnal in my 24x30' garage

aquaforce

My senses are tingling like I've seen that boat before. If I recall right it was bought as a project by the PO and it looks like they gave up. I think this is the one that posted up on formulaboatsforum.com.

Cool project so keep us up with the work and pics. It is a great thread to follow when guys show the progress and changes they make. Best of luck on everything and congrats on the Formula.

matzilla

The guy I bought it from only owned it for a little over a year...just going by the registration tags it was in Il. for a few years before that. Someone spent quite a bit of money on the interior at one point...all vinyl work was nicely done over the original Formula seat frames.

Is there anyway to track a HIN similar to carfax VIN tracking for cars?


btw I registered on formulaboatsforum.com a couple months ago but my registration was never approved for whatever reason...

aquaforce

I don't know on the HIN tracking part. Someone here might know about that. If any of the PO's registered with Formula then the factory keeps records on HIN's. I have gotten some info from Formula on HIN's before.


Strange to not get an almost immediate response for membership at formulaboatsforum. Do it again. It should work for you. The guys there are really good too. Lots of Formula knowledge and help there. The site moves slow so just be patient at times.


I think the Illinois owner posted on that forum before. I haven't researched it so I could be wrong but that is how my gray matter has it anyway.

machloosy

I tracked the HIN# on my last 233LS ('81) with the factory. They were very helpful and gave me all the info they had on her. Good luck with that boat but most guys give up because of the OMC stringer outdrive. Mine had the 800 series and while it worked, I let the whole boat go knowing it was a ticking time bomb. If you have questions let me know.

aquaforce

There is a pretty nice plate system for conversion to Merc or to other OMC/Volvo systems available. I haven't done one but seeing it made me less apprehensive of that old stringer thinger.

matzilla

I don't think the conversion plates would work well on the F20 transom but it would be easier to convert this boat to a merc compared to many others out there...the thought has crossed my mind a few times already. Its pretty easy to find junk boats with blown engines and good outdrives but I currently don't have the room for another project hahaha

The stringer will do for now, I'm having no problems finding parts locally. I just need to dedicate some time to fixing the problems with it lol

I checked with Formula back in October and they had no info on my boat but did offer up the original wiring diagrams to help me along. Very polite and helpful folks!

sprink58

If you have access to the OMC Stringer Drive parts and are willing to work through it more power to you. At the end of the day it's just a propulsion system pushing a boat and if it works...it works.

Having said all that...your life would be about 4 times simpler with a Mercruiser system. Talk about plentiful....they are everywhere. People I have talked to about it say it's like a transom rebuild...then you cut it out for a Merc pattern...pretty simple.

Build it your way...run it for a season or two and decide if you want to keep the boat and move to a different system. With no more than you have in it you certainly can't get seriously hurt financially.

The F-20 is a stretched F-18 and I had a F-18 for 9 years. I can tell you that a 300 horse V8 will push a F-18~F-20 60 + MPH so you get a lot of bang for the buck. Great looking boats too...even today.

Enjoy it.

matzilla

I found a spare stringer drive almost entirely complete for cheap locally...so hopefully I can come up with something thats usable out of the two

Tonight I finally got around to doing some more work on the boat. I pulled the last interior rail, started doing maintenance charging cycles on my batteries, yanked the floor carpet, and started inspecting the soft spot in the floor. Its not too bad and will be easy to cut out and replace. I also had time to pull the last pair of old and worn out marine speakers that were up front. I'll be putting in a nice bunch of stuff I have laying around: Sony head unit, 6.5's, 5x7's, a 500 watt rms amp and old 12" Infinity Kappa Perfect 12 in a bandpass box

I need to find a cheap rub rail for this boat. If anyone has leads, please let me know.


doesn't look rotten but was very soft up front


rotten