gettin the old bird together
 

ill post some more updated pics tomorrow making good lead way on a budget this boat hadnt touched water prior in 5 years before i got it had it out a time or 2 once i got it .... had leaves over a foot deep in the engine compartment black tree sap all over it headliner gone carpet wore out and no interior the cockpit cover was layin over the engines when i got it...

thanks to all on the board ive bought parts from to make it possible... gonna have 2 real nice engines for the boat with everybodys hand me downs.. plan is to use the drives this year i plan on being easy on them just want to get back in a big boat this year been with out for a year feels like forever when im just 4 minutes from the water im gonna do a run down on parts as this boat was what i wanted but the power wasnt desirable... so i weighed the costs between swaping it or rebuilding them and not being happy came in close enough to pull off the swap.... some parts where not needed but wanted by me

stringer mounts and new steering wheel 200 <fireboatpilot>
2 holley 800 carbs 530 RPMRAM
2 intakes 2 trimpumps 2 thermohousings 350 barrydebald
twinstickshifter setup 100 CRG
exhuast tips 50 bucks.. wildman1

pickedup alot of the other stuff locally
1 454 complete core with 2 sets of center dump manifolds/risers 500
1 454 complete with car trans 300
already had one fresh machined 454 layin in garage from another project

spent 160 in labor at machine shop for one 454 block to be hot tanked honed new cam bearings installed and freezeplugs

300 there in 2 complete gasket kits a set of rods bearings main bearing rings freezeplugs cam bearing

bought a set of 731 oval ports to match one other set i had already 200

spent 600 tonight ordering cams lifters springs timing chains oilpumps everything else i need to finish off engines.. from summit

if i use my drives i have ill need about 500 in new boots bearings etc for them

need cables for the new shifters lookin about 200 on them

have already done all the new carpet and headliner have roughly 500-600 in that have the bolster seats and rear seat done around 800-1000 on them have a few more interior peice to vinyl thats later on working on gettin it running

short blocks are assembled and on stands waiting for rest of parts hopefully there here by friday ill have complete engines before the weekend over..


ill need more stuff here and there before its over but not doing bad for having one completely gone threw of course could have bought one already done if i had all the money at once.. what fun would that be..:lolhit:

still need to catch a few good days and finish the bottom paint of the boat been raining everyother day around here

went threw all the old wiring an removed all the garbage that was installed threwout the years
someone bypassed alot of stuff as i assume they didnt know how it worked sad thing was all factory wiring is good i rewired it all back... have to figure out what im doing about the new trimpumps and oldswitch setup still

took the old shifters out and installed the new ones had to do some cutting pending pics..

tryin to keep it oldschool with a few updates..

best part off all itll be one of a kind and paid for when done.. i dont know of any other around my parts.

pretty bad ive sold off 2 other boats to fund and cut down on projects to get this one done..lol

something about the sound of twin v8,s


thats proof for all the young guys you can do it just keep your head with it i got this boat about may of last year
99 percent of work was done by me here at home

figureing 10-14 in it when done wont be far off
i traded a motorcycle worth about 3500 for it when i got it.. that includes that as well






http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/018.jpg

Atta boy! Keep it up. I know how you feel currently i'm restoring a 233 while being a full time college student and working full time. Looking forward to those pics!

Keep it up man! You will appreciate it so much more when you have done it all yourself. It looks like a 255 yeah? Sprink58 here on the forum may be one of the more knowledgeable formula guys so hit him with questions. How come you have no window's in the cuddy? None of the old formula boats came without them that I was aware of. And I've never seen a twin bbc 255 before so this should be cool. Keeping the alpha drives for this year? Just don't kill them out of the hole and keep them in the water and you should last for the year

Jason, I have about six new 33c cables, various lengths, that you can have cheap if you are interested. Bob N.

Jason,

Looks like you are making good progress. I turned the corner and am now putting stuff in instead of taking it out.

As you say...OSO Swap Shop is a God Send for a bottom feeder like me. I am drilling the transom this week end for the Bravo Transom Assemblies...just walked over to BAM and got a template from Marc Berman...great old school guy. I have couplers, shift brackets and steering ram coming from Fenderjack and Lil Red....2: new bilge blowers from pwam and Bravo Bell Housings from Johnnyboatman in Oklahoma.

Jason...it's just finding the time on top of everything else to get this stuff done.

I'm having extra vent windows made...I'll get with you when they are done.

Keep it coming...lookin good.

I love it! Great attitude and smart thinking. It took us 6 years to get my little Apache in the water. We moved in the middle of the project so it slowed us up a bit. I do have some advice for you. Pay cash for everything you can, take as many pictures as possible of your build, skip the bling and get it in the water asap. I wasted a lot of time on stuff that could have been done after running the boat. The pics will be priceless showcasing the work you put into your boat.
You nailed it with this,
"thats proof for all the young guys you can do it just keep your head with it i got this boat about may of last year 99 percent of work was done by me here at home ".
We made a vid of our build but slacked off on the photos towards the end. Take lots of pics! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBavGbJpUQU

yes i have alot more pics of tear down etc.. yes everything is paid in cash sometimes sucks as i find deals and dont have the funds at the moment to make the move and lose out but ive always found something better or comparable.. on a side note missed my ups delevery today for rest of engine parts god knows ill be waiting tomorrow..lol pics to come later tonight..

Jason,

Be proud...you have a classic.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...eratorad-1.jpg[/IMG]

You won't find a better riding boat under 30'.

do you know what <if any of the difference >was in the boats that have the teak wood platform behind the seat verus the sunpad like yours has.. mine was originally the platform deck which is no longer with my boat im going to make a headrest/sunpad for mine and use that place for storage for stuff i do know there is difference in the finerglass between the 2 from mine to yours.. was there a model/year diff or? mines a 77

My '79 was originally like yours...I still have the fiberglass well like yours does. Mine was changed to a sun-pad sometime later.

old shifters forsale if anyone needs em

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...C02643-001.jpg
new used shifters
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02722.jpg
later on ill re coat em with something hope they work they way there sitting as i like it comfort wise..

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02723.jpg

pulled 2 of these out striped all needed hardware off em there for sale also
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02657.jpg

heres the 2 going together that are going in .
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02726.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02730.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02731.jpg

heads waiting on springs then there ready to go on
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02735.jpg

heres the carbs and intakes... the intakes where purple as can be as my 6 year old boy called it girl purple..lol
i stripped them with aircrat stripper and power washer figured worst case id paint them black they look good enough to use bare to me
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02729.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02733.jpg
heres the exhuast tips they need cleand up still ill be using them mated to center dump 4 inch manifolds.. thinking above the swim deck but have to set engines in to see height wise..

heres a few shot of under the gauge panel before removing add on wiring was a mess still isnt as organized as i want it but im going to make sure all my wire is correct and good before i change to some better gauges then ill organize the wiring better best part is all the junk add on wiring is removed and everything wired back correctly now I HOPE :lolhit:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02646.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...a/DSC02647.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...DSC02647-1.jpg

heres a few of the inside of the cuddy everything redone but i left the front striped carpet still going to make cushions at a later date ill do that once boat is running
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...illa/004-1.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/005.jpg
heres on of the cockpit recarpeted its dirty from working on other parts again
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/001.jpg
part opf my drop out bolsters i built
just sat in to see what they look like still have to build the
frames for em and redo some black vinyl etc..
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...DSC01769-1.jpg

i got this boat the cuddy door wouldnt even close the wood under the dash had moved around so bad over the years all that has been replaced along with the wood that makes up the cabinets.. figured i was that far why not.. all the carpet inside cuddy was layed by myself the cock pit carpet was me and friend and he also helped me with the headliner as theres no way one person can do it by them selfs..

Great job sir...I especially like the controls and trim indicators....definitely on my to do list. Somehow I'm thinking the original cables don't work with modern controls? Love the Double Pumpers!!

Do you ever find yourself thinking...well I'm this far in it...so I might as well....?

I was sitting in that huge empty bilge last Sunday thinking about doing this and that ...rigging one thing or another. That's when it hit me...this is actually starting to be fun!!

no original cables do not work which is fine as i needed to replace one anyways
yes i do think that some times.. but im tryin to stay realistic to get this think together safely and reliably for this year as i know ill have the power back out this winter anyways so im holding back on a few things.. that will be screwed back up in the future..

the trim indiactors are old bennet stuff i know the plates work but the indicators where kinda crazy acting when i had it out last maybe a wiring issue as they where wired in pretty crappy still have to rewire them back in if they work ill keep them in the new dash setup at a later date if not prolly go mechanical. yes the bilge is huge with nothing in it ..lol just imagine i could actually sit beside the old engines in mine now ill be stuffing it even more full when the bigblocks go back in..

well im stuck waiting on the right cams to come monday as they sent the wrong ones to me..
everything else is here.. ill have my new used steering wheel on this weekend pics to come..

I'm in the same boat... litteraly. I ordered a bunch of stuff that I need to finish the transom assembly and engine install and NONE of it has showed up yet.

Man she looks real nice!

heck sprink we could combine all are parts and have one hell of a boat dont ya think?? ill keep it in the summer months up here then when it snows you can have it down there .lol..

Aw Hell Yeah!!:evilb:

After we see how your's does I'm already thinking on a pair of 502's. Once you get 800~900 horsepower in the water with a 26' boat the hull design is the only thing holding you back.

I look at it this way...once you get a strong engine and drive package you just start moving 'em to a better boat...hell the boat's not worth much without the power anyway.

I think the same guy must have wired mine too!!

yep my thoughts exactly if i want a new boat ill just buy a nice hull no power off someone here one day then swap em in ..

Great looking project!!!

well being i didnt have the correct cams i decided to finish up my steering i repainted the alum housing that bolts to the dash and the center of the wheel that was red from fireboat pilot to black and i tied my wires back up under the dash
pulled my old trim switchs out so i can decide to clean them up or solder some new wiring on them .. ended up gettin one set of heads set up for spings installed them and loosely bolted them on to block..installed lower timing chain sprocket also couldnt resist sitting the intake and carb on .. also got one set of rockers/pushrods cleaned up got easter plans tomorrow early after that im sealing and torqueing headbolts down.. bolting on rockers and god knows what ..

on a side note found my perko key for my cuddy door today didnt think i had one to lock it.. and dont forget them valve seals as i got all my parts layed out checked my spring heights etc put both sets of springs on and then it hit me i didnt put one seal on... so i had to take em back apart and install the seals.. as if i needed the practice ive done a bunch of valvetrains on racecars stuff to motorcycles . this i didnt need to do twice...lol


http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/028.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/029.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/030.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...skilla/031.jpg

Nothing looks more wicked that an old "Rat" motor with a Double Pumper Holley sitting on it. Reminds me of some of the Big Block Camaros we used to play with...10 second door slammers that we drove to the strip...then drove to work....those were the days!!

Boat is Looking good.

I got my Bravo transom assemblies ready to go in today...going to try and drill the top two holes and get them in tomorrow....if my wife doesn't throw a fit...being Easter and all.

The next two weekends have me tied up in Contractors License Renewal classes... something I do every 2 years...so I would like to do it tomorrow...we'll see. I'm itching to drop the engines in and get this rig running.:evilb:

lol i know how you feel my wife told me you should get the boat done for thunder over louisville.. here in 2 weeks.lol i was like i dont think thats gonna happen... now if i work on it nonstop from now till then and have everything i need here in the building it might be doable..lol ive been wanting to go to it as well but where gona miss it but ill dam sure be at lake cumberland at the end of the year and hit a bunch more runs up this year as well.. ........ where within days of taking over a existing running business and ill have a ton of work to do there as well .. its gettin warm again around here and im ready to be boating..

I got to tell you...I'm just about as excited about you getting yours going as I am mine!! Especially with them both being 255's...something that hasn't been built in over 30 years.

BTW...my glass guy was supposed to have had my vent windows done by this past Friday but I guess they didn't come back from the place that tempers it...they have to have a special logo put in the glass for safety reasons. I ordered extra so stay tuned...I'll let you know when it comes in.

hows your brothers boat going ???



got back home today and got the head bolts torqued
and went ahead and cut the grass so i wont be bothered with that crap this week correct cams coming in tomorrow once them are in hand ill have one complete engine and be ready to do some more work on the other short block

He's making way to install that 454...setting up for a Bravo install in the F3.

I got my Bravo Transom assemblies in today and cut grass also...school over next 2 weekends so I won't get anything else done.

timing chain cams on both engines and valvetrain installed and adjusted .. need to tack weld my oil pump pick ups and buy some intake bolts.. thats the next step take some more pics once thats on.

Sounds like you turned the corner...buildig instead of tearing out.:evilb:

jason ans sprink. you both talk about the fact that it isn't worth the price of the parts when done and you will just buy a better-newer hull. save the old pre-alpha housings so you have something to give away with the old hulls. you won't have the heart to junk them. this way somebody else can put 350-alphas back in them cheap and use the rest of your work. and you'll know your old boat is still ok...

This is a truth.

we speak as in if it ever happens.. chances of me upgrading to a newer hull who knows.. i doubt it.. but theres always that option of pulling my rebuilt stuff and swapping if something happened to the 255
as far as it not worth it its worth every dime to me when done as my family will get to enjoy it and theres not that many around these parts.. good idea and agree with ya..

OK, what is up with this? The oil pickups are just pressed into the oil pump on SBC, do most people tack weld them also?

Need an answer on this one SOON!!! Or is this just on the big blocks?

thank you,

Brian

fixx
 

pressed on from the factory,,i and most others will tack the tube to the oil pump to keep the pick up tube from falling off..


@ jayson,,did the boat oe have I 6's in it? what is your center to center measurements on the center of the gimbal bearings?..

This is an old Smokey Yunick trick from the '60's. I have tacked them in or used epoxy.

yes the 2 original pumps i pulled out of the 454,s where tacked on all the sbc,s i used to rebuild to use as race enginesdid not have the pickup welded from factory.. i always welded them on just 2 good tacks will do.. gonna try to get mine done tomorrow been busy with other things...