Nice looking clean up. Good luck. Those 540's are going to be rough on the XR's so go easy haha.

After cleaning the crud & looking things over I decided to sand out the rough spots & runs in the paint or gelcoat whatever the stuff is. It chips like gel but seems too soft in a way, any tips on paint or gel & how much trouble it will be? I will post some pics of what I have done tomorrow, ran out of light. Thanks Randy

What did you do with the 496's

Chris

Sold them to help pay for my new power.

Pics of my bilge
 

Here is what I have done so far, I applied some grey primer so I could see the high spots better.

More sanding
 

When I removed the engines I found the adjusting nuts loose by at least an inch each on all 4 mounts!!! Real nice since 1 engine was replaced under warranty for a starter issue that took a chunk out of the block. The mercruiser certified service center that will never see this boat again should have seen that especially since they would have to have lined up the new engine. I guess they were more interested in replacing a new bilge pump with a newer pump. Anyway the engines bouncing around in there bent the stringer bolts & egged out the holes causing me to have to make repairs. Thats why I am doing this, If I have to fill,drill, & sand might as well make things look a little nicer. Randy

I cant wait to see your new power plants in that clean bildge!

Jeffro, I cant wait to try your props out with some new power!!! LOL Randy

Where we at on this upgrade? Did you get the new power yet?

It wouldnt be a project if I didnt find more to do would it? I redrilled the stringer holes to 1/2 inch & bolted the mounts up but they arent quite level so Im filling them & redrilling them with the mounts clamped in place as a template. I have bilge paint on the way, headers got ordered after I did the measurements for them. Assorted hoses,clamps,etc. Am going to add some indirect lighting so show all of my work. I think I am going to be moving the boat indoors as the weather gets colder so stay tuned I will post some more pics when I make some more progress. Randy