Another '79 Formula 255 Liberator
 

Well gang, I've read through a couple resto threads, and with cautious optimism, I'm starting my own! We recently became proud owners of this 255:

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2f226cb0.jpg

We had a 32' Carver Mariner we restored a few years ago, but found we weren't spending much time aboard, and wanted to get something trailer able. We had a 16' Seadoo Challenger twin Jetboat for a while but it was way too small and didn't have any of the amenities we wanted. A short search brought us to this 255, and a little bit of research showed it to be a good enough deal to warrant the work she needs. So we are off on a new adventure!

We had a bearing go out on the trailer on the way home from purchasing, wiped out the starb outdrive on our first test run (no lube= bad news) and have had to fix a few other little issues just trying to get her on the water. We are encouraged by the apparent 'following' the model seems to have, as well as the attention she gets on the ramp. We will be doing numerous projects as time permits, have a few small ones already done and will post up pics and details shortly.

Looks like a great forum, and a wonderful bunch of members- looking forward to lots of interaction!!

A few more photos of the boat;

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psaf3b2cd6.jpg

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps940635e1.jpg

and a quick video runnin across the lake;
http://vid1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/socialtherapy2/IMG_9239_zpse7885464.mp4

My first upgrade project was the controls mount. The wood base was a bit worn, and though easily repairable I thought updating to something more 'current' might look better. I wanted to get a bit more room as well, so I made a trim plate from 1/4" Lexan, painted the back black, and replaced the wood. I completed this project while cleaning, checking, and lubing the stock Morse controls (thinking this was part of my shifting problem). Photos:

Before:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7abf7ff0.jpg

"Machining" the new trim:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f1f1757.jpg

Finished trim ring:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psbf76c493.jpg

Mock-up with control:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8ae693ba.jpg

Finished install:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f505a3a.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88f58cb7.jpg
If you look close in the last photo, you can see the edge of the trim ring (top right in the photo) and see that the color is on the back of the Lexan. I'm seriously considering re-doing this one, and making a new instrument panel the same way but using a yellow that matches the boat instead of black.

My second project was to fab up some adaptor plates for new shift interrupt switches (merc part NLA- wasn't quite ready to spend $200 per engine for the 'upgrade' and set myself up for needing new trim pumps and more just because the $11 switches were missing). The previous owner thought it was a good idea to remove the switches- we all know how well that went!

I just cut a couple pieces of 1/8" aluminum 'scrap' big enough to allow mounting the new switches on the existing threaded studs, here they are cut, rough finished, drilled and countersunk:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps390c510e.jpg

Here one is with the switch mount screws in place, ready to install on the shift plate:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...pse8c78341.jpg

And here it is installed in the boat. Tested this weekend, and they both work perfect!!
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7a7abbf1.jpg

More projects to come soon... much more interesting too I hope!

Nice job!!

Finally...another Liberator on OSO!!

Welcome!!...and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks Sprink! I've run through your thread... wow! I'm sure there will be PLENTY of questions, all of your work and photos have certainly given us a starting point though! We're looking forward to this project, a little at a time. I turned a '77 Carver Mariner 3396 that was destined for the scrap yard into a 14k boat in one winter (and only dumped about 5k into it), not expecting similar results, but know we can make this a really nice boat regardless! We'll be keeping an eye on your project for ideas- not a prayer of catching up though! LOL

If you can...take some pics of the cockpit and cabin interior. I would like to see what it's supposed to look like if yours is still original.

I don't know if it's mostly original, I do know the rear bench has been changed- it's obviously not factory but may be close, and on the port side just inside the door I think is supposed to be a fridge- the PO paneled in the space and installed a set of drawers (cheap plastic stuff). I plan to re-install a fridge there! Here's what I have handy, I'll try to post some better ones later...
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psbc06cba5.jpghttp://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psfad575a5.jpg

This was one of the seller's photos- it looks pink, but it's worse...
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psaec7508a.jpg

Cool...how is the rear bench/engine access set up? And yes...the pink is hideous!! LOL

I'll take some pictures tomorrow (got home too late tonight, hate taking pix in the dark!). The rear deck "Sun pad" is teak, it covers a shallow full-beam storage compartment above the engines. The front of that is fiberglass on the top half, and carpeted wood hinged to the fiberglass on the bottom half, it has a lip at the bottom that supports the seat bottom, and the seat back. The seat back is wider than the opening for the engine compartment, and it just sits across the storage bins on either side. the front of the seat bottom is wood with some speakers and a battery switch. That front panel is attached to the side compartments with frame brackets (face mount 90* angles). It really isn't a very good setup, difficult to access for service and repairs, not super secure, and just not very professional looking.

As for the interior of the cabin... well... the original 'wall paper' is a textured surface, someone painted it the color you see in the pix, it's sorta rosy tan, and the curtain was a dark maroon, makes it look pink inside- really not cool at all but it's a low priority. I'm still working out the 'not very marine' repairs on the engines and drives, got it running really well and fairly reliably- we want to get a little use out of it this summer and will dive into the big stuff in the off season... I hope. LOL

I'll get some good detail photos tomorrow- should be a nice day, and I have some projects planned anyway!

I am actually considering cutting the rear tray in mine out with a sawzall. I never use it and it makes working in the bilge a royal PITA.

I'm with you Sprink, not sure how much use that locker will get- removing it would REALLY help access back there!

Here are the pix:

Back bench:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...pskqayunjp.jpg

Seat back removed:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psagqoz1wm.jpg

Seat removed:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...pswl3h1nds.jpg

Rear support folded up:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psy5ersjxr.jpg

Amazing brackets:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psoddd6tdg.jpg

It looks like it's a modification of original design, but I'm sure the support wood piece on the sides, te angle bracket, and the folding back support aren't actually original. I actually would like to see some other ideas- I plan to change it- just not sure what to do yet.

Cool old boat. Interesting water routing on the motors.

Thanks for the pics.

One thing I have considered is continuing the cockpit floor all the way to the back edge of the tray. I am thinking of framing the floor with aluminum angles or channels and creating a hatch in the floor for engine access. It sure would open the cockpit up!!! I don't ever have anyone on my boat but me and my girl anyway so I don't need the seating.

The Formula 255 Freedom Cruiser is set up that way. Our boats are so damn deep anyway that there is plenty of clearance over the tops of the engines.

Neat way to get rid of the circulating pump.

When the time comes...Zero Effort is a great way to go.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8f5223ec.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks Knot 4 Me! We are excited about the potential!
Ya, gotta love ingenuity! More great home-made stuff than I care to see on a boat. I want to get real cross-overs and a thermostat housing. The plumbing fixtures are just not cool with me. Did you see the bad-a** risers the PO made? They gotta go to.

Sprink; I love the zero efforts- had a set sorta 'reserved' but it fell through. Can't see spending $1k plus tho, so I'm holding out for another used set

As for the floor/ hatch... I'm thinking about redoing the seat/ floor area and put it on a hatch that folds forward- seats and all, then a sun pad/ cover that will lift rearward. I'll have reasonable access for quick checks and such, but be able to peel the whole thing open when the need for full access arises!.

We took the boat out last weekend to test the ignition cut outs and do some minor tuning. She's running amazing now, cut outs worked perfectly- shifts are smooth with just a brief stumble of the engines. We spent a full day on the water enjoying the fruits of our labor. Once the boat is loaded, I like to pull up just out of the water and start the engines just briefly to blow out the water from the exhausts (may be worthless but it makes me feel better). The starboard engine fired immediately and I shut it right off, port engine starter just made a horrible grinding noise!

When I checked the starter (back at home) I found the smaller outside mounting bolt missing so I picked one up and put it in. No such luck- still didn't work. I pulled the starter and found this:
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psbs3darjp.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psccj3t0oh.jpg

Not good to use a starter that's not properly secured I guess- one more minor detail I missed in my inspections that bit me!
New starter- $190-300. I decided to try a DIY fix...
Aluminum "Brazing" Rod

I ground out the cracks with a dremmel tool (the nose cone is cast aluminum so it was fairly easy):
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psnegcqh68.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psbxcycdi3.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psececzsdo.jpg

Then I clamped the cone in my vise, put clamps on the cone to hold the cracks closed and used the 'brazing rods'. I didn't have a cameraman handy, so no 'action pix', but here's what it looked like after 'brazing';
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psdwqxqew8.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psqitlp0m0.jpg

I ground down the repairs and blended the areas into the rest of the starter;
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psshrecegs.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psjyzgogkv.jpg

The repair material is MUCH harder than the surrounding cast aluminum. It's kinda tricky to work with but seems like pretty good stuff. I re-installed the starter and it worked perfect. I cleaned up the rotor and stator housing and checked the gaskets/ seals while it was out. Cost was about $13 and a few hours work total- seems like pretty good savings to me! I'll post up if it fails anytime soon.

I have to tell you...seriously...on my boat, as difficult as it is to remove and replace the starters I would have been tempted to replace that one with new.

I salute you and your ingenuity however!!!

Where does the raw water come into the engines? Do they run cool?

Sprink:

It was the port engine, so access wasn't horrible. Had it been starboard- I'd have bought a new one for it and repaired this one for a spare if the port died lol. That starboard starter is a PITA!!!

Mr. Maine;

The water from the leg comes into a "T" at the back of the engine, through the manifolds, into the engine where the pump would normally go, out through the "T" at the thermostat location, into the risers and out with the exhaust. Once it's warmed up, the manifolds run about 110*, "T" at the thermostat location around 130* and the top of the risers gets to about 150-160*. Those temps are all with an IR gun, dash gauge runs right about 150 runnin hard, comes up when we first slow down but drops to 130ish fairly quickly. Both engines seem to hang within 5* or so of each other. We ran the hell out of it first time out just to see how the temps were-'I was really worried because the exhaust has a fair amount of steam- it is just a really poor design from what I've seen. Riser gaskets are all new, no signs of water in any cylinders, no water in the manifolds when I checked them while changing the gaskets, but there's a bit of thin-wall exhaust tubing extending past the 'mixing port' (where water is introduced to the exhaust) just after the turn and no way to guide the water over it so I'm fairly sure that's where my steam is coming from.

We discovered a tear in the port shift cable bellows this weekend, decided to pull the drive and replace the bellows rather than risk it- found a few small holes in the U-joint bellows as well as some indication of water mixing with the grease from the gimbal bearing, and the gimbal bearing is not fully seated and a little crooked in the gimbal housing so that little fix has become a bit of a project. I'll post pix of THAT little treat as I go through it too.

Thanks for the reply, interesting, I have never seen anything plumbed like that.

I've only seen plumbing like that in the last house I rented... plastic hooked to steel hooked to pex hooked to something I've never seen before. It is high on my list of things to change, I don't like it- it looks tacky, not absolutely sure it really works. I wouldn't trust the system for anything more than the short hops we do on the lake right now, it WILL be right before this boat sees LOTO (and that trip is pretty high on my to do list) so look hard now lol, it wont be like that for long!

What a week! Got the starter rebuilt, all set for another lake run and found a badly torn shift bellows. Pulled it apart, decided to replace the shift cable, and u-joint bellows at the same time. Bought the kit and went nuts! Not a bad project, had to manufacture a deep socket for the cable (just drilled out an old 1/2" extension sonthe housing extension would fit) but everything else went smooth. I'll post a few pics and results later- gonna try to do a test run today! Fingers crossed!!!

Hopefully you are still on your way back from the run? If your luck is anything like mine, still working on it.

Good luck, Brian

Brian;

Run was a resounding success. The only problem was a low idle on the starb. engine- did an adjustment after playing for a while and solved it. I still want to do something with the risers, the steam is disconcerting, but I bought the crossover set w/ thermostat housings HTRDLNCN was selling- I'll get them on and see how that works out before I make any more major changes. Today was great though- family and I thoroughly enjoyed it- we even anchored and let the kids swim for a bit!

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psetmjel1i.jpg

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psgehygeyo.jpg

That is awesome! I hate you now........ LOL. Naw, I think mine is ready to test again, will try to get it out on the water this week, only concern is the shift interrupt on port motor, still seems off after adjusting it, but until I try it I will not know.

Question for you, the Bimini top looks like a decent amount of shade on it. How long is it, one of the four bow -8' models? Looks to mount outside the windshield frame, I was looking at doing the same thing with one.

I need to refinish the bottom on mine, might consider not going with white after seeing a couple of other ones. The black looks good with the yellow, but I have a fair amount of grey in mine also. Either might work for me.

Congrats.

It is the 4 bow ~8' Bimini. It's mounted outside the windshield about 1/2 way between the transom and the front of the windshield. I'm planning to change it slightly- it currently has straps fore and aft with the single central pole mount on either side. I want to add poles to the stern so I can fold it back and cover it without it being in the way (I currently fold it down in front of the windshield most of the time) and to give it a little more stability- it'll bounce pretty good and starts to loosen itself at about 40mph lol.

I like how the black looks, but it shows EVERY speck of dirt and bird crap, and gets REALLY hot in the sun! The grey looks good with the black/yellow/silver/white combo, doesn't show much dirt, and stays cool. I would never consider white canvas- our cabin cruiser had a white and it was a major pain to keep clean!

What is that port shift interruptor doing? They're fairly straight forward, how they act can tell you a lot about what's going on! Hope your test goes well!! Lemme know, it's good to know I'm not the only one still trying to get it right this late in the season!! Lol

Pretty boat...of course I am biased...:evilb:

Thanks Sprink, I have to agree though, and we had a few boats swing in close to get a better look, obviously an appreciated design! I love the way this boat looks on the water- running or just sitting. We get comments, and thumbs up all the time- this has to be the coolest looking boat we've owned!

I just received some parts...
(Thanks HTRDLNCN)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psjiattmyz.jpg

Looks like a new project for the weekend! Very excited to remove the old home-made system!!

Photos of the project to come soon.

Well, I couldn't come up with a 'good' way to plumb the cross-overs into the existing setup, so that's going on hold until 'winter project time. I DID put the thermostat housings in, backwards- looks better in the current configuration...
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psbwt9tbh7.jpg

This just 'fit in' with how things are plumbed now, it'll work fine for the last few trips of the season. Our plan is to pull both engines and drives at the end of the season, and rebuild everything, reseal the drives, put in real water pick-ups, pumps and strainers, re-gelcoat the engine room, and generally clean everything up. We will be reconfiguring the seat/ engine cover to something with an automatic lift, and a bit more style as well.

In other good news, I got the 'other' engine that goes with this boat. Starboard engine was removed due to a spun rod bearing, and replaced with a 'truck engine' sometime prior to us buying the boat. Well- we got the pulled engine...
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psxcdbapsl.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8bady7rq.jpg
It will get rebuilt along with the 'twin' port motor so she has matching (original) small blocks again. Not sure what we'll do with the present starboard engine... It runs great, just isn't originally a marine engine... We shall see.

More to come soon.