Bite the bullet and buy 4 so they match.
you are welcome

Edited: i looked up wrong part. Doh.

Like these for $25.17 each?
Go2Marine P/N

Shields 220/221 Series

Shields 220/221 Series, Hump Hose Connectors & Reducers, EPDM Rubber (go2marine.com)

Man you are close to splashing that thing now! Great work Tom. I can’t wait to see what props you wind up needing.

Re-engineering is the name of the game right now. I posted about it in the tech forum but basically I'm a no-go with the Merc raw water pumps.... no room to service with the closed cooling installed. I bought crank-driven pumps that will be made to work. Once that's done, it's just some buttoning up and moving gauges around. Close but still seems so far.

What are you running for closed cooling again? My Monitor system doesn't go anywhere near my raw water pump.

Merc.

There isn’t enough room to get down into the bilge without draining, taking the heat exchanger and hoses off, r&r of the pump, etc.

See post 199.

Looks basically like mine, but I have some room to get to it from the side. You definitely are shoe horned in there. Glad you're getting it sorted.

And post 238. :)

Starboard is the worst of the two for sure. Even with the HE off, it's been an absolute ***** to get the pump in. Messing with that side sealed the deal on going crank-mounted.

If I had my generator installed I still wouldn't be as tight as you. And that's saying something when I have about 4" from my water pump pulley to my fuel tank.

I wish Formula had designed them similar to other boats where the backrest raises with the rest of the hatch. All of the pumps and supportive equipment would have needed new homes... probably not possible without making the engine room longer. Bravos would make this much different but I'm not going there with this boat.

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...er-pump-2.html

See post #32 for progress on the raw water pump situation.

Slowly but surely….


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...4326fc7fe.jpeg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...ea69e48ab.jpeg

Electronics are all that’s left now. O2 sensors/controller/gauge and the moving around of other gauges to accommodate oil temp.

I got the keys and both engines rolled over. Maybe fire Sunday afternoon? We’ll see.

It’s taken long enough… At least I get to tune in cool weather.

From last weekend... it started getting cold that afternoon, then rainy, windy, cold after.



Hoping to get out in December to tune when I have some time. Work and travel will be the highlights of this month.

She sounds great Tom! Getting it out in December to tune. Sounds like fun. I took an older boat, 87 242 Sr1, out years ago in late November with snow flyng on the lake. Winterized it later that day.

good luck. Sounds like you did a real nice job. Hope you hit your speed targets.

Fun, Fun, Fun...

Well, I started them over the weekend. Nothing spectacular, but I got them tuned in a little more, timing set, fattened up idle a some. Idling on the hose at 950, they sit at 160 degrees and the water coming out of the pipes is, by feel, right at 100 degrees. The high advance of the EST distributors at idle really takes the bite out of the exhaust note; from inside the boat they're running like sewing machines.

Now I need to get to work on moving/installing gauges and getting the sun deck back on the boat.

Great progress...I just did two mechanical water pressure gauges!
"You're a better man than I...Gunga Din" (Rudyard Kipling)

Water pressure gauges are crucial. Right up there with oil pressure and oil/water temperature. I know you used the nylon lines for hooking them up; I can’t stand those kink-prone things. I have -4 AN push-lock hoses going to the helm on mine. Overkill, I’m sure, but no kinks and should last forever.

I’m looking forward to redoing the helm/gauges/wiring. It’s all a bit of a mess under the covers.

Now I just need to find the time. Work is f’ing ridiculous right now. 15+ hour days for weeks… at home.

I guess I did not know that push-lock was an option...yes teflon is a *****.

Sounds like a 10k pace instead of a marathon (steady) pace...-(

Brrrrr

Cold. Snow. More snow coming.

Can’t wait for spring.

Getting warmer! March will be here in a week; I just need my audits to finish out sink can start spending some time on the 311.

Stuff to do:

- Dash rewiring - it’s a mess and really cramped with the hydraulic helm. I’m going to reconfigure the switches to go back to a more factory look.

- Install oil temp gauges - oil temp will go where voltmeters are located. Voltmeter (with a switch) will go in the hour meter hole.

- Install dual-bank O2 meter in place of fuel level gauge - moving fuel level gauge to a new spot (probably facing port above radio door).

- Install hour meters in gunwale above transmissions.

- Replace bad trim rams on port side.

- Fix upholstery and put the engine hatch back on the boat (replaced wood with PVC board - no more rot ever).

- New ground for stereo amp.

I’m sure there will be more. Seems like a long list but most of the dash work will be done in a weekend. I might even get the upholstery done this week if I can get some free cycles.

Looking forward to spring!

I'd like to move my hour meters to the engine room as well. How are you wiring them?

I’m going to tap into the power wires coming from the ignition. I’ll make some harnesses that route with the main harness. Should be pretty easy. I’ll do it all with weather pack connections.

I'll be curious to see it if you remember to snap a pic or two of the wiring. I know it's a pretty simple connection for the gauge itself, just needs switched 12V+ but always looking to see good rigging ideas from others.

Well, we’ll see how it turns out. I’ll get pics.

If you want just engine run time why not tap into the alternator exciter wire on the alternator?

Easy enough, that’s a good tap point considering my barrel connector is at the back of the engine (MPI starting/charging harness).

I’m still in decision mode as to where they’ll go. Shoot, I could scrap the bilge idea and mount somewhere under the dash. It’s not like they need to be looked at often.


🤔

Yep, could easily mount low down out of the way and just extend the existing wiring to meet.

Though it’s not much, there is some progress.

We finished getting the headrest put back together. It’s cold so we used a heat gun to help… made the work incredibly easy.

We also cut the PVC board for the after cushion… ready for the vinyl to go back on. the inner pieces are still factory from Formula (the wood is still good). I’ve thought about getting the wood out for PVC board, but it’s lasted this long so it’s staying.

It is amazing that the vinyl on this boat is 34 years old!


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Great Job Tom! Looks awesome, the vinyl Formula used back in the day is timeless, always holds up well. I’ll be down your way this week. Give me a call!

We’ll, not the best being that the vinyl has been re-stapled a couple times, but it’ll work for now. It’s have some small gaps but definitely workable. I need to do some aligning but it’s pretty close.


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Needs a good cleaning, too.

I’ve done it now…


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So idea here is to require some things so that I have oil temp and at the helm plus AFR monitoring.

The wiring is a mess.

I’m going to undo it all and put it back to the way it was with exception of switches themselves (I have a fuse panel vs breaker switches). I was going to reuse the Carling switches but I think some lit aluminum poles will work well and fit the original panels that I got.

I might replace the gauge panel as a whole. Not a fan of the spacing and I think I can get more in it plus have room for trim rings. We’ll see. I know my buddies are going to throw their hands up when they get work that I’ve taken the whole thing apart (scope creep lol).

Keep good notes...I am sure I will ultimately do away with the old breaker-switches to more modern switches.
My current dash:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b1d9f215b3.jpg

Thinking I may ditch the GPS speedometer and mount a NAV panel in its place. Definite scope creep now!

One big issue is that the boat wiring is kind of all over the place inside that dash assembly. It wasn’t rigged the way I would do it so I’m going to do it the right way. I’m also going to put back the panel that held the cup holder to get everything back to a little more of an original look. Hoping to get the toggles ordered tomorrow.