89CenturionLapoint

Ok so I took her out on her maiden voyage yesterday. Everything was going good until the temp went up to 190. Docked it and pulled the thermostat. It was a 180 degree one. Then took it out again only to have it start mis firing and back firing at high rpms. Pulled over and pulled spark plug from cylinder 1, the tip was completely melted. Then I inspected the distributor and noticed the distributor had a vacuum advance hookup that I know isn't supposed to be on a marine application. I've purchased the correct distributor on ebay and am going to convert it to electronic ignition. I've determined this is not the original motor for the boat. It was probably pulled from a vehicle and installed with all accessories still attached minus the impeller and exhaust manifolds. I've marinized the fuel pump, carb, alternator, thermostat should be 143 or 160 not 180 and the alternator should be on the right side of the motor not left. Either way it works now and is finally safe for the water.

haha no I havent sunk her...yet! (knocks on wood) I'm going to take it out on Lopez Lake next week. Ive just been doing minor stuff now that I got her running good. (oil change, spark plugs, wiring up my system etc. 640 watt 4 channel baja amp pushing 2 10" shallow mount rockfords in two custom boxes I made out of 3/4" MDF for under the rear seat. 500k farad capacitor, 4 6x9's and a sony marine stereo Heres a pic of the tower and bimini top..

Ok so I bought a 100 amp one wire alternator and installed it. Should be enough to charge both optimas. Runs great now! Starts up quickly and idles. I ran the engine for roughly an hour and it did not go over 160 degrees. The only issue I was having was with that transmission growl that happens randomly. Sometimes it causes the engine to shut off when I put it in reverse and back to neutral quickly. I fixed all gauges, rpms work, and installed a mechanical oil pressure gauge. Got a wakeboard tower installed and bimini top. Wired up a sound system. Boat is almost ready for the Lake! Thanks again for all your help Super!

The transmission was rebuilt less than a year ago and hasn't seen the lake since, so super I think you're right because the break in hasn't even been fulfilled yet. I just wanted to make sure it is safe to put it on the lake when its making that noise, especially doing 30 to 40 miles an hour.

heres a video of the issue im having with the transmission.

Alright Ive got an update. I pretty much finished the boat today and started it for the first time. A couple of questions/Comments: 1. While running, I only showed 12V on my gauge. I verified this with putting my multimeter on the alternator and I got no volts with the engine running. Shortly after that the motor started stalling randomly. Probably due to low voltage from battery thanks to the alternator not working. Which alternator should I get for this boat? What size amp alt too? I installed a stereo system on the boat so one with more output would be best. Do I need a Marinized alternator? 2. Is it normal for the prop shaft to be constantly spinning while at idle? sometimes it would speed up on its own and I could not slow it down at the throttle. 3. My RPM gauge isnt working. Is this related to the alternator? If not, where does the rpm gauge get its signal from? 4. Lastly, when turning the key to on, the oil pressure gauge jumps to 40. Then when running it spikes to 80psi. Could I have a faulty pressure switch?

I havent bought that one yet, I would greatly appreciate it! It has a V shape to it so it fits in the pulleys nicely

Ok so I all the parts I ordered came in (besides Carb, thats coming tomorrow) and I've installed what I can so far. Here's a few problems I've run into.... Here's the new fuel line that I ordered for the new fuel pump. How in the heck is that supposed to be routed in order to work? I'm assuming I'm missing some coupler that screws into the fuel pump that connects the line to it. I got the "J-tube" installed with lots of struggle but the hose is being dented by the alternator bracket. I'm assuming thats not supposed to be happening? I'm holding the vinyl hose that is supposed to be connected from the flame arrestor to the fuel pump however obviously I'm about 2ft away from that happening. Only thing I can think of is that skidim charges per foot at .048 a foot and I only added 1 to my cart. They dont list whether or not thats how they sell it on the item details so idk. I'm going to call them in the morning.

Thanks for the put reference ski. My seat definitely does not have a slider. Just flat rail with four holes to mount it. Id imagine all I need to do is build a box and mount the seat to it. Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it!

Haha oh geez. Looks like ill be making one out of wood. Anyone have a pic of what it looks like? Dimensions would be a god send. I can't believe the lack of information on the web about these older ski boats. I've searched all over Google and so far this thread has the most information ha. I spent three hours searching for a pdf owners manual and wiring diagrams and still no luck.

another question...Is there supposed to be a little box shaped mount that screws to the deck for the driver seat? Then the driver seat screws into that? The way its set up, the driver seat mounts strait to the deck. I feel like a cholo in it because of how low it sits.

Scratch that...I just bought their last one.

does anyone know where I can get the 1" carb spacer I need? I had it in my wish list on skidim but I guess they no longer offer it because I cant find it anymore.

Ok ill hook up the other spedo then. Yup I used a marinzed starter.

I have no hole in the floor in front of the engine nor does it appear to have been patched. I was able to screw in the 1/2" drain plug into the bilge drain hole so I'm thinking its not 3/4". I have two spedo units attached on the rear of the boat but only the right side is hooked up correctly. I am missing a spedo gauge on the dash then cause I only have one. Why does it need two? Ok Ill post a pic of it. I spent the day redoing all the wiring on the boat. Got all the wires water tight in the bilge area and wired the float switch the way it is suppose to be. Fixed the wiring on my nav lights at the switch as well. All thats left is wiring in a stereo/Speakers. I also replaced the starter today and was finally able to see the motor turn. I was very happy to see it not seized ha.