What did you do to your non-G body project today? [2023]

[CopperNick]

A friend of mine's brother bought this boat accidentally on an auction and offered it to my buddy for what he had into it last August or so. He and I had talked about having a boat through HS and college and we dabbled in crappy watercraft though the years but never had anything useable.

This one seemed better than anything we worked on in the past so we split the cost + registration ($700). He stores, I fix. I've got a family get together at a lake this coming weekend so I have 6 days to get a boat running with last evidence that it ran in 2018. Great.

So its a 1993 Sunbird Corsair 185 with an OMC cobra I/O with the GM 3.0. Basically OMC went out of business in the late 90's and a Sunbird was OMC's (outboard marine corp) basic fiberglass boat.

The boat was advertised as 'fuel issue, won't start. My buddy was going to work on it but he's been busy, I had a kid, so it's been on the back burner. Finally have motivation to get to it.

Towed it the 2hrs from my buddy's place to my house. Got to work.

• The starting issue was because the throttle control wasn't fully in neutral and loose starter solenoid connections. It drew high amps and blew the ignition fuse, new fuse and tightened the connections and it's good.
• The oil looks milky, did an oil change, hopefully not a cracked block or headgasket
• Engine runs actually pretty dang well, a quick shot of fuel from the accelerator pump and it pops right off, doesn't overheat
• The front engine mount bracket is rotten so I bought some new lag bolts and concrete anchors and blasted them into the spongey material and it seems to be OK-ish
• Tried the earmuff water hose thing and it just leaks everywhere, stuck the outdrive in a bucket of water, checked the impeller, looks good and pulls water
• Washed the grime off the interior/exterior, there is some heavy rot on the wood that holds the upholstery around the rear seats next to the dog house, I tossed that on the floor, i'll deal with that later
• Its running off a boat tank right now, the fuel tank in the hull doesn't smell like gas, it's clear, not dirty, but it's not gas! Shelving that for later

I think (fingers crossed) it's ready. Hopefully it floats.

Getting started

Outdrive priming

140hp of 3.0 fury

Interior cleaning done

Exterior cleaning done

Dad said I need to check the wheel bearings. Yup. drivers side seems OK. Passenger side was loosey. Checked them? Toast. New bearings installed

 

[CopperNick]

Back more years ago than I care to remember I worked at an Outboard dealer that sold OMC as one of it's main lines. Back then they were a good solid dependable unit that could take abuse.

One of the most popular accessories that we carried was something called a "Bearing Buddy". Nothing more that a spring loaded plate in a grease nipple in the centre and fitted into a sleeve that got pushed into the hub instead of the dust cap. Put one in place, pump enough grease into the nipple to make the plate compress the spring, and you have an automated bearing lubrication system that keeps grease in the bearing even if you regularly submerge the trailer. Didn't substitute for yearly full up maintenance but, like most things, we had our share of owners who flunked the course on "maintenance" and showed up regularly for this and that because of it.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=a3623fb5480c1715JmltdHM9MTY4OTU1MjAwMCZpZ3VpZD0xODI1ZTYxYS0xZmJkLTZhOWItMjJhMS1mNTQ4MWU4NjZiZTUmaW5zaWQ9NTI0MQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=1825e61a-1fbd-6a9b-22a1-f5481e866be5&psq=bearing+buddy&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmVhcmluZ2J1ZGR5LmNvbS8&ntb=1

Link is like a quarter mile long but will take you to the Bearing Buddy Company site if I can get it to post , apparently Bing may make it too long for the site to upload. Meh.



Nick

 

[86LK]

Guilty with explanation, Yur Honor. Stab is probably an imprecise term for the process of using a precision instrument such as a gasket scraper for the express purpose of determining residual strength in a component, to whit the bumper in question, that was already heavily compromised by rust and rust and still more rust. Having the blade of the scraper embed itself all the way to the handle merely confirmed what was immediately and physically visible.

Further to the current status of the bumper in the pictures, it is now an Ex-Bumper. To paraphrase a famous quote from Monty Python, "It has ceased to be. Subsequent to getting off work this pm I headed for the shop, got into full welding mode with apron and jacket, added mouse muffs and a face shield, booted up the compressor, and proceeded to finish off the existing wheel on my cut-off motor, plus another whole wheel, plus part of yet a third by way of cutting away a significant amount of the bumper's corpse. That got me access to the push pins that held the lower fascia in place so that it could be removed. All that taken care of, I applied another shot of Deep Creep to the shock mounts and left it to soak some more.

Before I proceed with more demolition on the bumper I should take a few pictures to show to the point to which I have gotten. Don't expect much. Most of what was still holding the bumer together was the paint and undercoat. To put a point on it, the rust had rust! And that rusty rust had tin worms that were suffering from terminal cancer.




Nick

the only reason it didn't just fall off the car is that it was nailed on. lovely plumage, though!!

 

[CopperNick]

So, with the test bed timer in hand, I discovered that, under certain specific conditions, a screw could weasel its way past the roton and down into the dizzie body. So today I climbed back into the engine bay and systematically removed the cap and the rotor for a recheck. Took a strong telescoping magnet and a mirror and a strongl light and poked and dug into all the cracks and crevices and....................NADA. That part was a relief.......BUT..............

The relief was very short lived. Re-installed the rotor without issue; took the precaution of magnitizing the screwdriver to keep the screw from trying to bail. Was on the final check of the cap screws and the front one went soft.

(Insert multiple Howls of rage and anguish here)

Pulled the cap back out, expecting to find a snapped screw, which I did, but there was just enough of the stump sitting proud of the base that I could grab it with a pair of needle nose vice grips, and it came out!!!!!

Snapped off right under the head.

Went back to the bench and started to test various screws to see if I had something that matched the size and the tpi of the cap screw. While at it, screwed the remaining OEM screw into the test unit base, AND IT SNAPPED OFF TOO!!! F****** Chinesium Junk.

I seriously doubt that these screws come as a part number although I may phone the dealer tomorrow to ask. What I have learned in the mean time is that a Number 8, that is #8-3/4 RH Robertson Self-drilling Tek Screw has threads and a diameter that come oh so close to the junkers and they are a lot heavier because they are meant to drill their own hole and then thread it in heavy gauge sheet metal like gets used for industrial siding.

As I also happen to have 38 S/S screws with a similar thread pitch I may try them on the test bed tomorrrow just to see which one works and fits better, and then decide which option to use. Right about now, the less I see of those fornicating pieces of factory c***, the happier I am going to be and the lower my blood pressure will sit.

Other than that, I did manage to dismantle more of the front bumper. Only the upper center section is left and for that I have to figure out how to remove the grille. it is held in place be some kind of pressure clip and it is all plastic so extreme caution is on the table. Looks like a little manual time is in order.

Also threw a wrench at the upper nuts on the shocks and discovered they are pretty much welded to the shafts. So Plan Be will be an air tool assault.



Nick

 

[CopperNick]

Followup: got a little antsy after supper and finally elected to return to the shop and do a little digging around in the screws bin. Came up with three option based on the #8 sized fastener.

First is the #8x3/4 Tek screw that I mentioned above, Second is a standard steel #8x3/4 Pan HD metal tapping screw, and the Third is a Stainless Steel #8x 3/4 tapping screw. They all will fit the threads in the bosses on my test bed distributor. but the S/S seems to walk in and home the easiest. I threw a little Never Seize silver at the threads just to ease the way.

The absolute irony here is that, apart from the shutter wheel and its shaft and the cam drive gear, everything else is PLASTIC! NOt just the cap and rotor, but the dizzie body as well.

The screws themselves come sourced from various suppliers including Taiwan and the US, so global there but the biggest difference is the screw body. Although around the same diameter, if you eyeball the two, the Chinesium made OEM screws look flimsy and ill formed compared to metal screws that I have identified as possible replacements. Guess I may be using one of them as the screws of choice in the next day or so.

Just as an FYI, what us folks north of the 49th call "Robertson Screws" you more commonly term them as "Square Drive" and tend to prefer Phillips Pozidrive. When Robertson created his screws, he apparently declined to license them for sale in the US. but he did copyright, trademark, and patent the design and all its variants over the border. Came in handy because someone tried to clone his design and use the Robertson name. It went to court, a couple of times cause folks were persistent, but they all lost. So square drive screws exist in the states, only they can't be sold or advertised with the Robertson trademark and logo on them. Funny thing about them is you can go into any hardware store and ask for Robertson Screws and even the summer help knows exactly what you are looking for.



Nick

 

[CopperNick]

Thought a pic or two of the carnage might be appropriate so here are the corpses of the two screws that secure the distributor cap to the body on an S-10 distributor. In the background is the pair of thin jaw vice grips that got me down onto the screw stump and let me extract it. The only other option would have been to lift the distributor body completely and do teh work on the bench.

A close up shot of those screws showing how flimsy they really are. The one on the right lower came from the test bed timer and clearly shows rust and erosion of the metal.

From left to right, the three options that I came up with. On the left is the #8 Tek screws, in the middle is a standard #8 pan tapping screw, and on the right is the Stainless version of that tapping screw.

Gettin up close and personal, all these screws come with a thread form and pitch that is a very close match to the corpses. They are all the same length, 3/4 inch. What differentiates them is that the Tek screw is a self drilling fastener that comes with the drill bit tip. For the other two, it is the metal, standard steel vs Stainless, 18-8 if memory serves.

My tendency at this point is to go Stainless. Part of the reason that those screws failed, apart from how cheesy flimsy they are, is that they are exposed to the elements and moisture which will cause rust. They are very easy to overtighten and snap. The most evil part of all this is that the body of the timer is Plastic, as opposed to old school aluminum. Did make it easier to extract the fastener but the test bed showed signs of rust stains and, of course, the rusty screw so there is that, The "J" hooks that the HEI's use would have been a far better method of securing cap to body and less likely to self destruct. Personal impression.

The end caps for the old front bumper. Once I removed the attachment bolts that held their brackets to the frame, they fell off.

And the remains. The last section to be removed will be the upper bumper face. For that I will need to remove the grille. In that last shot you see the front and lower faces of the old bumper, post removal. The bits of rusticle that are laying randomly along side the sliced and diced are typical of what was left to hold it all together. Not even worth cleaning up for donor metal. RIP. The frame horns and brackets are still very solid and will be getting wire brushed and cleaned and a generous coat of rust mort applied, then the usual series of paint/preservatives prior to the new bumper being hung.


In all this i have not forgotten the shocks. Plan for them is the air saw.




Nick

 

[Built6spdMCSS]

A sheet metal screw isn't going to go in a fine thread hole...

 

[CopperNick]

Nope, not even close, but since we last crossed paths, the issue of the rotor screws has been more or less resolved for the present. I still have to source #6-40 x1/4 machine screws since it turned out that the number 8's were just not right once I was able to test them on the rotor shuttle wheel in the yard distributor that I scared up. For reference here in my narrative, I am calling it the test bed distributor since all the screws and bits get attached to it first to make sure they might work.

The self tapping sheet metal screws are a possible solution to Part Two of this problem, that being that the two screws that hold the distributor cap to its body have both failed; snapped off right under the screw head. One on the bench and the other on the distributor in the truck. My previous post shows the corpses of the screws and what it took to extract the one from the distributor on the engine.

The #8 screws, all three versions, were all possible replacements since they all threaded into the bosses on the test bed dizzies' base. Problem is that the base, like the cap is plastic, and does not take kindly to having things forced into place. The #8's need to be run in multiple times back and forth to get the plastic to "accept" them. Which both bothers and scares me because I do not want a repetition of the last screw's suicide.

However, this AM one of my little grey brain cells kicked me in the synapse and reminded me that there were metric screws in my stash that came fairly close to what I needed. So close in fact that the thread diameter and pitch were identical. Length came in at 15mm, and among the variety available, I had several pairs, one of which displayed identical heads at 7mm with a "2" stamped in the head. As a test I ran them into the threaded bosses on the test bed body and they went in without complaint.

So now I have a call in over at my Auto-Body supply shop to see if they stock this model of screw. These particular versions were salvage that, I think, came out of a G-Body dash, one of many, that I have dived into and dissected over the decades for various parts and components. Pull, the part; keep the hardware, because you just never know if a screw will escape or commit suicide.

All of this being pretty much a summary of what is now going on.

Oh, yeah, for anyone else surfing this ongoing sage, You Tube proved to have a video on how to remove the upper grille assembly which gave me access to the final pair of bolts that used to hold the bumper in place. They came out and were bagged and tagged, the rusticle went out the main door to rest in piece with the other sections already cut and unbolted and tossed out.



Nick

 

[RegalBegal]

Yeah, I bought another car. A 2006 Charger R/T Daytona. For the most part in great shape and a decent price. I've done some cosmetics since this picture, new decals will be coming up soon. I've given the 2013 to my youngest daughter. She's all grins about having Daddy's car.

 

[ck80]

View attachment 224758



Thought a pic or two of the carnage might be appropriate so here are the corpses of the two screws that secure the distributor cap to the body on an S-10 distributor. In the background is the pair of thin jaw vice grips that got me down onto the screw stump and let me extract it. The only other option would have been to lift the distributor body completely and do teh work on the bench.


View attachment 224759




A close up shot of those screws showing how flimsy they really are. The one on the right lower came from the test bed timer and clearly shows rust and erosion of the metal.



View attachment 224760



From left to right, the three options that I came up with. On the left is the #8 Tek screws, in the middle is a standard #8 pan tapping screw, and on the right is the Stainless version of that tapping screw.



View attachment 224761



Gettin up close and personal, all these screws come with a thread form and pitch that is a very close match to the corpses. They are all the same length, 3/4 inch. What differentiates them is that the Tek screw is a self drilling fastener that comes with the drill bit tip. For the other two, it is the metal, standard steel vs Stainless, 18-8 if memory serves.

My tendency at this point is to go Stainless. Part of the reason that those screws failed, apart from how cheesy flimsy they are, is that they are exposed to the elements and moisture which will cause rust. They are very easy to overtighten and snap. The most evil part of all this is that the body of the timer is Plastic, as opposed to old school aluminum. Did make it easier to extract the fastener but the test bed showed signs of rust stains and, of course, the rusty screw so there is that, The "J" hooks that the HEI's use would have been a far better method of securing cap to body and less likely to self destruct. Personal impression.



View attachment 224762



The end caps for the old front bumper. Once I removed the attachment bolts that held their brackets to the frame, they fell off.



View attachment 224763



View attachment 224764



And the remains. The last section to be removed will be the upper bumper face. For that I will need to remove the grille. In that last shot you see the front and lower faces of the old bumper, post removal. The bits of rusticle that are laying randomly along side the sliced and diced are typical of what was left to hold it all together. Not even worth cleaning up for donor metal. RIP. The frame horns and brackets are still very solid and will be getting wire brushed and cleaned and a generous coat of rust mort applied, then the usual series of paint/preservatives prior to the new bumper being hung.


In all this i have not forgotten the shocks. Plan for them is the air saw.




Nick

just pick up an old packard and throw the front clip on like this guy did: