1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

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kladd
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1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby kladd » Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:02 pm

Last summer I bought a classic whaler. A total project. Complete except no ignition key which was probably intentional so I wouldn't notice all the missing teeth on the ring gear.

Below is a picture taken when I first got her home. In the background is a 1971 Sourpuss I've owned for over 25 years. In the foreground, well....

I'm not finding a lot of pictures on the internet of the unique features of the sterndrive version of these boats. Like the saddle tanks and rear jump seats. I don’t know if the plug and drain system is different.

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Fig. 1. No caption.
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kevin

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Phil T
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby Phil T » Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:53 pm

Here are a few photos from the 1975-1978 catalogs courtesy of Tom Clark's Catalog collection.

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Fig. 2.
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Fig. 3.
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Fig. 4.
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1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

kladd
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby kladd » Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:25 pm

The saddle tanks in the Outrage appear to be original. They are dated 10/76 which seems plausible for a 1978 model year.

One tank was patched with a layer of fiberglass along the bottom 2 inches. I found out why when I filled both tanks with a mixture of muriatic acid and water and left to soak overnight. The unpatched tank puked its guts out sometime during the night and I unwittingly acid etched my concrete floor. So I've decided no matter how good they look, using 42 year old aluminum tanks is a bad idea. I may get a quote from one of the recommended fabricators or make new tanks myself. I just know the original tanks are No Bueno.

The original tanks were each clamped to a piece of 3/4" plywood which is lag bolted to the floor. Fill is thru the top deck like a ribside and there is no provision for a fuel level sender. This is all hidden behind an "elephant skin" fiberglass panel. My boat has wooden vents attached to the elephant skins near the fill tube which I don't think are correct. My guess is someone cut speaker holes and someone else removed speakers and covered with wood. But that's just a guess.

Also because of the cutouts in the plywood base it looks like the tanks were originally intended to fit snuggly and uniformly against the side hull. But the front end of the tank sticks out over an inch more than it needs to. With the elephant skin attached directly to this plywood base the result looks a bit awkward. Plus I'm losing foot space. My pictures don't do it justice. When I was removing the tanks I figured out why it was this way. Both tanks are identical and the fill tube is centered. So each tank has to be installed crooked so the fill tube is in the right spot. Bean counters 1, designers nothing.

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Fig. 5. No caption.
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Fig. 6. No caption.
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Fig. 7. No caption.
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Phil—thank you for posting Figures 2, 3, and 4.

jimh
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby jimh » Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:09 pm

Please post captions for the images you wish to use as illustrations.

What is the purpose of the pink line tied at the bow as seen in Figure 1?

jimh
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby jimh » Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:13 pm

A sterndrive is known among boat saltwater dealers as “a mechanic’s annuity.”

If not for inboard gasoline automobile engine conversions to marine engines with raw water cooling, there would not be a market for three or four non-OEM providers of replacement raw-water-cooled exhaust manifolds advertising in pulp-paper weekly boat fliers in Florida, Georgia, and other warm-seawater boating areas.

Now in northern ice-cold freshwater, a sterndrive is viable, as long as some muskrat does not nibble on the rubber seal and sink the boat.

jimh
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby jimh » Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:25 pm

In Figure 1 the rub rail looks like it was originally the rather striking RED rub rail, but now it looks badly faded. Consider replacing with a new red vinyl rub rail insert to get the tub rail back to its original flair.

kladd
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby kladd » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:08 am

Jim,

Your guess is as good as mine as to what the pink line was about. I think the winch is too high on the trailer and is putting undo stress on the bow eye. Perhaps it was to keep bow from bouncing due to poor winch placement? In any case I am going to adjust winch.

Will use captions from now on. Frankly I was happy to just get pics to post!

kladd
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby kladd » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:28 am

Jim,

In addition to being a sterndrive, the 470 is a controversial one. It has no lack of haters right or wrong. advocates say it is a quiet efficient torque monster. Detractors say it is an inherently unreliable design and expensive to repair. I guess I will find out.

I just had the motor rebuilt. A good local boat guy is putting it back together now and will help me with the reinstall. More pics coming (with captions). Despite the rebuild I still have less money in this whole boat than I do in the Yamaha 40 repower for my pontoon boat!

I hope this boat will be a good fit for my intended usage. I live in central Maine and a typical day will be drop the boat in the Kennebec river in Hallowell and cruise 20 or 30 miles to Bath or another quaint seaside town for lunch and go home. I have other boats to serve as "daily drivers".

jimh
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby jimh » Sun Mar 07, 2021 8:02 am

KLADD—I think the bow stem eye should land between the two small rollers of the bow stop or bow rest rollers. Use an adjustable ratchet strap connecting between the bow stem eye and the trailer frame to exert a downward pull on the bow to suppress any tendency for the bow to bounce up. The winch strap should lead between the two small rollers and exert a slight upward pull. That helps pull the boat onto the trailer. A winch strap that pulls the boat downward onto the trailer just makes loading the boat unnecessarily harder and requires more tension be exerted onto the bow eye.

Sterndrive with converted automobile engines was a very popular set-up in freshwater. The simple raw water cooling was okay in fresh water. The big problem seemed to be the rubber bellows that create the seal, and the large opening cut into the transom. Perhaps the legacy of the sterndrive created some of the price discount you may have received. They remain very popular in the Great Lakes, especially on larger boats where the seem to be much more common than straight-shaft inboard power.

kladd
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby kladd » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:47 pm

Its confirmed. Yes the rub rail was red. And yes a new red one will look fantastic. Of course now I will also have to freshen the whaler decals etc etc!
Better call Janis....
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evidence of red rub rail
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Phil T
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby Phil T » Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:48 pm

You may want to wipe down the rubrail insert with Acetone to see if it will come back.
1992 Outrage 17
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Member since 2003

Jefecinco
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Re: 1978 Outrage19 with Mercruiser 470

Postby Jefecinco » Mon Mar 08, 2021 9:43 am

I have not tried it but I read that a rubrail can be brought back to almost new condition by sanding it with a very fine abrasive followed by a couple of liberal applications of 303 Protectant. It may require more overall effort than replacing the insert but, Winter seems to be a period where time is slightly less valuable.
Butch