New 1987 21BR Owner

[NWABoater]

Barring any last minute complications in the sale I'll be picking up an '87 21BR this weekend. She needs some love both mechanically and cosmetically but I think she's going to clean up nicely. I searched through the site and it looks like there are number of older 21br owners here. Feel free to give me a shout and share any tips, tricks or whatever.

Cheers!

[MarkB05-200]

Congrats! I'm new here too and recently picked up my first Cobalt. Hows the motor and drive?

[NWABoater]

Engine has issues with the Distributor or MSD ignition setup so it's not running right now. Drive is supposed to be good but I haven't been able to test it yet. I'm hoping for the best. The investment was minimal.

[akorcovelos]

MSD is notorious for causing issues. I’d rip that stuff out and put the Thunderbolt setup back on (I assume it’s a Merc 260?), I bet that gets it running.

[AsLan7]

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Hey NWAB. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

Thanks for the pic. What size engine? 350?

Again welcome aboard mate!

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[NWABoater]

Yep, it's the 350. It was rebuilt at some point but not entirely sure how long ago... The seller was suggesting I replace the MSD with a self-contained HEI distributor. Thoughts?

[Big Block Power]

I've heard plenty of good things converting to the hei. Do it.

[AsLan7]

Agreed. Do it...and congrats on your new to you baby.

[NWABoater]

Agreed. Do it...and congrats on your new to you baby.

Thanks! I need to do some research on which one to purchase as I've never replaced an entire distributor before. Maybe this one? https://www.jegs.com/i/Pertronix/751/D200811/10002/-1

[NWABoater]

Made it home with the boat this evening! I've got lots of cleaning ahead of me this weekend.

[akorcovelos]

Keep the progress pics coming!

[Big Block Power]

Keep the progress pics coming!

X2

[NWABoater]

Lot's of shopvac and powerwashing today. Soo many leaves! Will transition into more hand washing tomorrow now that I've got must of the crud off.

Does anyone know if the ski lockers in these models have drains? I didn't see one before washing and ended up having to bail a lot of water out of it after washing.

[Bleil05]

Nice boat good luck with the motor
Both HEI And Thunderbolt are good ignitions for marine application
The only thing to be careful of is the distributor gear
If it’s an 87 block it’s a flat tappet cam, if it’s a later block an running a roller cam you need to run a brass or nylon distributor gear
Running the standard gear from a flat tappet cam distributor on a billet roller cam will get destroyed putting metal thru your motor
Found this out the hard way
Good luck great looking boat

[NWABoater]

Nice boat good luck with the motor
Both HEI And Thunderbolt are good ignitions for marine application
The only thing to be careful of is the distributor gear
If it’s an 87 block it’s a flat tappet cam, if it’s a later block an running a roller cam you need to run a brass or nylon distributor gear
Running the standard gear from a flat tappet cam distributor on a billet roller cam will get destroyed putting metal thru your motor
Found this out the hard way
Good luck great looking boat

Interesting. I had a thread going over on iBoats and the guys were recommending Delco EST Kits but no mention of the distributor gear type. I'll have to research this further. Thanks..