1987 21 BR Project

[NWABoater]

If I pump the throttle should I see fuel in the carb?

[Big Block Power]

If I pump the throttle should I see fuel in the carb?

Yes.
Or be careful and shoot some brake clean down it and see if it tries to start. If it does you have a fuel problems.

[akorcovelos]

7DCE20A2-93E3-4538-AD5E-2D40023C2E72.png

[NWABoater]

7DCE20A2-93E3-4538-AD5E-2D40023C2E72.png

Classic..

[NWABoater]

She's alive!! I had to use a continuous spray of carb cleaner to get her going but after that she fires up every time without assistance. Tomorrow I'll adjust the timing and spray a can of Seafoam in her to see if that smooth her out a bit. So far so good though.

Next up will be to replace the fuel/water separator and service the outdrive with new bellows, impeller and water pump. With any luck we'll be ready for a sea trial here in the next week or so depending on when the parts arrive.

[NWABoater]

So I am noticing that she somewhat struggles to turnover even with a warm engine. Both batteries are new. Could it be the starter showing signs of fatigue?

[Big Block Power]

It can be excessive starter draw. Could be a poor grd. Could be poor cables and so on.

[NWABoater]

It can be excessive starter draw. Could be a poor grd. Could be poor cables and so on.

Good info. I’ll dig into that tomorrow.

So the timing light shows that I’m somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 AFTDS and if I it eventually stalls out if I try retarding it back to around 0. I’m guessing that I need to remove the distributor and rotate it counterclockwise as few teeth?

[Big Block Power]

It can be excessive starter draw. Could be a poor grd. Could be poor cables and so on.

Good info. I’ll dig into that tomorrow.

So the timing light shows that I’m somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 AFTDS and if I it eventually stalls out if I try retarding it back to around 0. I’m guessing that I need to remove the distributor and rotate it counterclockwise as few teeth?

That could also be your starting issue.

[NWABoater]

How would the starter impact the timing?

[Big Block Power]

How would the starter impact the timing?

The timing will effect the starting.

[NWABoater]

How would the starter impact the timing?

The timing will effect the starting.

Gotcha. Thanks.

[nolaboater99]

Agreed. Great looking seats Nola.. Did you construct the seats yourself or did you farm it out to a shop?

Here's my update the for the weekend. I demo'd the rotten lid which housed the convertible top so that I could better access the engine area. Once that was done and cleaned up I started in on the new EST Distributor install to replace the faulty MSD ignition which had been installed by the previous owner. Distributor went in fine and got the cables hooked up to the plugs but that's about as far as I got. The new coil required hooking up to power and tach cables which I couldn't confidently identify. So off to the shop it will go. I guess it'll be a good opportunity for the pros to give it a once over too to see if any other mechanical issues may be present.

Sorry I didn't see your question. We (wife and I) were going to do the upholstery ourselves. We've done a few other projects and we even bought a new Sailrite machine to do the work. Then I heard of a local seamstress and she made me an offer to make all the skins for $1000. I already had the vinyl and I had designed the look I wanted so I couldn't pass up her offer. she was able to work on it every day and that wasn't going to be the case with us. We did install all the skins and I also did all the carpet as well plus rebuilt the instrument panel with all new gauges and switchgear.

IMG_0603.JPG

[akorcovelos]

It can be excessive starter draw. Could be a poor grd. Could be poor cables and so on.

Good info. I’ll dig into that tomorrow.

So the timing light shows that I’m somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 AFTDS and if I it eventually stalls out if I try retarding it back to around 0. I’m guessing that I need to remove the distributor and rotate it counterclockwise as few teeth?

What RPM are you seeing 35*?

Initial timing should be 8* BTDC @ 1200 rpm, then check to make sure you’re getting 32* @ 3600 rpm

With Thunderbolt ignition you just set base timing.

[NWABoater]

It can be excessive starter draw. Could be a poor grd. Could be poor cables and so on.

Good info. I’ll dig into that tomorrow.

So the timing light shows that I’m somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 AFTDS and if I it eventually stalls out if I try retarding it back to around 0. I’m guessing that I need to remove the distributor and rotate it counterclockwise as few teeth?

What RPM are you seeing 35*?

Initial timing should be 8* BTDC @ 1200 rpm, then check to make sure you’re getting 32* @ 3600 rpm

With Thunderbolt ignition you just set base timing.

Same with the Sierra Delco EST setup. Just have to set the base timing... I've got to sort out this wiring problem first as the starter doesn't seem to be getting enough juice to turn the engine over. If I get some time tonight I'm going to check and clean all of the connections to the starter and see if that helps.

Also, I had before/after TDS backwards in my mind. So I was 30-35* BTDS and need to back it back down to 8*.

Any idea which Mercruiser Manual cover's my engine? #9?