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New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:14 am
by 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!
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:19 am
by MarkB05-200
Congrats! I'm new here too and recently picked up my first Cobalt. Hows the motor and drive?
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:52 am
by 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.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:34 pm
by 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.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 1:25 pm
by 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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Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 1:39 pm
by 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?
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:12 pm
by Big Block Power
I've heard plenty of good things converting to the hei. Do it.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:26 pm
by AsLan7
Agreed. Do it...and congrats on your new to you baby.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:46 pm
by NWABoater
AsLan7 wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:26 pm
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
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:49 pm
by NWABoater
Made it home with the boat this evening! I've got lots of cleaning ahead of me this weekend.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:43 pm
by akorcovelos
Keep the progress pics coming!
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 8:12 am
by Big Block Power
akorcovelos wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:43 pm
Keep the progress pics coming!
X2
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:21 pm
by 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.
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:07 pm
by 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
Re: New 1987 21BR Owner
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 7:20 am
by NWABoater
Bleil05 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:07 pm
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..
