My first Donzi

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I recently ran across a picture of my 1971 18' 2+3 so I scanned the old picture shown here. It is not a very good picture, but it shows the old style Boat Leveler trim tabs that I added in about 1975 along with the Volvo Speedmaster drive that I added in about 1976. I bought the boat in 1973 from the first owner who decided to get a GT21 (which I also bought at at a later date). The 18' came with the LT-1 350/350HP marinized Corvette engine (it even had the Corvette flags on the valve covers). I was young and wreckless then, so I did not do proper maintenance to the outdrive. When I had to get a new drive, I opted for the speedmaster unit for around $1600 if I remember right. Before the new drive, the boat would do right at 60MPH in our fresh water north Texas lakes, which was very fast back then. The LT-1 lasted about 1400 hours before letting go in 1985 after lots of hard running. I really liked the fiberglass air scoop on the engine cover, but I learned not to come off plane too quickly or it would take in water. I had tons of fun with this boat!! Just thought I would post a picture of it. Bill

[Tank]

Hi Bill
Looks good thanks for sharing !
I wish I had more photos of my old boats!
Wish we had digital back then.
Tank
Ps love that drive!:eek!:
How fast after the drive?

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Tank,
Yep, digital pictures sure make it easier. It takes me a while to scan and save old photos. Most of my old photos are in boxes after a recent move, and I am not inclined to spend the time to get them transferred - one of these days....
The boat ran around 67MPH after installing the "E" drive, but it was a little squirrelly. It really needed external steering.
I can't tell you how excited I was the day that the man opened his garage in Richardson, TX, and I first laid eyes on the boat - it was flawless!! He had added an extra axle, wheelwell cover, and electric winch to the original Rocket trailer. I gladly paid his $6500 asking price, and we remained friends to this day. Something else I added that was really needed was a polished SS instrument box which I designed and had fabricated in Dallas. It housed a speedometer and depth finder. It was the exact width of the main instument panel, and I mounted it below the main panel by screwing the tabs to the back of the dash panel- it never came loose, looked great, and prevented me from cutting any holes in the dash. Thanks, Bill

Hi Bill
Looks good thanks for sharing !
I wish I had more photos of my old boats!
Wish we had digital back then.
Tank
Ps love that drive!:eek!:
How fast after the drive?

[olredalert]

-----Hi Bill,,,,,,,, Welcome to the sight. I ordered two of those Corvette (LT1s) engined 18s for spec at my (small) dealership on Cape Cod back in spring of 72. They were great boats. One I sold to a buddy in Ohio and the other to a guy from just off the Cape. Have never seen either one again. If they would have had trim they would have been just about perfect 18s. Both of mine were delivered with a different (closed and a bit smaller) scoop than yours had. I wonder weather thats an owner addition or just a case of DONZI trying something different......Bill S

[TXDONZI]

The Volvo drive has a RH rotation prop. on it not all to funny....but the boat has port helm which is kind of funny for a RH rotation outdrive. Maybe that is why it was squirrelly to drive.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bill,
The scoop on my 1971 was factory made. It was color matched gelcoat and made of fiberglass with the racing stripe down the center and quite a few stainless screws holding it in place. It was a well made piece! Just a guess on my part, but I'll bet Donzi (was it Jim Farmer back then?) changed over to an enclosed raised scoop (thus making it a riser - lol) in 1972 due to the very problem I had with it. I stopped outside of Government cut near Miami one time to take a picture and the engine got flooded by a rogue wave - not cool!! The hole in the engine compartment lid was necessary to accomodate the high rise intake manifold and breather. I agree that the Volvo drives really needed adjustable trim more than just the 3? preset trim pin adjustment positions. It was a great boat nevertheless. Bill

-----Hi Bill,,,,,,,, Welcome to the sight. I ordered two of those Corvette (LT1s) engined 18s for spec at my (small) dealership on Cape Cod back in spring of 72. They were great boats. One I sold to a buddy in Ohio and the other to a guy from just off the Cape. Have never seen either one again. If they would have had trim they would have been just about perfect 18s. Both of mine were delivered with a different (closed and a bit smaller) scoop than yours had. I wonder weather thats an owner addition or just a case of DONZI trying something different......Bill S

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I'm sure that didn't help, but the biggest problem was too much slop in the steering system. I do remember that I only used the port trim tab. In fact, when it eventually went bad, I simply replaced it with the right acuator which never got used. Bill


The Volvo drive has a RH rotation prop. on it not all to funny....but the boat has port helm which is kind of funny for a RH rotation outdrive. Maybe that is why it was squirrelly to drive.

[olredalert]

-------That would have been Roy Farmer, plant manager back then, and genuinly nice guy!!!......Bill S

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bill,
Thank you for the correction. As my girlfriend tells me "the mind is a terrible thing" - lol. Yes, Roy was always very helpful whenever I needed advice or parts. I met him a couple times on my trips to Ft. Lauderdale back in the mid 70s - nice man!. Bill


-------That would have been Roy Farmer, plant manager back then, and genuinly nice guy!!!......Bill S