CDMA
05-05-2001, 09:16 PM
Well looks like tommorow if everything goes well might just be the first "new" 18 ride. The alpha swap is done and I am just finishing up a few loose ends. What a job that was. Wound up to be about 300 hours. But from what I have seen so far I think it will be great.
For those that don't know what I have done or am doing here we go.
Restorted my 18 1968 barrel back last year. 350 chevy 280 volvo. It was quiet a looker and as a few here on the board can say it was really in perfect shape. But after a summer the volvo just wasn't cutting it. So I pulled the alpha off the soon to be arneson 22 and went to work. Pulled the deck by hand back in October and didn't really get far till almost January. I gutted in inside of the hull and basically did a George Desmond transom rebuild with a few on my own touches. I used 17 layers of biaxil mat with 1.5 inches of marine ply between them and then vacuum bagged the whole deal. The cross section really looks great there are no voids and the space between the layers of glass is so tight. Then I sandiched the stringers with 3/4 marine ply and glassed them. I wound up with stringers from hell. 2.25 inches thick in the engine compartment. I had a new custom tank built to the original specs and securred that in place. But before I did that I gelcoated the entire interior of the hull. Three gallons later and looks from my dad that I deserved to be in the asylum it was done. I will tell you after putting the deck on the difference is amazing. It is the single best thing I have done. Under the deck is clean and tidy no dirt and very light and easy to see. So then by this time it was my spring break which I never left the boat for. Quite the college life huh???? http://www.donzi.net/ubb/wink.gif
Now as it stands it is
350 chevy
Alpha one 2.5 inches up on the x dimension.
The conversion was a real pain but looks good. I am very interested to see the speed gains because I never touched the engine power wise. I re gasketed it but no "improvements". I was running 58 witht the Volvo my goal is 63 with the drive swap. After that sometime mid summer my new 350/383 should be ready. The machine work is done on the block I just have to pick a rotation assembly. Nothing to crazy thinking about 375 hp all said and done with marine exhaust. After that and the new trailer is taken care of it is time for the 22. I am really getting anxious.
Like the first restoration (shhh....last year...I am taking next year off) I learned a lot. All the work really came out good. And I think unless parked next to Mr Pearsons boat it will hold it's own anyday. But then again I don't have a budget for his boat...yet.
The rh steering thing with the Alpha went well. The steering cable was no problem to route and even the old morse shifter was used. I am really happy in the end I am hoping for a really nice looking boat the looks as much like a classic as possible w/ a modern or more modern drive set up. Unless you look at the back it still looks to the nut and bolt original. Kinda nice.
Next step in the trailer. I can't afford a rolls and I am having way too much fun doing all this stuff myself and learning so much that I am basically building my own trailer. I have a Cox 1989 galvanized roller trailer the is really in perfect shape but it is ass ugly and it is impossible to get enough tounge weight with the ass heavy 18 due to the roller configuration. So I am tearing all the rollers off and adding two cross memebers in addition to the 3 already there. There will be 5 keel rollers and then I am going to add two bunks per side. Then what I sort of was thinking of doing was painting the trailer to match the boat. There is no rust and I am sure it would look really great but a few people have expressed opions that it would just be too much yellow. I sort of think it would look cool but let me know what you think. The trailer would be yellow with black accents and bunks. Chrome wheels and chrome dimond plate fenders. Now keep in mind my boat is all yellow with no black stripes however it still has a bit of black in it with the interior and the covers. So if yellow would look bad what other color??? Black silver??? Ideas???
So that is it for now there was so much more but I just don't have time to write it all down. I would love to get some pictures up but I just don't have a scanner or a digital camera so it sort of is a real pain but I will try it soon.
Chris
For those that don't know what I have done or am doing here we go.
Restorted my 18 1968 barrel back last year. 350 chevy 280 volvo. It was quiet a looker and as a few here on the board can say it was really in perfect shape. But after a summer the volvo just wasn't cutting it. So I pulled the alpha off the soon to be arneson 22 and went to work. Pulled the deck by hand back in October and didn't really get far till almost January. I gutted in inside of the hull and basically did a George Desmond transom rebuild with a few on my own touches. I used 17 layers of biaxil mat with 1.5 inches of marine ply between them and then vacuum bagged the whole deal. The cross section really looks great there are no voids and the space between the layers of glass is so tight. Then I sandiched the stringers with 3/4 marine ply and glassed them. I wound up with stringers from hell. 2.25 inches thick in the engine compartment. I had a new custom tank built to the original specs and securred that in place. But before I did that I gelcoated the entire interior of the hull. Three gallons later and looks from my dad that I deserved to be in the asylum it was done. I will tell you after putting the deck on the difference is amazing. It is the single best thing I have done. Under the deck is clean and tidy no dirt and very light and easy to see. So then by this time it was my spring break which I never left the boat for. Quite the college life huh???? http://www.donzi.net/ubb/wink.gif
Now as it stands it is
350 chevy
Alpha one 2.5 inches up on the x dimension.
The conversion was a real pain but looks good. I am very interested to see the speed gains because I never touched the engine power wise. I re gasketed it but no "improvements". I was running 58 witht the Volvo my goal is 63 with the drive swap. After that sometime mid summer my new 350/383 should be ready. The machine work is done on the block I just have to pick a rotation assembly. Nothing to crazy thinking about 375 hp all said and done with marine exhaust. After that and the new trailer is taken care of it is time for the 22. I am really getting anxious.
Like the first restoration (shhh....last year...I am taking next year off) I learned a lot. All the work really came out good. And I think unless parked next to Mr Pearsons boat it will hold it's own anyday. But then again I don't have a budget for his boat...yet.
The rh steering thing with the Alpha went well. The steering cable was no problem to route and even the old morse shifter was used. I am really happy in the end I am hoping for a really nice looking boat the looks as much like a classic as possible w/ a modern or more modern drive set up. Unless you look at the back it still looks to the nut and bolt original. Kinda nice.
Next step in the trailer. I can't afford a rolls and I am having way too much fun doing all this stuff myself and learning so much that I am basically building my own trailer. I have a Cox 1989 galvanized roller trailer the is really in perfect shape but it is ass ugly and it is impossible to get enough tounge weight with the ass heavy 18 due to the roller configuration. So I am tearing all the rollers off and adding two cross memebers in addition to the 3 already there. There will be 5 keel rollers and then I am going to add two bunks per side. Then what I sort of was thinking of doing was painting the trailer to match the boat. There is no rust and I am sure it would look really great but a few people have expressed opions that it would just be too much yellow. I sort of think it would look cool but let me know what you think. The trailer would be yellow with black accents and bunks. Chrome wheels and chrome dimond plate fenders. Now keep in mind my boat is all yellow with no black stripes however it still has a bit of black in it with the interior and the covers. So if yellow would look bad what other color??? Black silver??? Ideas???
So that is it for now there was so much more but I just don't have time to write it all down. I would love to get some pictures up but I just don't have a scanner or a digital camera so it sort of is a real pain but I will try it soon.
Chris