My Donzi finally is Running

[sbdunc12]

I don't know if anyone here remembers, but I got onto this forum during the summer to ask for some advice on a 18' Donzi that my uncle gave me. It had a unrepairable 455 Oldsmobile paired to a Berkley jet.
Here is the link to that thread: http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=58225

Well, it has been in the shop for the last few months, and it is now running! I decided not to put another Olds in. It had already gone through 2, and I could not find anybody locally who would work with one. Instead I went with a Mercruiser 454 that I got used (low hours) for a good deal. It took a while to find all the parts I needed. The bellhousing is no longer in production so it was hard to find.

I took it out on the lake today and it ran great. I have no idea how fast it is, I will have to wait for a warmer day to find that out (Today was a high if 40 degrees). This is my first time to drive a jet, so that will take some getting used to. It is a little more difficult to maneuver at low speeds, but it is fun to drive.

Here are some pictures of the engine and boat. The engine compartment looks so much better than it did with the olds.

[Ed Donnelly]

Nice rare Donzi,,,ENJOY it when the weather gets a little warmer....Ed

[Donzi Vol]

I remember the old convo about your boat. I was excited for you then, and I'm VERY excited for you now. So glad to see that it's running. Have fun with it!!!

[jl1962]

Thar's a COOL old Donzi!

Congrats on getting it running.

JL

[captdennisgray]

It must be true !!! Old Donzi's don't die ,,,,, they get better with age.... Great job on getting the boat running again.... hope to get mine to that stage again soon..... enjoy the ride..... Like the colors !!!

[mrfixxall]

Congrats! Glad to see you finally gotit running

BTW i hope you winterized it being that cold during the day,its gonna get colder at night and that when the water in the block WILL CRACK THE BLOCK..

Just giving my heads up!

FIXX

[Just Say N20]

Congratulations! It looks good.

I like the engine hour meter on the engine shroud. Very clean.

[sbdunc12]

Congrats! Glad to see you finally gotit running

BTW i hope you winterized it being that cold during the day,its gonna get colder at night and that when the water in the block WILL CRACK THE BLOCK..

Just giving my heads up!

FIXX

I drained the block and put in antifreeze as soon as I got out of the water. That would be pretty embarrassing if I lost an engine the second day I had it.

This engine is a lot easier to winterize than other boats I've been around. He set it up to where it only takes about 10 minutes to drain everything and fill it up with antifreeze.