TOPIC: 1973 22' BELL BOY new to me boat...

So I was approached a few weeks ago by an older gentleman who was looking for a good home for his very clean all original 1973 Bell Boy boat. He asked if I was interested in looking at his boat? Being a classic car builder by trade it peaked my interest. Upon further inquire it turn out he had the boat in an indoor storage just a few blocks away from the shop. We decided to lock up the shop as we took a quick trip to his storage. The whole time I was wondering if it was a waste of time for both of us or not. He opened the garage storage door and there it was. A very nice all original, but very dirty 73 22 foot Bell Boy Day Cruiser with the sliding Hard top. I'm sure it was the baby blue contrast stripe that lured me in and grabbed me with a Big Arse trouble hook right in the upper lip! Hook, Line, and sinker I was in love with this thing. After a couple of hours of talking and listening the ole guy walked over and started his air compressor as he continued to talk about his first love and the good times he had on it. The compressor quieted and he began filling the four trailer tires slowly as he continued to tell me about it. He then opened the large roll up door and smiled. Not thinking anything about it I figured it was my signal to leave. That's when he asked if he could give me the boat! Yep he asked if he could give me the boat! First instinct was no... I cant afford this boat right now. Love it but with the economy the way it is and the work slow as it is I cant commit to anything like that! He smiled again and said he wanted to give me his boat! He turned the boat over to me right there, and just like that I'm a boat owner! Im still in shock and to be honest it caught me completely by surprise.

Now Im a new boat owner with no experience at all and finding myself goggling BELL BOY and finding very little! I have learned that this boat was built by American Marine Ind. as they had bought out Bell boy and continued to use there name and logo. I know its not a true classic but I just love the lines and Im anxious to get hot on it and clean it up. Its all original blue upholstery in very good condition. The only thing that is really weird is the 70 orange shag carpet that has been installed under the Bow. everything else looks bone stock and original to me. The typical pitting of the chrome and aluminum parts are all that appears to need replacing. Look forward to lurking more on here and asking some very basic boat questions. Camera is on the blink but will get some pics posted in the next few days!

Questions for now what are... what are the typical problems with boats of this era? It has new steering control cables as well as a new throttle cable. Engine was tuned up about 5 months ago but hasn't seen the water since 1986.

And it goes without saying... Thanks Clark for the random act of kindness! I'm sure we both will enjoy using it.

Welcome aboard Metal Twister, and thanks for sharing your story. It kinda does your (my) heart good to hear stories like that, but now you've got to do the ole boy right and get her back on the water where she belongs! (Even if it takes months or even years, that's not unheard of in this "hobby".)

Looking forward to seeing some pics of your new project, please keep us posted.

Thanks for the great story. A new project and friend for showing some kindness to a terrific old timer! It was a good day !!!

Thanks guys... sometimes I need to stand back and realize just how blessed I am. I'm surrounded with vintage vehicles and just flat enjoy what I do for a living. I'm surrounded by great people and friends as well. I'm thinking it could be on the water next week if I got busy cleaning. The trailer on the other hand... Not so soon. LOL

Classic lines and looks like the ol' guy kept 'er up very very nicely!

Would look good being towed by a matching-color classic truck!

So, what's powering that Mercruiser outdrive??? I'd recognize that power tilt pushbutton assy from a mile away!

My bet's on a Straight-Six, of the 165hp GM flavor?

Close???

Cheers.........ed

Nope... 185HP small block Ford V8. Im not sure what size engine they used back then but I'm sure its original. Maybe I can find out the size via the s/n?

V8, Even Better! Classic Power, too!

Here's some good info on locating the model # of your engine and outdrive:

www.marineengine.com/mfr/mercruiser_models.html

Then you can look up parts here:

www.marineengine.com/mfr/mercruiser_inboard.html

HTH..........ed

Very cool Ed! Thanks for saving hours of searching. I remember seeing the model 888 on the out drive. It turns out to be: 888 (2 BBL.) FORD 302 V-8 1971-1977 think with the price of gas Im going to leave it a 2 barrel and get there a bit slower. LOL
Thanks again!

Any advice on a good wax for a mild oxidation on the jell coat? Tomorrow is power wash and wax day unless it is as hot as it was today here in San Diego.

EDIT
On second thought forget it... I just read this article on just that procedure. www.fiberglassics.com/restoration/restoring-gel-coat

Here's a thought, though, a 4-bbl carb & manifold will have smaller primaries, as long as you stay out of the secondaries she'll have higher air velocities thru the primaries, better torque, and might even get better fuel economy to boot!

'Course it's cheap to leave it as is. But you don't have a lot invested so far!!!!

BTW first thing I'd recommend is to change the impeller and the gear oil in the outdrive. Been sitting for a long time and the rubber vanes in the impeller will have gone all curled-up on one side and inflexible. Cheap insurance. I expect you know the drill on the engine, the usual tune-up, oil change, etc.

Install a water-separator fuel filter if it doesn't have one. Change the cartrige/element if it does. Ethanol fuel sucks up a lot of water and marine engines don't like that!

That's an excellent article on restoring gel-coat, don't have much to add to that!

Cheers.....ed

Bell Boy's are some pretty solid boats! And that looks like a beauty.
What I would do though is mostly mechanical. Anything rubber should be replaced. Belts, any gas hose brought up to today's standards. You probably know this already though.

Good luck with it!
Also that's a excellent article on "Gelcoat" restore!

Thanks for the sound advice!

Its going to be a giant learning curve for me but it keeps the mind working. The engine parts are no problem but Im going to need to do some research on how everything else works and how to actually do it. Any advice on what kind of spare parts to carry along? Thinking the most obvious is a spare belt and some wrenches? Any thoughts on what else I should put in the tool box?
Thanks again

Not much but a small tool box with the usual stuff, duct tape, electrical tape, spare set on plugs and wrench. Also any fuses you can find too, gets spare.

The one thing (could use some motor pix here) would be if mine, I would go ahead and get NEW exhaust manifolds. As they if used in salt, good for 4/6 years, fresh water 10/12 maybe. They rust out from the inside, then get a leak into the cylinders. Happened on my big I/O. Sounded weird like a cylinder missfiring. Pulled the plugs, and cranking it over shot water out the cylinder. Also keep a eye on the C/C oil. If it gets milky, ya got water getting in there, and its usual from manifolds.

Also, where are you located? Near salt water, fresh, get freezing temps winter? I/O's are basic car motors in a boats, but treated differently. ALSO NEVER USE certain auto parts on it. Need Marine spec carbs that overflow into the throat, not outside. Gas fumes back there in the "dog house", make for a good boat explosion. Also Marine shield'ed starter, Gen/Alt, distributor, mechanical fuel pump.
Make sure the blower is working properly and use it 3 minutes before start, and always sniff the dog house for ANY gas smell. As well as getting down now, and see what you can see in the belly gas tank. Any corrosion, gas smell, would need further inspection.
Take it slow, do it right, spend time it now, and don't be in any rush to get it wet yet. Remember, its been sitting 27 years.

Heres a good article on Exhaust manifolds...

www.boatus.com/boattech/articles/exhaust-manifolds.asp

And one on the difference car and boat motors.

www.boatfix.com/how/marineeng.html

Thanks for the replays here guys... its a great help considering Im brand new to boats.

Ok, a bit more info. on the boat that I got out of Carl's helper. Apparently Carl had a marine mechanic replace everything that needed replacing about 1 year ago. He got the boat running and all tuned up. He also installed new steering in it so it turns great as well as a new throttle cable. The engine cooling is the closed loop style using the antifreeze and water. It appears that one of the O/B Actuators is in need of a new seal as it is obviously leaking or seeping oil. I also must have an electrical issue with the up and down on the outboard unit. It will cycle down via the pump but will not electrically switch over the up mode? Im sure its in the reverse switching somewhere as everything works in the down mode. Along that same line... What does the center button for the o/b controller do?
Thanks again

Well, thats good to know. But even a "closed loop", still uses raw water for the exhaust mans. Can't help ya on the tilt thing, as I had a Volvo Penta, not a Mercruiser OD.

Hey Metal Twister, it's nice to see your boat in such good condition. It was also nice that the owner found you to be the new owner of his pride and joy. I posted a pick on my thread about a tag on the back of the bell housing that IDs your drive. Here it is..JD

Were are you finding the 888 on the out drive. I only have a 270 on the rear cover of my out drive as I'm missing the upper and I'm guessing that there was a tag on that.

Like wise... we have the same boat but completely different power supply set up's. My cooling system is a closed loop system and yours appears to be an open system? Other than that and the seat configuration they look identical. I went ahead and started a gallery today but noticed the time stamp was a few years old! Oh well I will retake the pics when I have more time.

When you say close loop, having a water tank or radiator with lake water cooling that ? What is the reason for that, cold climates.Is yours a 270 Volvo
JD

Right... I can run anti freeze through the engine for cooling and the lake or ocean water cools the tank. Hey this is all brand new to me as well so dont bank on anything I say! LOL
The 888 is on an aluminum sticker attached to the top of the outboard part of the drive.
www.fiberglassics.com/gallery/category/413-1972-bell-boy-21.html

On a side note Im missing my port side plastic Bell Boy logo on the rear. If you run across one in your ventures keep me in mind. Thanks

Metal Twister wrote:
[quote)

On a side note Im missing my port side plastic Bell Boy logo on the rear. If you run across one in your ventures keep me in mind. Thanks[/quote]

Both of mine are there but they are cracked. When I take them off to paint I may try to have new ones machined from aluminum.

If I cant find a matching one I might just use a couple of these... Scroll down to the Bell Boy Logo.

www.vinylapproach.com/replacementboatlogos.htm

Metal Twister wrote:

If I cant find a matching one I might just use a couple of these... Scroll down to the Bell Boy Logo.

www.vinylapproach.com/replacementboatlogos.htm

Hey, that's a great find. I'm going to check on them. Thanks.
JD

Not sure how it works but I measured the boat and the hull from tip to stern is exactly 21' and I saw that it was built in 1972. I presumed it was a 72 21 footer... Not! I was cleaning it out today and found an old registration slip and it says it was first sold in 73 and its a 22' boat? So Im going with that I guess.

A little on closed loop cooling...

an enclosed cooling system. This means that there is a small tank on the top of the engine that uses a combination of fresh water and coolant. This fresh water is circulated through the engine and through a heat exchanger. The fresh water, in this system, absorbs the heat of the engine. Raw water is still drawn up through the seacock but only flows through the heat exchanger jacket.
"This cooler raw water absorbs the heat from the fresh water through the heat exchanger jacket and is then pumped out the exhaust."...(so you still have raw water going into the exhaust logs)

The advantages of the enclosed system over the raw water system are extreme, especially if you are operating in salt water. Salt water tends to build up a corrosive scale when the engine operates above 140°. In the raw water system this scale is building up inside the engine's water jacket and ports. When the scaling builds to the point that water flow is restricted the engine starts to overheat. At this point you are probably looking at replacing the engine.

In the enclosed system, the water that flows through the engine's water jacket and ports is the fresh water and coolant. The only part the raw water flows through is the heat exchanger. The same scaling occurs however. When water flow is restricted and the engine begins to overheat you may be able to "acid boil" the scale out of the heat exchanger and continue to use it. The worse case is that you would have to replace the heat exchanger. This would be much less expensive than replacing the engine.

Other components of the cooling system, whether it be raw water or enclosed, are the seacock, sea strainer, hoses and clamps, belts and water pump impeller.

The seacock is a through-hull device that allows water to enter the hull from the outside. This device has a handle that allows you to shut off the water flow if you have a problem such as a loose hose clamp or cracked hose. You should test the seacock shut-offs monthly to make sure they are operable. As a backup safety measure you should have a soft, tapered, wooden plug (called a bung) of the size of the seacock tied to the seacock. In case a hose parts and you can't operate the shut-off you can put the bung in the seacock to stop the water flow.

The next inline part of the engine cooling system is the sea strainer. This is a device through which the raw water flows and is designed to filter out debris, sand, leaves, etc. before it gets to the engine. This device works much like a swimming pool skimmer. There are several kinds of strainers but all have a removable filter or screen which should be checked and cleaned or replaced on a regular basis.

Hoses, clamps and belts are vital to the cooling system and should also be checked periodically. Every time you check the oil, which should be done before each start-up, you should visually inspect hoses, clamps and belts for wear. All hoses that are below the waterline should be double clamped. This will help prevent water from entering the bilge should one of the clamps fail. If you find a corroded clamp, a pinched or cracked hose or belt, they should be replaced immediately. Be sure to replace the hoses with the same size diameter, length and temperature requirements that the manufacturer suggests.

The raw water pump, which is driven by a belt on the engine, contains an impeller which makes the pump operate. It is usually fairly easy to access the impeller to inspect or replace it.

In the enclosed system, a commercial coolant (antifreeze) should be added. This will prevent the fresh water from freezing and damaging the engine in cold climates and also will help prevent corrosion build-up in the fresh water system. Normally you would use the coolant and fresh water in 50/50 mixture. In colder climates you may want to increase the coolant percentage.

In summary, the direct, raw water system circulates water through the engine water jacket which flows through the block, head, manifold, etc. This water absorbs the heat from the engine and is exhausted overboard.

The enclosed system circulates fresh water and coolant through the engine water jacket and through a heat exchanger. This fresh water absorbs the heat of the engine. The raw water is also pumped through the heat exchanger where it absorbs some of the heat of the fresh water and is again exhausted overboard.

Good article... thanks for posting it up as it clears up a few questions I had. It's Appreciated

Glad to help!

OK. On the trim 3 button switch ? I had to look it up as never had a Merc I/O.

"Pushing middle button trims motor up to when trim limit switch open. You then need to push middle and top buttons together to tilt motor".

So basic you push the middle and top button for "trailering" full up mode. Same the 2 bottom for full down. Just the middle button is for use under way "trimming" the outdrive for best angle of attack.

I GUESS anyway! Confusing the middle button as "up and lower out?"

Ok, so I think that all makes since...

So the way it is working now when I press the down button it works perfectly going all the way down using the motor all the way down. When I press the up button nothing happened. So I ran down to the auto parts store and picked up a Ford solenoid and plugged it in. Now as soon as I touch the power to the large lug it goes all the way up automatically to the trailing mode. LOL Ive been trying to find the correct Solenoid on line but all I can find is the solenoid's for the newer tilt system that requires solenoids in the system. Any idea where to find the correct older style single solenoid? Now that you posted up how it is supposed to work I think I can figure it out... Thanks soooo much for taking the time and posting up this info. Im sure it will help many more than just me now and in the future!
Thanks again.

Just a quick edit here... The replacement solenoid is the exact same as the ford solenoid that I got at the auto parts store today so I guess it is a wiring issue.

Pretty sure the switch /wiring is corroded. I got that pic off someone selling ebay. Search merc trim I/O 3 button switch. If not found, I'll get the link tomorrow.

Metal Twister wrote:

Ok, so I think that all makes since...

So the way it is working now when I press the down button it works perfectly going all the way down using the motor all the way down. When I press the up button nothing happened. So I ran down to the auto parts store and picked up a Ford solenoid and plugged it in. Now as soon as I touch the power to the large lug it goes all the way up automatically to the trailing mode. LOL Ive been trying to find the correct Solenoid on line but all I can find is the solenoid's for the newer tilt system that requires solenoids in the system. Any idea where to find the correct older style single solenoid? Now that you posted up how it is supposed to work I think I can figure it out... Thanks soooo much for taking the time and posting up this info. Im sure it will help many more than just me now and in the future!
Thanks again.

Just a quick edit here... The replacement solenoid is the exact same as the ford solenoid that I got at the auto parts store today so I guess it is a wiring issue.

Robby321 wrote:

Pretty sure the switch /wiring is corroded. I got that pic off someone selling ebay. Search merc trim I/O 3 button switch. If not found, I'll get the link tomorrow.

You can take that power tilt/trim switch apart and clean it.

For each button, there is a copper "cup" which fastens to the rubber. When you push the button, the cup shorts across 2 copper "bumps" (contacts) embedded in the round phenolic board which snaps into the back of the rubber pushbutton.

A wire is soldered to each copper contact, thus a connection is formed when pushing the button.

The cup and contacts get dirty/corroded and then the switch doesn't work.

Take the switch apart and clean the copper parts with medium-grit sandpaper or a Gordon (wire) "toothbrush", that should fix 'em right up!

HTH.........ed

Thanks for the heads up. the back of the switch is easy to get to and I was checking it out the other day. It didn't look bad but I will double check

Did you stick a voltmeter on the switch wire contacts? And then with a helper pushing the bottoms, check the end contacts wherever the wires terminate? Should be easy to track down the problem.

You were spot on! I took the switch assembly apart and found the top button was corroded inside. A little cleaning by my buddy and it works like new. Thanks again for posting this up as it was a great help!


IT WORKS!

A quick up date on the progress of the boat...

As mentioned we chased the tilt issue down to a corroded control button. It has been cleaned up and the tilt is working well now. I had the end of the skegg missing so I made a template using another alpha unit and cut the piece out of some 3/16 aluminum plate I had laying around. I tig welded the fin on and cleaned it all up... looks factory now. I pulled the tanks that have been sitting for some 28 years and cleaned them out as well as replaced the rubber hoses that were all cracked and rock hard. I then primed the fuel filter,slid on the ear muffs, hooked up a battery, splashed some fuel in the carb and cranked. She wanted to go so bad but on the 2nd crank everything stopped... No Key Action. I pulled off the battery + cable and noticed a spark when it came off. I just had to find the short. I then pressed the hot lead back to the battery and the engine turned over without any one at the key. Humm had to be the starter solenoid stuck. I tapped on the starter and then realized the solenoid was a stand alone. I tapped the solenoid and it released... So I have a bad solenoid I need to change. STEADY AS SHE GOES! I hope to get a new solenoid this week and fire her off next weekend. Fingers crossed!

Thanks guys for the help and direction.

Any good news to report, like a test run , or is there lots more to do?????

Well its going a tad bit slower than Id like Bill but I have made some headway. I got the title all straightened out and it has a pretty new BLUE sticker with a big 13 on it now so that was a biggie for me before I went too crazy fixing things up.

The boat didn't come with any accessories at all and unfortunately the budget has been tight. So I decided to throw a bunch of stuff on ebay for some spending money on the boat. I did much better than I expected so I went on a buying spree. I purchased a nice Lowrance fish finder, VHF radio, Boat fenders, some sweet LED lights for the interior, bow and stern lights, impeller, and some other odds and ends.

I mounted the radios and other electronic components now I need to wire everything up. The impeller has been changed out and the stern drive reinstalled. The tanks have been removed, cleaned and reinstalled.
new exterior lights have been installed. I acquired a 9.9 kicker motor so its mounted and ready to hook up the electric start New anchor line installed, bought a new lobster tag for the end of the month. And just ordered some Polarized sunglasses. LOL Im trying to get it out either this weekend or next. The trailer needs some TLC but one thing at a time. Thanks for asking Bill. You would never of found this out at the other place... LOL