09/09/2025
Ugh!
Working on an old customers rig…..24 foot Slickcraft from 1974…
To say this thing has been “Frankensteined” is an understatement!
Long story short? I’ve had my hand on this rig over the years, and never really looked too hard at its propulsion, as it always ran so sweet. Besides his kicker/autopilot system that was installed on it back in 23’, the only thing I’d ever done was normal maintenance.
Well, that changed after he took it to Florida for two years…….
One never really realizes the extent of saltwater damage unless one has to REPAIR damage from saltwater. One thing I always knew was that it had a “Pre-Alpha” drive attached to an Alpha One Gen One bellhousing and gimbal. Not a huge deal, as all generations drives could be swapped for different generations gimbals and bellhousings.
One thing that happened, the out drive got scrapped due to salt water intrusion. Locked up solid! Changed the Pre Alpha for a gen one Alpha One drive. No issue. The hydraulics had one cylinder that had its threads stripped. Ok, not a big deal, get another cylinder (which whoever put this thing together had two starboard cylinders affixed, which was wrong, but it worked) THEN, I get into the fuel system, as the engine wouldn’t idle, would huff black smoke, and wasn’t running good.
Whomever put this rig together used a carburetor from a Check Cab on this MetCruiser engine. Little did I know! It had a tag on it from the company that rebuilt the carb, so I called them to see which rebuild kit was appropriate for this carb. They gave me a number, and (good God) it was WRONG! Not even close! I found the casting numbers after two other kits failed to fit for what was listed under the MerCruiser parts list. Took that number to NAPA, and looked in their marine book. NOTHING! Looked in their automotive book, and low and behold, the carburetor on this boat came from a 1974-1977 CHECKER CAB! Imagine my surprise!
Don’t damn your mechanics folks. Sometimes if they get their hands into something that somebody else had “Frankensteined”, they’ve got a long hard arduous road ahead of them.
Not a real short version, but if I really explained everything, you people would be lost, and probably not get the message.
Tally Ho folks!
HBH Repair And Service returns in the 2026 season! With time, knowledge, and hard knocks over the course of 18 years, things will be a little different, but still expect the same service you always got in the past.
Stay tuned!
