FINALLY found an 84' 255 AJ to buy!

Well, work strikes again, no complaints though, we are super busy. I did manage to get the engine completely disconnected and the mounts undone, it's ready to come out. I pulled it out of the shop to remove it with the forklift and it started pouring down rain...this was at 7pm so I called it a day. I'll get it out in the morning and get some pics, clean it up and take it to the interior shop. I've scheduled the entire day for the boat.
 
270win said:
Had to work today, I have lots of time on Monday to pull the engine and get started on cleaning out the bilge. I can't wait to get my hands on that engine...

Anyone ever do an HEI swap from the thunderbolt ignition? I never have figured out why they didn't use HEI to begin with. Is there a spark/fire hazard issue that is particular to boats?
Click to expand...

I was just pleased to swap my points for Pertronix ignitions - best investment made on the boat. :grin:
 
Beat me to it, the link that is.

I ended up calling them direct as my distributors were not in their list.
Very helpful and set me up with the right package.
below is a copy of the ignition part of my restoration post - may be helpful. :huh:

Ignition:
The points ignition system was done away with.
Replaced them with Pertronix Electronic Ignition conversions.
A very simple installation / conversion and much less maintenance to keep the engines "in tune" now.
Of course our distributors were not specifically listed in their books but they were very helpful in choosing the right set-up.


ign1.jpg


The distributers are "evenfire" IBM 7018 on a pair of 185 Mercruisers (229 c.i.d. / 3.8 L Chervrolet V6's).
Pertronix 153A Ignitors with Pertronix 40611 Epoxy Coils were used for the conversion.
A simple installation - unscrew the old points and condensor plate and remove.
Install the new ignition, connect the ground, coil and ignition wires.
Warm up the engine, set the timing - done.
Spark plug gap was increased .005"


ign2.jpg


This did need a modification in my case.
A 1/8" spacer plate (hidden under the ignitor plate) had to be fabricated out of aluminum to raise the Ignitor Sensor.
This was needed to align the pick-up with the magnets seen within the green area of the rotor in the photo above.

This was a super improvement in performance - most noticeable at low RPM.
Spark plugs are always a nice gold color when pulling them during winterizing.
 
Just thinking this through, I completely understand where the pertronics setup is superior to points. But you still have a coil to deal with, wouldn't HEI be even better?
 
Your current system has a remote mounted coil vs. the integral HEI coil, I don't see an advantage or disadvantage to either.​
 
cmount1 said:
Your current system has a remote mounted coil vs. the integral HEI coil, I don't see an advantage or disadvantage to either.​
Click to expand...
Good point, I guess it would actually be easier to swap a coil with the external setup...or pertronix it is.

Thanks!
 
I pulled the engine yesterday-
77ab92dc.jpg


I didn't have time to clean the bilge, I had to get to the interior shop. I'm going back almost completely original colors on the interior. We found the identical vinyl to the original colors so it should look like a "new" old boat. This gives me 3 weeks with no boat...:smt009 This is one week before we go to the beach so I'm skeptical that it will be ready for that trip.

But, it gives me three weeks to sort out the engine and the outdrive so that ALL maintenance items are addressed. The shop next to mine has an engine run stand so I might tune the engine on it if there's time. The PO told me that the heads had just been redone within 20 hours. It does appear at this point that they were in fact removed. I'll start digging a bit today to see what I really have here.
 
cmount1 said:
Sorry I may be confused, the Pertronix kit is an external coil kit.
Click to expand...
Sorry, what I meant was, the external coil would be easy to swap while out in the boat, if necessary. I've always carried a spare coil in the boat with me.
 
Ooooooooh, lookie here boys!
9f08477c.jpg

Apparently it's had a bit more than the heads redone. I'll get some pics tomorrow of the insides of the block, but it's like new money in there.

I think this is the first time that I've been pleasantly surprised when it comes to what someone told me about an engine versus the reality of what it actually is. WOOOHOOO!
 
Clean as a whistle!
 
270win said:
I think this is the first time that I've been pleasantly surprised when it comes to what someone told me about an engine versus the reality of what it actually is. WOOOHOOO!
Click to expand...

I remember the fear when pulling the pans on our pair of 6's.
Nice to see you had good surprises when opening things up - clean is a good thing. :thumbsup:
 
This is the oil draining from the oil pan...anyone see anything to be concerned about???
fb4368d9.jpg
 
Nice work so far.
While that engine is out and after cleaning up the bilge, get yourself a quart of bilge paint. It will look like new again and also seal everything up. The grey at west marine is a pretty close match to the original.
 
Water in the oil..the oil pan had a little bit, the oil filer was full. I was pretty concerned, pulled the manifolds and risers, checked the block thoroughly, then I noticed that the intake gasket had been leaking.
53a82282.jpg


Other than that, this engine is brand new, the pistons are not even dis-colored on top yet. I found some other issues that I'm going to investigate further. The rocker arms were WAY out of adjustment. The rocker studs are not fully seated on the surface of the head, we're going to have to grind about 1/8th of an inch from the threads on the studs to make them fit properly. I have not checked the bottom end yet, but I'm going to pull the main caps and make sure they're properly installed/torqued as well as the rods. This is the time to do it, especially since it's all new.
 
That is exactly what I was thinking too. Since the engine is new I'm sure I'll just run it for a long time before doing the 454 swap. This is the time to make the bilge look new too. I can finish the details in the bilge this winter.

Oh, and the transom is rock solid, but I do have some suspect spots on the stringers that I can now see. I'm sure this winter will unveil lots of great fun...hopefully it's very contained...yeah right!
 
Wow! So much for any Mem day weekend boating :grin: Unless you hurry :smt101 Somebody replaced that motor, way too clean.

Glad to hear no rot.

-BL
 
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