1960 Hydrodyne California

Discussion in 'Hydrodyne® Boats' started by Marc H, Feb 24, 2018.

  1. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    Any hydrodyners in southern california?
     

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  2. kevinb

    kevinb Elite Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2006
    Messages:
    459
    Location:
    Brookfield, WI
    Boat Model and Year:
    1985 HD 20' I/O 350 (Yep I/O Boat #2 of maybe7?)
    Ski Team:
    NA
    Hey Marc:

    I dont usually follow the older Hydrodynes but the pics you posted present are worth checking out. A great piece of Hydrodyne history if all original.

    KTB
     
  3. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    *mostly* original

    Here are a couple pics from a few years ago when we acquired it. The boat has been in the family since the 60s and was one of the founding boats for the Colorado river cruise.

    The original seats had been covered over, and many nuts/bolts were rusted. Upgraded hardware to stainless steel, rebuilt floor/new coating, new upholstery, new gas tank, carbs rebuilt, etc.

    It took 3 years to reach this point doing most of the work ourselves. It will be on the water in southern California this summer.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    Here are a couple engine cowl pics
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Rickerd

    Rickerd Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Messages:
    12
    Location:
    Oilmont, MT
    Boat Model and Year:
    1962? Hydrodyne
    Did you have to replace the front seat shock? If so what did you get and how does it ride? I found one with close enough collapsed length and extended length but it's for a S10 or Blazer and i'm not sure if It will be to stiff. Thanks
     
  6. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    Rickerd,
    Yes we replaced the seat shock and *luckily* our local AutoZone guy (has been working at AutoZone for over 15 years and is a great help on custom parts) found a 1950s (i believe) corvette shock with the same diameter and travel as the original. The diameter of the shock bushings was a little over. I took a grinder to the excess on the bushing and bushing housing to shave it down slightly to fit. Repainted the outer bushing area to make it look as if it was original.

    The original shock that came on the boat had the shock piston cut and re-welded to the bushing housing which was something we chose not to re-create due to the extra effort involved. The corvette shock we acquired is similar in stiffness and dampening. With two 200+lb persons, the springs compress pretty close (if not) to the max so the shock stiffness would be semi-irrelevant in any case. We were more concerned with fit and finish than function due to the weight of the occupants :)

    I will drop by or call AutoZone in the next day or two and get a part number for you. The shock was very reasonably priced but had to be ordered. Check back for my next post with the part number.
     
  7. Rickerd

    Rickerd Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Messages:
    12
    Location:
    Oilmont, MT
    Boat Model and Year:
    1962? Hydrodyne
    Great! Thank you so much! I was just thinking about getting a gas charged motorcycle shock with an adjustable spring but would rather go with a more original shock.
     
  8. Rickerd

    Rickerd Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Messages:
    12
    Location:
    Oilmont, MT
    Boat Model and Year:
    1962? Hydrodyne
    Beautiful boat by the way.
     
  9. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    Rickerd,
    I apologize for the misinformation, the shock was from a 84 corvette. Gabriel PN# 69715. The part comes in black, white, and chrome I believe. Our parts guy said they are popular for the lowered corvettes.

    Please share some additional pics of your boat! There are not very many out there and it seems they are all slightly different based upon the year. Some have left hand vs. right hand drive, as well as different options.

    In hindsight, the restoration we did was fairly inexpensive if you can do the work yourself. I also have a manual for the boat which details many of the technical and service features if you are interested in it. Send over your email and I'll see what I can provide for you. If you setup a dropbox account to share files we can go that route as well.
     
  10. Marc H

    Marc H Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Southern California
    Boat Model and Year:
    1960 Hydrodyne
    On a side note, we were able to get the factory color outdrive enamel paint from the local volvo boat dealer. The dealer had them in stock on the shelf. They were also able to get us a new bellow for the outdrive as well. It took only a few bolts to remove the outdrive and we stripped/repainted the outdrive by hanging it from the middle of a ladder. A little metal polish cleaned up the remaining parts and made the back end of the boat look nearly as good as it came from the showroom.
     

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