Thanks, not bad looking for a 73. I also fixed the radio, had a bit of corrosion in the sub woofer under the bow that required some rewire. Plus I had to buy a new battery, I guess 4 years or so of sitting did its thing.
the wife was kind enough to go down to the crappy California DMV and pay the registration on my boat. They would not let me register it online for some reason. So the only thing I have left is to get my fuel pump housings which should be here tomorrow and I can get out on the water in the next couple of weeks.
Hey Daniel: So nice to here from you. Your 18 twin looks to be ready for the water and sounds like a long time coming. The 1985 Hydrodyne i/o 20 that I have been working for 2 years is almost ready for the first time in my ownership. May be this weekend. My 1975 HD 18 i/o went to Avon, CO last fall but haven't heard from the new owner. Hope he has had it out as it was always a great and reliable platform. Last weekend was spent at a car show (with the 68 firebird) but kind of wished that it would have been on the water with the boat. Need to hear the "shakedown stories" and make sure you take a paddle....slalom skis don't work so good IMO.... been there, done that. Kevin Bugel Brookfield, WI
Hi Jim: There was a learning curve with the 75 i/o (gas gauge didn't always read correctly). We were skiing a course set on Lake Menona, in Madison, WI and ran out of petro about 3/4 mi from the launch. Couldn't get a fisherman to give a tow if your life depended on it so we paddled with the slalom skis back to the launch (it was an early morning set). The 85 has a new set of gauges and appears to read correctly at full but I'm never with out a paddle.
The fuel pump housing that hold the filter screen on the original inlines is plastic. I guess the age combined with the crappy gas got to it, good news is that mercury's replacement is metal so I should not have this issue again. I plan on taking it out sometime in the next couple of weeks. I have a couple of trips I have to make with the company over the next week or so which limits me.