1963? Hydrodyne custome deluxe 1700 restoration thread

So tonight my 15 YO son and I started stripping the original B18 motor, the one with the detonation damage to the top of the pistons.Everything came apart OK and we got the four pistons removed. Again, the pistons had damage. at least 2 or 3 had cracks in the piston between the rings, a pretty good sign of expansion due to detonation, as shown by piston wear on the top side also. But the rod bearings and crank on this or in very nice condition also. Not freshly turned like the other one, but 3 of them looked almost new, only one had any signs of small flecks going through them. I would reuse them without issue on a stock motor. Not sure if they are original or not. The rods were stamped 1-4 and had the little punch marks to mark them also, so it seems like someone had it apart over the years. But the rod bearings are the original size, so who knows.

 

might be worth checking out:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-120-1...ods-/121637819011?hash=item1c522dd283&vxp=mtr

jim

 

Saw those, they say "factory bore B20" which is a really big overbore. The block can take it, but it depends on the casting quality. Others have run into problems on the earlier blocks with casting flaws in them as they open them up. Then the boring cost more also. Not sure why they have "B18" in there unless they came from a B18 that had been bored to a B20.

Today we are hoping to start some glass work prepping the wood for installation into the hull. And maybe finish tearing the motor down to inspect the main bearings.

Next hurdle might be a cam and lifters.... I thought these volvos were supposed to run forever?

Thanks.

 

There was a set of B18 brand new +0.030 pistons for sale on ebay with rings. Just ended. Got outbid. They were on there twice before, no bids at $200. So the price is dropped to $180 and they shoot up. For crying out loud.

So here I sit with two blocks, a brand new crank, a like new crank, good parts, two drives and I am missing pistons and from what I can see, probably a cam also which will run just over $200 with lifters.... new pistons will run $650, then machine work, then cam, then lifters and all of a sudden I am looking at $1300 minimum with gaskets and carb kits. Time to forget about the motors and work on the hull. See what else comes up....

 

Brian I feel for you. Let the motors sit for awhile and do hull work. In a couple of months the parts you need for the motors will be back on e-bay and for a reasonable price. Boat restorations of this magnitude always need more work in different areas as you well know. And good luck - I can't wait to see your finished product.

 

So what I am looking at now is two separate opportunites that are both AQ130's from the 70's time period I believe. I think the 130 is the 2.0L block, but haven't researched it yet. These also come with a drive in the 200 series, from 200 up to the 270 I think, current sellers are looking for more information. Both are supposed to run..... here we go again. Good news is both are complete for under a grand, not bad when you look at the cost of rebuilding. So we will see, I will do some research and see what they are and if it works out. Right now not much has been happening on the hull except for glassing the plywood pieces before they are put into the hull. Been prepping for another week of camping and family time has not given much project time with the kids.

 

Did a little bit of volvo research and it seems the AQ130 drive was available from about 1968 through 1975 era. The A model was 68 to 70 and came with the 250 drive. The C model was 69-75 and came with the 270D or 270TD drives. Not sure about the drives, but they do seem pretty big compared to the older 100 series original drive. The good news is the literature list the AQ130 drive package as weighing in around 530 to 560 pounds. This is good news as the original AQ110/100 drive package was listed at 465 pounds, so it is within 100 pounds of original. Still more weight, but less than anything else I seem to be finding that you can get for less than the cost of a nice boat that already runs! And definately less than the mercruiser package I was looking at that doesn't fit.

The really good news is the AQ130 is based on the 2.0L volvo engine. This is the same as the 1.8L engine with just a larger bore. Some bore the 1.8L out and turn it into a 2.0L, so many of the parts of a 1.8L fit on the 2.0L. This is good as I know I have a selection of parts that would work. Like a brand new crank and bearings, both are 3.15" stroke and the same crank. Oil coolers, water pumps, fuel pump, flywheel, coupler, starter are all the same I have working spares already. Not sure on the carbs yet, but the AQ130 series is at on the correct side with the exhaust and carbs both on the starboard side, so my hood scoop will still work! The 80's engines, teh aQ140 and up based on their larger 4 cylinder, split the carbs away and have them on the port side which would cause problems. Would be nice to stay with the same engine family.
Waiting on more info from both parties, we will see where I go on this.

 

I like the plan.

jim

 

Got the three pieces of wood in this weekend. first, made a complete mess with a 7" disc sander and some new 80 grit belts for the belt sander. Covered head to toe but the bottom was sanded smooth to include the rough lip where the transom met the bottom core wood. Once everything was vacuumed out well, we put the front piece in first. I bought a gallon of ceramic polyester transom pour resin to fill in the keel section beneath the plywood. The old keel wood was still in there securely and had dried out. But there was a ton of voids running along side it between it and the glass bottom. I hate voids for the point they allow water to travel and give a pocket for it to collect in for causing freeze damage. let alone the strength issue. So we poured about 7/8 of the gallon into this void, floated the glassed center stringer into it and then weighted it down. It squished the ceramic resin out from under it, so I know I got a good squeeze and fill. I then scraped the extra up, coated the sides and left a fillet along the plywood further sealing the edges. Used the extra to fill in the very front where the core ends and the rear of the center keel piece where the plywood did not cover. Worked out really well and it is very very solid now.

Once all that was cured, we cut roving and mat for under the two side pieces of plywood and started fitting that in.

 

so we had marked on the hull how far forward the plywood core would go and we ran the new glass up past that about an inch. We started with a layer of woven roving followed by 1.5 oz mat. We folded the roving back, spread resin liberally and then laid the roving back down and wetted it out further. Then the layer of mat was added and wetted out. It was the wettest layup I have ever done, but it was done that way by design. To top it off, the underside of the plywood was also spread with a good layer of resin, flipped over and set into place. We did both sides at once then then piled anything heavy we had onto the plywood to press it down into the glass and force the bottom against the framework under the hull. We had resin squishing out from under the plywood in places, but not enough to run too far over the seams so I figure we used a the proper amount. My goal was the strength of the extra glass and the extra resin to fill as much of the voids as possible. The lack of adhesion of the old core to the hull was a definite concern in my design of this with how thin the outer skin is on this old boat. Plus the marine grade resin will help fight any water intrusion into the new core through the old hull. I feel it was probably fairly porous with the old resin, the gelcoat cracking underneath from freeze damage and how much the hull creaked when stripping the old core out. This core should be well protected for years to come. I will NOT put any fasteners down into it. The battery and fuel tank each get their own mounting plates.

We cut out a small well for a small bilge pump to go into also. Got it glassed over with a couple layers of 6 oz cloth. Everything will be sealed with gelcoat on the inside once all the core is glassed over. The bottom is now solid, feels good. We need to finish the layup over the core now. A layer of glass mat and then more roving will bring it even with the top of the original side oak stringers. Then another layer of roving will be put in from the spray chine to spray chine to reinforce the whole hull bottom.

I still need to order the balsa end grain for the front, but that will not be as complicated as a process. I also have the finish cutting out the transom pieces and get those fitted. Will see how much I can get my boys to do of that. They were a huge help on doing the core this weekend.

Now it is time to get the camper ready for another camping trip, so not much will get done for the next two weeks......