TOPIC: New 1959 G3 Owner

Hi everybody. After seeing this 1959 G3 pop up on Craigslist every once in a while for the last 6 months, I finally drove the 60 miles to check it out and brought it home. It needs a total renovation, transom, stringers, and sole as well as a new rub rail insert and windshield. I could not find the hull identification anywhere on the boat including the two usual places that 1959s usually are located. The title shows 235220 as the Hull ID number but I have no idea what that means or where it came from.

What really sold me on the boat was the 1976 Mercury 500 with working tilt and trim that just got a clean bill of health from Mark's Mercs in Salem Oregon. Mark is well known in these parts and the invoice shows that he changed the plugs, installed new water impeller, installed a new trigger wire assembly , checked compression (135 on all 4 cylinders) and test ran the motor. I know that this motor is considered underpowered for this boat by most all on this forum but I can always use it on my 1965 Seaswirl P-14 runabout if I don't like it on this boat.

I think it has all the original hardware still on the boat minus the windshield. I have done a little bit of work on my Seaswirl but since it was garaged its whole life, I did not have to do anything major like the transom, sole or stringers so this G3 will be a huge challenge for me. I have spent the last several days reading tons of information from as many sites as possible on the restoration of these boats and my head is spinning. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions when I start the work on it. There are a ton of cracks and flaking of the gel coat on the deck as well a coat of paint that was done sometime in the past. Some of these cracks are quite deep. The fiberglass does not seem very thick on the deck of these boats and I was wondering if it is possible for the cracking and peeling to be too great to repair?

Thank you for taking the time to read this long post and I look forward to updating this thread once I start the work.

One last question. I can't seem to access the archived posts on this forum. Is there any secrets that i don't know about?







what a mess of wires

Welcome ocboat, glad to have you aboard. Looks like you found a very nice example of the 59 G3 there, congrats! I'm sure the G3 gang will be on here offering tips and info, I believe that's a very sought after model. (Split deck, I think they call it?)

The archives seem to be working, try this link;
forums.fiberglassics.com/g3/

Thanks for the welcome Mark. I still can't get into the archives on my computer. I'm not sure if it is because I'm using a Mac, or if it is my browser, Safari, or a combination of both. I'll try another browser and see if that works.

welcom.
Nice G3 and you should love the lil merc on this. Kmarty had a setup like this a few years back and it ran out very nice, not so bad on fuel either!
Though the board is slow these days many still lurk around. And though I have sworn to never build another centerdeck I will watch!
Maybe someone will step in and show you how to axcess the real old g3 site, its out there in intranet space. g3bill or ken from downunder may have saved the link.
good luck.

..OC,: CONGRATS & Welcome.. My prior thread of 59 G-3 Farm Find is lower in this forum on page THREE www.fiberglassics.com/fiberglassics-forums/home/g3-owners-association/1959-farm-find-e-tenn . The pics are not viewable via a old Webshots acct.. I will attach another below.. I have since sold the hull to a newer member in north Georgia... I bleieve a true 59 are quite rare & fewer than 12 have been found... I also got a 73 Merc 500 with my package, which I have for future (?)
. MY factory serial # waas a ROUND sand DISC about 2 1/2 " in Diameter , UNDER the splashwell , Left PORT side ski / transom Bolt nut. A true 59 has Gold painted DECALS on the top rear sponson , if you still have outline (?) you do not say. Also interior Center POST , where your fire extinguiser mounter would have NO angle mounting holes from the GLASSPAR logo slant .(?)
..Your seats are very nice , that is a hard item .. Front grab bars & side Mediallions are the signature pieces, most of windshield are gone, & hull looks good with off. They can be pricy if new repro. guys have tried to get fabricated , but mold expensive , etc.. Can almost try bend Lexan if handy .. other posts hee on board, or via GLEN -L boat builders forum.

Thanks Split and Ponyboy. The Glasspar decals are not on the sponsons but it has been painted and the outline may show up when I remove the paint. There are no holes on the center post indicating that the Glasspar slant logo was there. I'll take a look in the morning under the splashwell for the medallion with hull ID.

I also have a 1959 G3 that I have to restore so there are a few of them out there of this year. A little over a year ago they said the G3 was firt bilt in 1960 but they have found borsures for the 59 and then people started coming up with titels for the 59 so now its officeal they were first made in 1959. They are some of the prettist boats on the water and fast too.
Mike aka the pirate
PS the pic is the day we went and picked up my G3

I also have a 1959 G3 that I have to restore so there are a few of them out there of this year. A little over a year ago they said the G3 was firt bilt in 1960 but they have found borsures for the 59 and then people started coming up with titels for the 59 so now its officeal they were first made in 1959. They are some of the prettist boats on the water and fast too.
Mike aka the pirate
PS the pic is the day we went and picked up my G3

Welcome Ocboat!

I also have a '59... i bought it in Junction City, near Salem OR in late 2010. Took me 8 months to restore it. It was a fun project and even more fun to get it out on the water.

On the '59, your serial number should be a disc up under the center deck, right behind your drivers seat (port side).

www.fiberglassics.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=62&func=view&catid=30&id=38446

Dean
Mine is the boat in the foreground

Hey MarkS or Ken...

The old G3 site is accessible if one has a password... but for new folks (like ocboat) that need to register to get a password... the link is broken.

It would really be worthwhile to have it fixed... there is tons of restoration info in there that I referred to when I did my boat.

I shot Ken an email Dean, I'm sure he'll do his best to get it hooked back up ASAP. I remember reading your rebuild thread(s), great stuff and very helpful I agree!

Another welcome, ocboat! – from the other side of the world.
You will love your G3, guaranteed!
My G3 is also a '59 manufacture and I bought it from the original owner in New Jersey. It was also used by his son and then grandson, and when the grandson developed other interests and it sat unused he sold it to me and I had it shipped over here. It spent 48 years at the same riverside address! I chose to keep steering on the port side, because that's how it was made.
I am aware of five G3s in Australia, all originally centredeck versions - one was converted to inboard and another had the centre deck removed. That one is now in my yard waiting for me to return it to original.

I have no trouble accessing the archived forum – I just opened it, quickly, without needing my password. The link given earlier is correct: forums.fiberglassics.com/g3/ and I use a Mac. Try keying in the address rather than clicking on the link or doing a copy/paste.

Pic is my G3 as I collected it from the shipping depot in 2007
Ken.

Thanks everyone. After removing the fire extinguisher on the center deck vertical support, and doing a little sanding, it appears this may be a 1960 and not a 1959. There appear to be a couple of holes that were filled that may have supported the Glasspar badge at one time. I have looked everywhere on the boat and I can't find any disc or anything else with the hull ID.

Dean - I sent you a PM on another site asking about your steering setup. If you get that, let me know. Also, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your build thread (found it in a PDF format somewhere) and hope that mine will be half as nice as yours when it is finished.

As far as the archive forums, I can get to all of them except for the G3 but it looks like that is being looked into. Thanks again everyone and I look forward to getting to work on the boat when the weather warms up a little.

OC... Thank you sir, i appreciate the comment!

I will go look for the PM...

If it is a '60, look on the aluminum trim piece at the base of the center deck support... i have run across several '60s with the HIN stamped on it.

It was right where Dean said to look, under some paint on the bottom trim of the center deck. The number is 13XW90136. Does this mean the boat is actually the 136th boat of '59 manufactured in Olympia Washington? I'm confused on the 90 part of the number.

..O.C. : C O N G R A T S. You just make lots of money .. Serial
# for a 59 G-3 YES , 9 = 1959 ,, 0 is just a space, 136 is the volume # out of Wash . .. We are all happy for ya .

Ocboat:

Congratulations on the purchase of your G-3! They are really great boats. We have also have a 1960 G-3 that was purchased brand new by my Dad way in back in 1959. I got the boat after my Dad passed away in 2000 and did a complete "refurbish" to it. I posted a picture for you.

You asked about the Glasspar Emblems for your boat. I found a business near my home in Hampstead, N.C. that can reproduce that Glasspar Sticker for you if you are interested. The name of the business is "Empire Graphics." The owners name is Joe Richter and their phone number is: (910) 803-0305. Joe is real nice guy and will help you with the size you need. Here is their website also:
www.empirenc.com

Anyway,....good luck on your restoration Sir!

The question still remains... is it a 1960 model run or a 1959 model run. Like 1960RedG-3's boat... his is a 1960 model (even though bought in 1959). If your boat had the cast emblem on the center deck support, then its 1960 model. In 1959 they had decals on the sponsons:
I found the remnants of my decal under the red paint... I had no holes in my center deck support.

So with Ken's "Downunder" graphic file, I had proper decals made (I have a spare set if you need them):

Dean

What is the hull ID on 1960Red's G-3? Since the my hull ID indicates it is a '59 and the title says '59, then I'm going to consider her a 1959. Plus I already ordered a set of gold with black outlined decals from a guy on Ebay who said that he has made them for other G-3 owners and claimed they were the correct size. I'm not sure where someone would find the cast emblem on the '60-'61.

Dean - could you please measure your decal so I can compare it to mine? If mine are not the correct size, I will order a set from Empire Graphics -thanks 1960Red. I'm also interested in your steering setup as we discussed on the other site and I sent you a follow-up PM about this.

Thanks again everyone.

ocboat wrote:

What is the hull ID on 1960Red's G-3? Since the my hull ID indicates it is a '59 and the title says '59, then I'm going to consider her a 1959. Plus I already ordered a set of gold with black outlined decals from a guy on Ebay who said that he has made them for other G-3 owners and claimed they were the correct size. I'm not sure where someone would find the cast emblem on the '60-'61.

Dean - could you please measure your decal so I can compare it to mine? If mine are not the correct size, I will order a set from Empire Graphics -thanks 1960Red. I'm also interested in your steering setup as we discussed on the other site and I sent you a follow-up PM about this.

Thanks again everyone.

---

ocboat:

You are very welcome on the info on "Empire Graphics!"
Glad to hear you were able to find a set for your boat.

The original Glasspar Hull I.D. tag on our 1960 G-3 is located on the port side gunwale about even with the front seat. It is a 1960 as indicated by the "0" in the serial number.

Just as a matter of interest....

Seems that Glasspar various locations and years did different things in placing their HINs. G3Bill sent me this photo of the disk under the center deck. I found that while my disk was missing, there was evidence it had this disk. I did a thorough investigation with Oregon and Idaho marine licensing and found my title and original HIN numbers and origin. (My boat was originally titled in OR, later ID... then ended back in OR with its ID registration). Idaho also tracked down the last titled owner and strong-armed him to sign over the title to me, the guy I bought it from didnt have any title... it was good to talk to the previous owner)


I had seen a few 1960 models that had the HIN at the base of the center deck... Now OCboat has found an Olympia '59 with it in the same location... good to know.

Many had their HIN on the "Glasspar" die-cast plate on the port side of the fwd cockpit... this was the same type and location as my '59 Avalon. Just like John describes (1960RedG-3). I recall reading Split found his on the transom on a washer inboard of the transom eye(?).

Mine used the same scheme used on the above photo, HIN# G3A9225
• G3 = Model# G3
• A = Santa Anna, CA plant
• 9 = 1959 model year
• 225 = 225th hull of model year run produced

Later all the locations used the 13X designation... I understood that the first G3s were only produced in Santa Ana (home plant) plant... then they were rolled out to all the other locations. So OC's discovery is that '59s were also produced in at least Olympia WA's plant... but Olympia used the HIN scheme that ran on the rest of the G3's until 1965, when they switched to the "13G" scheme. G3Bill really follows this stuff, so maybe he has something to add.

Dean

Here is a picture of the ID in case anybody is interested.

I want to start tear down this weekend and that starts with taking the motor off of the transom. Does anyone know what the correct procedure is to remove the factory power trim hoses from the Merc 500 motor? Do I remove them from the trim motor side or the cylinder side? Do I start with the motor in the fully up position or fully down? Will I need to drain any oil/fluid before I start? Thanks.

I took some pic.s of that boat for a member in Seattle area. He wanted a better boat with less work. the boat is a very complete boat. the 50 hp merc will push it along very well.

for some info on Mercs check at the NWclassic boat club and Dr Frankenmerc. Mark's in Salem is a great shop.

I have a 60 G3 with a '62 Merc 700 70hp and live in Independence.

I talked to you about it last September but I was not ready to take on the project at that time. I ended up getting it for quite a bit less than what he was asking. The motor with power trim was worth more than what I paid so I figured that it was worth the chance but it is going to be a lot of work.

Dean,
"Later all the locations used the 13X designation... I understood that the first G3s were only produced in Santa Ana (home plant) plant... then they were rolled out to all the other locations. So OC's discovery is that '59s were also produced in at least Olympia WA's plant... but Olympia used the HIN scheme that ran on the rest of the G3's until 1965, when they switched to the "13G" scheme. G3Bill really follows this stuff, so maybe he has something to add."

Yes! I'm as confused as everyone else:)LOL

Ha, A bit late but forgot to post the links Jeff.
forums.fiberglassics.com/g3/
archives.fiberglassics.com/g3/glassparg3.html

I'm still confused though

Would be nice if there was a page on a site with chart with columns listing all our names and g3's with like info to compare with factory hull numbers, where they were located on boat plus more but for now all this info is scattered about. I think if profile was set up right it could happen, would need a pewter geek to figure that out....

example: name, g3 year, color, HIN & location found, port or starboard steering, floor foam plug?, foot rest (speed bump) or not, sponson decal or not, center deck support glasspar emblem or not, 2 or 3 piece bow trim, like that? etc. (if someone has nothing to do,lol) Same for open decks which I know near nothing about as my 3 are Center Decks.

johnsoldmercurysite.com/phpBB32/index.php