TOPIC: 1963 Aristo Craft Funliner project

Hey,

I just picked up this 63 Funliner for a summer runabout. It's in pretty good shape, but will need some gelcoat and paint work eventually. The yellow isn't original but it is a decent job. The boat was red and white from the factory. I'll have it painted copper to match or '59 Pontiac safari that I'm building.

The engine condition is unknown, so I'll replace it temporarily with a Johnson 135 I have so we can enjoy it while I'm home on leave. I've been looking for a Funliner for awhile, but they've either too far away, or I never heard back from the seller. This one was only a couple hours away and cheap, so I sent my wife to pick it up. I'll post pics as we go along, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions.

Welcome Matt,
Nice looking project boat and it has the very desirable hard top!! I hope your transom is good the 135 is a lot of motor for that boat. I'm not sure what the max HP rating is for it but some of our experts here will know. Gene

thanks, Gene! Max HP is 100 according to Aristo Craft so I'll be OK. I just wont have to push it so hard! We're excited to get it all cleaned up and back on the water!

Matt

Cool looking old boat! How is it structurally?

Welcome to the Aristocraft Funliner family! The maximum rating is 100 HP for those boats. What you are going to find with the transom is that it doesn't go all the way down the back of the boat. It is actually pretty small in relation to the rear. So a 135 is a lot of torque on it.

I just got mine up and running and it is a blast to drive. I have a 1966 100HP Johnson.

Enjoy, looks great. I have a soft top for mine, but they sure get lots of looks with the hard top.

Sincerely,
David

Welcome aboard Matt and nice find!

Bob

Thanks everyone!

We're excited to have it! The boat is super solid with just some sun damage to the gelcoat on the bow. The transom looks good and solid. I can reinforce it for the added power of the Johnson if I need to, but the long term plans are to rebuild the 65Merc and reinstall it once the boat is painted. I don't have a lot of time when I'm home on leave so the big motor is just temporary!

My youngest loves it already!

Hi Matt,

I noticed that you have a Tennessee trailer because my family sold them for such a long time. We might can help some if the need for some parts should arise.
As for swapping outboards, as the Johnson requires (4) 1/2" holes to mount, you might check into the Merc 650 some first. Check-out the lower unit gear lube, cylinder compressions, and for spark. Most vintage outboards need a water pump impeller (and sometimes housings also), carburetor and fuel pump rebuilds, breaker point(s) requires cleaning and sometimes a new condenser and/or an ignition coil, fuel and bleed hoses, and wiring harness issues (rotten wiring). Lower unit and crankshaft oil seals can be hard, and need replacements also. I do realize that this take a little time, but drilling unneeded holes in the transom is not ideal either.


Regards,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
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Nice boat and project. My friend had the red on white with a 100 merc on it when it was all new. I skied behind it...sure looked nice.

How about a shout out for your wife who went and picked it up! Anytime a family can share in the same hobbies that keep family together having fun is a fortunate plus! I am grateful for my wife's support of my (now our)passion of boating. It brings the kids around to share the fun.

Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks for the info guys! My wife is definitely a trooper for sure. We have a 59 Pontiac Safari that will be towing this and she has been a part of its restoration as well. I can usually drag any project home and she's okay with it, and that's saying a lot since I spend a lot of my time overseas leaving her at home with our sons!

Salute to the spouses that support our troops as well as those troops who protect and maintain our freedoms.

That car has great lines! would love to see when all of that is finished, gassed up and hitched together...they will make quite a head turner! Best of luck with it all and stay safe!