TOPIC: 1973 Century Resorter 16 Restore

Got to spend some quality time out in the garage this afternoon.. I got both cylinder heads torn down and cleaned, lapped the valves and reassembled with new valve stem seals..

Here's a few pics of the reassembly process..

Here's one of the heads and all it's parts laid out after cleaning.. The exhaust valves have had the stems lubed and are placed in their ports awaiting the installation of the new stem seals..

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Using the valve spring compressor to install the springs, retainers, and keepers..

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Here it is all reassembled and ready for paint..

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Both heads assembled, painted, and ready to install as soon as I get the short block assembled..

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The block will finally be ready to pickup from the machine shop Monday, so the short block will get assembled over the course of a few evenings next week..

Excellent, you're moving right along!!!

Bob

Great progress. Now to assemble. When this site is down for upgrade this week it should give you some extra time. Next picture should be a completed motor, not just the short block
Good luck.

Thanks Guys!!

I'll try to see if I can coax the "War Department" to sit out in the garage and take some pics of the short block assembly, she's off work for spring break next week.. It's kinda hard to take pics when your hands are covered in oil from installing pistons..

The short block should go back together pretty quick, I've spent the last several evenings cleaning all the internal parts in the parts washer.. As soon as I get the block home and mounted on the stand, it's gonna get wiped down with acetone before I shoot a couple coats of primer then a couple coats of paint before assembly.. Once the engine is assembled, it will get two more coats of paint sprayed over it to protect all the unpainted fasteners and seal up and protect all the small gaps between the various components, and seal any exposed edges of the gaskets..

Got up early Saturday morning and started getting everything ready to assemble the little Mopar.. Spent a couple of hours in front of the parts washer cleaning pistons and other internal engine parts.. After breakfast, I got out there and got the engine building shop cranked up..

Here's the cleaned pistons with new piston rings and rod bearings installed ready to go in their respective cylinders..

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Assembled cylinder heads (under black plastic), valve lifters, timing chain & gears, oil pump drive gear and pushrods cleaned & ready, new oil pump in box..

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Piston ring compressor, pump oiler full of assembly lube and sealants..

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Assembled "short block"..

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Continued below..

Installed the oil pump & intake screen, also "dressed" the front of the engine with the timing chain & gears, timing cover, water distribution cover, fuel pump, harmonic balancer & pulley..

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Cleaned the pan rails on the block and gave them a coat of gasket sealer to secure the gaskets before installing the oil pan..

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Rolled her over on the stand and cleaned the decks before installing the cylinder head gaskets and heads..

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Continued... Darn link limits..

Installed the lifters, pushrods, and rocker shaft assemblies to button up the valve train..

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I'll let her rest for a day or so before re-torquing the head bolts ahead of installing the intake manifold.. Once it's completely buttoned up I'll wipe all the oily fingerprints off before giving the assembled engine two full coats of paint to cover up all the bare fasteners and seal over the ends of all the gaskets.. Then its time to hang the exhaust manifolds and plumb the cooling system..

Spent some time today installing the swim platform and the running gear in the boat..


Installed the platform brackets with new plywood backers and plenty of polysulfide sealant before mounting the platform..

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Reinstalled the shaft strut after replacing the cutless bearing, installed the propeller shaft and propeller after having them reconditioned at Baumann Marine ..

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Reinstalled the stuffing box with fresh packing and a new hose & hose clamps..

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Got all the steering linkage hooked back up after installing the rudder..

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Continued...

Also spent some time readjusting the trailer bunks to raise the boat for more ground clearance between the prop & rudder and the pavement.. I've got just over a foot of clearance now between the rudder and the pavement..

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After this weekend, I'm finally starting to get some room in the garage after reassembling the engine and reinstalling all the reconditioned parts back on the boat..

Time well spent while the site was down. Really watch those gas station entrance(s) when pulling the trailer. You could invest in a trailer prop guard made out of channel iron. See if one of your local weld shops could make something up for you.

63 Sabre wrote: Time well spent while the site was down. Really watch those gas station entrance(s) when pulling the trailer. You could invest in a trailer prop guard made out of channel iron. See if one of your local weld shops could make something up for you.

Gas station entrances were the least of my problems, I had to raise the boat up just to be able to get it backed into MY driveway at home without having to remove the prop and rudder each time..

I'm probably gonna have a custom trailer built for this boat after I finish putting it back together.. This trailer was built for a larger outboard powered boat and isn't easily modified as the entire frame is made of aluminum.. The previous owner had bolted a couple of pieces of 2" diameter solid steel bars between the frame rails just forward of the rear crossmember, this added enough weight to the trailer so it wouldn't float to the surface when retrieving the boat..

I'll probably have the same local builder that built the trailer for my Chris Craft build a custom galvanized trailer for the Century.. My Chris Craft's trailer has a massive "skid bar" to protect it's running gear..

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Managed to get a few good licks in on the Century's little Mopar every evening this week, while not quite ready for prime time, it's getting closer.. Engine restorations always seem to grind down to a snail's pace when they get down to hanging all the little stuff on 'em, cutting & fitting cooling hoses, cleaning up wire harnesses and all the other little detail work seem to take forever, but it's all worth it in the end when ya lift the engine hatch to show it off..

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After scouring the web for pics of original and restored Chrysler Marine 318's, I found enough pics of the original fuel line that goes from the pump to the carburetor that I could fabricate a new one from scratch, the original factory lines have been NLA for close to 20 years..

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Next up will be freshening up the Velvet Drive transmission with new seals, gaskets, and paint before mounting it to the engine.. Once it's all assembled and set in the test cradle, it will be fired up and run to set the timing & carburetor adjustments, and to check for any leaks before it gets set back in the boat..

Be very careful, the PO is going to demand it back.

63 Sabre wrote: Be very careful, the PO is going to demand it back.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever give it back..

I'm just anxiously awaiting the moment that it roars to life in the test cradle..

Me too, I want to hear that bad boy!

Bob

Waterwings wrote: Me too, I want to hear that bad boy!

Bob

I'm getting there as fast as I can!!

The seal & gasket kit for the little Mopar's transmission came in this week so I tore down the transmission this afternoon to get it ready for a new set of seals & gaskets..

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Here's the patient prepped for surgery.. The deep, large aluminum baking sheets from Sam's Club make great teardown pans for stuff like this, they keep any residual fluids captive and corral any small parts that try to escape..

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Disassembly starts by removing the oil pump and the front adapter plate/reverse piston exposing the reverse clutch pressure plate..

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Removing the reverse pressure plate exposes the bronze reverse clutch plate..

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Grabbing the input shaft and lifting straight up removes the forward clutch assembly, this exposes the planetary gearset/output shaft.. Flipping the case over and removing the retaining nut on the output flange allows the planetary/output shaft to be removed from the case..





An hour and a half in front of the parts washer resulted in a pile of clean parts and case..





All that's left to do tomorrow is to drag the hydraulic press from the back of the garage so I can break down the forward clutch to be cleaned before installing new sealing rings then reassembling it..



Hopefully, I'll get this pile of parts reassembled and ready for a couple coats of paint by tomorrow afternoon..

Great stuff John! Learning a lot from this one. Was trying to decide if I should break down my velvet drive or just assume it's good. It will be a while before I need it.

Bob

Waterwings wrote: Great stuff John! Learning a lot from this one. Was trying to decide if I should break down my velvet drive or just assume it's good. It will be a while before I need it.

Bob

You're welcome!!

These transmissions are some of the simplest to rebuild of all the marine transmissions.. Since the clutch plates were in great shape, I only had to get a $40 seal & gasket kit in order to bring it back to rare form.. Full rebuild kits usually run about $150 or less and include a full set of clutch plates in addition to all the necessary seals & gaskets.. Even if you have to replace a few worn out bearings, you'll still have less than $500 tied up in a rebuild.. Most marine transmission shops will ding you for $900 or more to freshen up a tired 71C..

I got up early this morning and dug out my hydraulic press from it's hole in the back of the garage so I could break down and reassemble the forward clutch.. Once I removed a couple of snap rings from the input shaft, a few minutes in the press resulted in a pile of parts in the tray..

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The "War Department" woke up and wanted breakfast, so after we got back home I pitched everything in the parts washer for a good scrubbing..

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Now it's time to start reassembling this puzzle.. We'll start out by reinstalling all the pressure test plugs and cooler outlet elbow with fresh thread sealer.. Next, is to install the pump intake strainer in the bottom of the case along with it's retainer bushing.. The cooler outlet elbow and return bushing have temporary plugs installed in them that will be removed when it's time to connect the oil cooler lines..

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Now it's time to install the oil baffle in the case, it snaps over a pair of large rectangular lugs that are cast in to each side of the case..





Next up is to install the planetary/output shaft in the case.. The case bushings get lubed up with a coat of Vaseline along with the output shaft before installing the planetary in to the case.. To install the output shaft bearing, flip the case over with the output shaft pointing up, place something under the planetary to keep it from dropping out of the case ( I used an old 1# metal coffee can).. Lube the output bearing with clean ATF and slide it over the output shaft with the outer groove to the top and use a soft-faced hammer to gently tap the bearing down to it's bore in the case.. The case then gets moved to the press and using a suitable mandrel, and also supporting the planetary inside the case, press the bearing down fully into it's bore until it bottoms out on either the case or the output shaft..





After setting the case back on the bench, it's time to install the output bearing retainer & gasket.. A new oil seal has been pressed into the bearing retainer and the gasket gets a thin coat of Vaseline before installation..





Once the retainer's bolts were torqued to 40 ft.-lbs., it's time to install the output coupling.. After lubing the splines with ATF, the coupling just slides onto the output shaft.. The coupling retainer nut gets installed and snugged down with an impact wrench, the final torquing of 200 ft.-lbs. will be done after the transmission is mounted to the engine..



Continued...

Now it's time to assemble the forward clutch.. After placing the ring gear on the assembly tray and liberally coating the inside with clean ATF (a pump oil can filled with clean transmission fluid makes this a breeze), it's time to start installing the clutch pack.. Start by installing the clutch retainer plate concave side down inside the ring gear, shoot it down with ATF then install the clutch pack.. The first plate installed will be a bronze friction plate followed by a steel reaction plate, alternating plates until five bronze plates and four steel plates are installed.. As each plate is installed, it gets a coat of ATF before installing the next plate.. After the pack is installed, the clutch pressure plate is installed on top of the pack, and is retained by a snap ring..

















Next is to install the clutch spring, the spring is installed on top of the pressure plate with the concave side facing down..





Now to assemble the forward clutch piston.. The sealing rings get a coat of Vaseline before installation on the clutch cylinder and piston.. The piston is then installed in the cylinder and pressed in until it bottoms out..













Now the ring gear is moved back to the press, the clutch cylinder is set in the bore and pressed into the ring gear until it bottoms out on top of the clutch pack.. While maintaining pressure on the cylinder, it's retaining ring is installed and seated in it's groove in the ring gear.. Then the clutch assembly is flipped over and the clutch cylinder is pressed back against it's retaining ring.. After removing the clutch from the press, look to make sure that the black bearing ring hasn't been knocked from it's groove in the piston..









Stay tuned, there's more to come..

Alright lets finish this rascal up..

Next up is to install the cast iron sealing rings on the input shaft, carefully spread the rings in order to slip them over the input shaft and into their grooves.. After installing the rings in their grooves, "lock" the ends together before installing the shaft into the forward clutch..





Before installing the input shaft into the forward clutch, wipe a thin film of Vaseline over the sealing rings, then insert the shaft thru the clutch cylinder, carefully working the sealing rings thru the cylinder bore.. Then stand the clutch on top of a support (an old coffee can works great), and grab the sun gear on the input shaft to carefully twist the shaft back & forth to allow the splines to mesh up with all the bronze friction plates as the shaft is fully inserted into the clutch.. The shaft is fully seated when the face of the sun gear is flush to slightly below the face of the ring gear..









Setting up a suitable support in the press, place the clutch assembly on the support with the input shaft facing up.. DO NOT let the input shaft drop down out of the clutch or you WILL damage the bronze clutch plate splines during the installation of the support bearing.. With the clutch in place and properly supported, install the input shaft support bearing, lube the bearing, shaft and bearing bore with ATF.. Place the bearing over the input shaft and using a suitable mandrel (I used a scrap of PVC pipe), press the bearing over the input shaft and into it's bore on the clutch cylinder.. After the bearing is fully seated, install the bearing retainer ring and input shaft snap ring, making sure that both rings are fully seated in their respective grooves..









For the final assembly, stand the case on the output flange inside the assembly tray.. Take a dollop of Vaseline and lube the bushings down in the center bore of the planetary, then wipe a coat on the end of the input shaft.. Wipe a coat of Vaseline on the thrust washer before placing it inside the planetary.. With the thrust washer in place, squirt the planetary down with ATF before installing the input shaft/clutch assembly..













Grabbing the clutch assembly by the splined end of the input shaft, carefully insert it into the case, slowly twisting it to allow the sun & ring gears to engage the planetary pinions and allowing it to settle down on top of the thrust washer.. When fully installed, the splined end of the ring gear will be just above the reverse clutch face that is machined into the case..





Continued below..

Assembling the reverse clutch begins with installing the three pressure plate locator pins in their recesses in the case, coat the pins with a heavy coat of Vaseline to hold them in place while the rest of the clutch is assembled.. Next is to install the twelve pressure plate return springs in their machined seats in the clutch face.. Next, squirt a coat of ATF on to the clutch face before installing the bronze reverse clutch plate over the exposed ring gear splines..













After installing the clutch plate, coat the thrust washer with Vaseline and install it on the clutch cylinder face.. Next is to install the reverse pressure plate, it will only fit one way as there are pockets for the return springs in the face and notches for the locator pins in the edge.. There is a "V" shaped notch that must face the top of the case opening to properly index the plate.. When installed, the plate will be flush with the machined face of the case..













Now to assemble the reverse clutch piston..

Coat the inner sealing ring with Vaseline and install in the groove of the piston pilot, then coat the outer sealing ring with Vaseline and install in the groove on the edge of the reverse piston.. Lay the piston smooth side down onto the pilot of the adapter plate, use a small flat screwdriver to assist the outer sealing ring into the piston bore while pressing the piston into the plate.. Press the piston in until it bottoms out..













Continued...

To install the adapter plate/reverse piston assembly, coat the case gasket with a thin coat of Vaseline before placing it in place on the case.. Be sure that the gasket's oil holes are properly oriented at the top & bottom of the case.. Pack the input shaft needle bearing with Vaseline before placing the adapter plate on the case, being careful to not dislodge the gasket as the plate is lowered on to the case.. Note that the reverse pressure test plug has to be located at the top of the case.. Once the plate is set down on top of the reverse pressure plate, install the four 12pt. capscrews that secure the plate to the case.. Tighten the screws in a criss-cross pattern to evenly compress the pressure plate springs until the adapter plate contacts the gasket.. Torque the bolts in a criss-cross pattern to 35 foot-pounds..















Now the front pump can be installed..

Start by installing the drive key into it's slot on the input shaft, then coat the pump housing sealing ring with Vaseline and install in the recess on the adapter plate.. Next, install the pump gears with a shot of ATF, making sure to install them with the same face facing the adapter plate as they were removed.. Wrap the input shaft splines with tape to protect the input shaft oil seal as the pump housing is installed..











After pressing a new oil seal into the pump housing, note the arrows cast in the outer edge of the housing.. When installing the pump housing, the arrow that matches the engine's crankshaft rotation must be located at the top.. After carefully installing the pump housing over the pump gears, it's secured with four hex head capscrews that are torqued to 20 ft.-lbs. in a criss-cross pattern..









Continued..

Next up is to install the control valve..

Lube the valve sealing ring with Vaseline and install in it's groove on the valve.. Lube the valve lands with Vaseline before installing it in it's bore in the case, pressing the valve in until it bottoms out.. Turn the valve until the notch on the end is aligned with the bottom hole for the cover screws before installing the cam for the neutral safety switch.. Lube the cam with Vaseline and place it over the end of the control valve with the cam's tang engaged in the valve's notch.. Coat the gasket with Vaseline, install the cover plate and secure with three capscrews torqued to 10 foot-pounds.. Then install the neutral safety switch and tighten securely..

























Now to install the control lever, it helps to roll the transmission over on it's side with end of the control valve facing up..

Lube the detent spring with Vaseline and install in it's bore next to the control valve, coat the detent ball with Vaseline and set it on top of the spring.. Now install the control lever, being careful not to dislodge the detent ball.. Press the lever down on to the end of the control valve and secure with a flat washer, lock washer and nut, torqued to 10 foot-pounds..













Finally install the dipstick in it's hole and this rascal is DONE!! Now it's off to the paint shop..

Just a quick note...

The snap rings used in these transmissions require a special type of pliers to remove.. Without a pair of Lock Ring Pliers , you will run the risk of damaging the snap rings during removal or installation..





Now it's time to kick back with a 7&7 and a good cigar to admire a job well done!!

Outstanding thank you sir!!!!!

Bob

Waterwings wrote: Outstanding thank you sir!!!!!

Bob

You're welcome!!

Hopefully this will save someone a ton of money on a transmission repair somewhere down the road..

I had a few 4' 2x10's over in the shop that I brought home a couple weeks ago, managed to get home early enough on Monday to make a little sawdust and whip up a cradle.. I got home early enough this afternoon to get out there and get the little Mopar off the engine stand.. Got the flywheel, damper plate, and bellhousing mounted to it, along with the freshly resealed & painted transmission.. It's got several more evenings of detailing to be done before it's ready to fire up.. But this evening the big blue baby is resting peacefully in it's cradle..

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100_2890 by cc_john67 , on Flickr

And I don't care what anyone says, I think these old Chrysler 318's look pretty damn good when they're all cleaned up!!

Fantastic write up! Watching this I'm starting to get the itch for an old inboard, that's a really cool boat.

ultraclyde wrote: Fantastic write up! Watching this I'm starting to get the itch for an old inboard, that's a really cool boat.

Thanks!!

Over the years, I've had boats powered by every type of propulsion system and I've always drifted back to a straight inboard.. Inboard boats just ride & handle the water better than a boat powered with a sterndrive or outboard.. And listening to the burble of a well tuned V-8 is just icing on the cake..

I'm definitely a fan of the old V8 sound, and I've got way more experience hot-rodding 8s than wrenching on 2 Strokes. Last thing I need is another project though, lol. having said that, I did find a decent old Correct Craft in my area for a couple grand, and a surprisingly nice looking old Chris Craft "parts boat" that was straight drive.

Boy that brought memories from over 40 years ago when my dad put a new 318 in his shrimp boat back in Florida that was one sweet running motor I would sleep on top of the en-gen box . He ran that motor for over 10 years with only about 3 valve jobs.

charles wrote: Boy that brought memories from over 40 years ago when my dad put a new 318 in his shrimp boat back in Florida that was one sweet running motor I would sleep on top of the en-gen box . He ran that motor for over 10 years with only about 3 valve jobs.

Wow!!

Your dad must have been racking up some serious hours on that 318 to need three valve jobs in ten years.. In pleasure boats, depending on how hard they were run, a valve job was good for 800 to 1000 hours.. Most pleasure boats would do good to rack up 100 hours of use in a year..

Got a few hours in on the little Mopar today.. Finished up plumbing the cooling system, and made some replacement parts for a couple of missing items..

Fired up the Plasma Cutter this morning and cut up an old gear cooler bracket to make a reproduction electrical panel, also made a pair of supports for it that mount under the retaining bolts for the starter.. I still have to drill a few mounting holes to mount a 40A push-button circuit breaker for the alternator output, and mount the alternator disconnect relay.. Once that's done, the panel & supports will get cleaned and painted.. Also made up a new battery cable from the starter solenoid to the starter to replace the corroded factory one..

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Made a replacement for the missing cooling hose support that supports the hose that runs between the water pump and transmission cooler..

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Also reconfigured the new fuel line I just made between the pump & carburetor.. After looking at the engine sitting in the cradle, I noticed that I was probably gonna have an interference issue with the fuel filter and a brace inside the motor box.. Ran over to the shop and grabbed some measurements from the motor box and the boat, and sure enough, there was gonna be a problem.. I pulled the fuel line and remade the bend just before it enters the filter, cut & reflared the end and reassembled.. The filter will clear the motor box brace with room to spare..

Here's how it looked when I first made the line..

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And how it looks after the modification..

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Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm gonna head over to O'Reilly and get a hose made up for the oil drain fitting on the oil pan.. Once it's installed, I can fill the engine with oil and prime the lubrication system before stabbing the dizzy for the final time and setting the initial timing.. With that out of the way, she'll be ready to crank up after I fill the transmission with fluid..

Really like the way you have everything out in the open for easy access to connections. Sure wish auto designers would do the same for easy maintenance. Most motors from the 90's forward require a contortionist to do repairs. Either that or half the engine has to be dismantled to get to a part that needs to be replaced.

63 Sabre wrote: Really like the way you have everything out in the open for easy access to connections. Sure wish auto designers would do the same for easy maintenance. Most motors from the 90's forward require a contortionist to do repairs. Either that or half the engine has to be dismantled to get to a part that needs to be replaced.

I can't take credit for all the engineering, I was just copying what Chrysler had outfitted the engine with when it was originally built.. I've scoured the web for pics of late 60's/early 70's Chrysler Marine 318's to determine what had to be made in order to return my Resorter's engine back to it's original "as installed" configuration..

The engine for my Chris Craft is completely opposite from the little Chrysler.. It's a restored late 80's Pleasurecraft 350 with the optional fresh water cooling kit.. All of it's electrical components are buried under the heat exchanger on the rear of the engine, the transmission cooler is buried up under the starboard side of the engine.. My only deviation from original was to drop a stroker crank in it to boost it up to 383 cubic inches, that gave it enough grunt to give that heavy cruiser some rather spirited performance..

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Here's a short video of it's test run.. Turn up your speakers for some awesome marine engine music..



I hear ya about trying to work on modern engines.. My girlfriend's '06 Explorer with the 4.6L V-8 is the textbook example for being "20 pounds of crap packed in a 5 pound box" when you open the hood.. I recently had to replace it's heater hoses and the intake manifold had to be removed to access the hose connections at the firewall..

It ran 6 days a week for 6 - 12 hr's a day and in a boat it is under load all the time he would start in the morning and not shut it down until he got back to the dock

Well, the weather cut us some slack today and I managed to get the little Mopar to bark for the first time.. It sounds a LOT healthier than it did before, and the best part is NO MORE OIL LEAKS!! The transmission now shifts crisply into gear instead of slowly slipping into gear because of all the old hardened, leaking internal seals.. I still have a few details to wrap up on the electrical panel, but for the most part the engine is ready to install as soon as I get the boat ready..

Here's a short video taken after I got the timing dialed in and the carburetor adjusted..

can't view your video. locked out. you have to open it up for public.