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1966 Howard Walnut deck V drive.
I just purchased a 1966 Howard Walnut deck V drive ski boat. Has not seen water since 1984 and was covered with a tarp for years. The gel coat was in pretty bad shape on the walnut deck but a little elbow grease and lacquer thinner brought most of it back to life. Will need a little repair and new top coat but the boat floor and stringers are in amazing shape. It's got a 327 Chevy but its been bored to .060 so it may end up being an anchor. Bottom is perfect. Some delamination between top and hull but not too serious.
I am new to V Drives. This one has a Thorobred and that may have to go also. Not sure.
I ran D class Outboards in my youth and had a Sidcraft Utility hull with Merc. 50 HP. Wish I had it again but I doubt my knees would take that abuse again.
Here is a shot of the boat.
I am sure I will have a ton of questions as this is my first time and this site appears to have all the experts as members.
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Already miss the 310/562
very nice projectkeepsake topolino, welcome to HB, where it all started
post up some photos of the Vdrive if you don't mind, there is plenty of expertise here to answer most questions... IF the folks here don't know, we know how to get the technical details your after...
-In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People..
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams
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Thanks, I will get some photos out of the drive. The previous owner is sending me all his documentation. He ordered the boat and was the only owner. He stated that he did not want any unnecessary hardware and that included the Howard script. He would never let anyone on the deck and did all the fittings himself. The workmanship in the installation is top shelf but weathered. It came from middle California and never saw salt. Seats are good patterns at best and the ply appears to be usable. Howard trailer is rust free but the 6 lug wheels have to go.
Don't want to rush it and need to know about things like sealing the prop shaft and rudder. Don't want my first voyage to be Titanic.
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Already miss the 310/562
Originally Posted by topolino2
Thanks, I will get some photos out of the drive. The previous owner is sending me all his documentation. He ordered the boat and was the only owner. He stated that he did not want any unnecessary hardware and that included the Howard script. He would never let anyone on the deck and did all the fittings himself. The workmanship in the installation is top shelf but weathered. It came from middle California and never saw salt. Seats are good patterns at best and the ply appears to be usable. Howard trailer is rust free but the 6 lug wheels have to go.
Don't want to rush it and need to know about things like sealing the prop shaft and rudder. Don't want my first voyage to be Titanic.
Prop shaft seal should be a easy deal, we have several good resources here for dripless couplings & tech... Let me see if I can summons one for you to ask questions, in the mean time it would be good to see some pics of the existing coupling and the strut from the bottom side of the hull too (in addition to the drive).
-In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People..
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams
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Already miss the 310/562
WOW, she looks VERY intact/original... I would get her on the water first thing and see how you like her before you rip her all apart for resto/repairs... Maybe back it into the water somewhere close after you get it running to ensure the shaft seal is decent enough for a few outings...
ALSO, a new impeller on the water pump is a must...
WANNABE / FC Pilot & the Millers (on here) could probably spec out a really sweet SBC for you that wouldn't break the bank IF the 327 can't be salvaged... They have a cool new small block project that just hit the water... >>>> http://www.wannaberacing.com/sk51.html
Last edited by 2manymustangs; 07-09-2017 at 11:37 AM.
-In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People..
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams
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Already miss the 310/562
Originally Posted by topolino2
Thanks, I will get some photos out of the drive. The previous owner is sending me all his documentation. He ordered the boat and was the only owner. He stated that he did not want any unnecessary hardware and that included the Howard script. He would never let anyone on the deck and did all the fittings himself. The workmanship in the installation is top shelf but weathered. It came from middle California and never saw salt. Seats are good patterns at best and the ply appears to be usable. Howard trailer is rust free but the 6 lug wheels have to go.
Don't want to rush it and need to know about things like sealing the prop shaft and rudder. Don't want my first voyage to be Titanic.
Hey, check this thread http://www.hotboat.com/frm/showthread.php?t=7381 you can find a contact and info about shaft seal in that thread
-In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People..
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams
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Thought I would let you know the current status of the 1966 Howard.
Pulled the 327 and purchased a built 350. Comp cams provided the marine cam and associated hardware. Various bits from local and Ebay sources. Painted Torch red. The engine has Dart Iron eagle heads
and was a fresh rebuild but the last owner either had too large a carburetor or wrong cam as it would not idle. Pulled it and went big block so it ended up in my hands. I pulled it down to the short block and saw nothing that would
give me concern.
The boat is coming along well. I routed out the cracks and have used 2.5 oz. fiberglass in the layups. I like the thin glass as I can put several layers up and still be under the thickness of a single layer of 6oz.
Now going through sanding and getting ready to finish the wood deck.
I did remove the single coat of fiberglass cloth from the deck as there were areas of delamination of the veneer that had to be addressed. If you have never done this, I would encourage you do whatever to avoid this step. I used heat guns, lifting scrapers and surgical knives to get it off. A job I am glad to say is off my bucket list. Got it done but wonder if it was worth the trouble to avoid seeing unsaturated glass cloth from 50 years ago. After all, was that not original?
Will be posting photos of the boat shortly.
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Senior Member
Wow that's history right there. Look forward to seeing more of it
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