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1963 Express

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:18 pm
by MetalHead
Here is my 63 Express

http://1drv.ms/1hFkF8I

I am working the twin Buick 215's over at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlgWdKUTpjw Walk Around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWPmo326Yk TN River

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:24 pm
by DiverDennis
The ...1drv... link don't work.
Nice looking vessel. Thanks for sharing.

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:47 am
by Fastjeff
Ironically, Marinette that used these motors in boats I have come to love and respect.

A bit of background... About 40 years ago I was in LOVE with those motors! I put Buick 215s in all kinds of vehicles, building them in my garage and just loving that little jewels. This included a homemade sports car with the motor mid-mounted. (Testing one's manhood required lifting the entire chassis off the floor with one's bare hands, which was not that hard to do. The motor weighs under 300 pounds fully dressed.) The great Mickey Thompson also ran one at Indy.

I followed the future of the 215s over the years as Rover (England) bought the tooling and produced them for decades, selling them to English sports ar cottage industries; and every car they got installed in--MGCs, Morgans, Caterhams, etc.--were performers!

Jeff

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 11:00 am
by shelbygt
Thank you for posting pictures. Looks to be the same as my 62. Is yours 30 ft?

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:40 pm
by ddependo
Very nice. Something to be proud of.
Wayne

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:35 am
by MetalHead
31 footer per the specs and 9 foot beam (I say 8-6 cuz I will trailer my boat :mrgreen: ) .

I have both of the 215's out at the moment doing rebuilds. Debated heavily at first about replacing them and even purchased a few 3.0 Volvo 4 bangers, but after learning about Rover and all the support (ie parts) that are still available for these engines I decided to commit and rebuild. The only problem now is you cant get a reverse rotation cam without having it custom made (near $1000.00) . This has not been a real problem so far really though. One engine was rebuilt with only 50 hours, but you can tell they did not do a good job on gaskets and the heads already had a stuck vavle and ruined #1 lobe on the cam. So I am redoing the heads and the gaskets. I talked to a 215 pro at D&D (http://www.aluminumv8.com/index.htm) and he is guiding me through to make the re-rebuild bullet proof. These are very tough and great performing engines.

I tried to snag a 63 10 foot beam recently, but the price was to high for the condition. But it had the Buicks in it also with the closed water cooling setup and that reverse rotation cam I need !!!! Would luv to have those engines for sure !!!

Probably the only thing I am going to do is add Vernatone mufflers since the boat has no mufflers at all. I also have two 2:1 Hurth/Merc 63A trannies that I may try to fit if the bottom will clear the bilge. But I dont want to negatively impace my performance.

Wayne - I am proud of my 63 for sure !!!! I like your 72 though !! I keep thinking about that huge cabin and fly bridge !!!

Here is another link to those pics. Did that above link work for anyone?

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=e1fdea11 ... BQVMnGvmyk

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:17 am
by shelbygt
Can you add pics of where your fuse panels mount? Mine are hangin loose now and bathroom is empty. When I start rewiring this I might as well have things where they belong. Do you have Stewart Warner gauges?

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:56 pm
by MetalHead
Double Post a little.

I am making progress on one of my engines. I fixed me up a "Dry Dock" to work on my boats. Makes it a lot easier for sure !!!

Dry Dock - Just got this finished ... sorta :)
http://1drv.ms/1IwWwgt

Engine Rework - Working on intake now.
http://1drv.ms/1Jbs3Uv

I have more stuff coming before getting into the second engine. I am hoping to bench test the motor I am reworking now in the next week or so. Scrounging for parts is work for sure !!!

Cam in Mr. Starboard was shot due to stuck valve. I expect the same in Mr. Port. New heads for both engines are bronze lined, so that should not be an issue again.

Have any of you ever painted the inside of your valve covers ? I have some rust I know is related to being on the water all the time and would like to prevent it from coming back. This is also what happened to the valves. Clearances are tight and a tiny bit is surface rust can stick a valve. I wonder if epoxy paint would work here???

The wiring was redone before and a new electrical panel and gauges were installed ...... with all the same color wire .... AAAARRGGG :( :o !!

To fix this I have rounded up two Mercruiser 10 pin wiring harnesses and plugs. When I finish motor hook up will be one plug and a starter wire. Plus they have color coded wire ... woo hoo !!

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 6:49 am
by MetalHead
Engine Progress on Mr. Starboard

Painted Engine
http://1drv.ms/1HIrpvE

Engine Rework - Intake on and engine painted.

I added some more pictures of when I pulled the motors as well as the one above. Neat to see the transformation!

http://1drv.ms/1Jbs3Uv

I am slowly making progress on my engine. I am going to work on Mr. Port soon.

Re: 1963 Express

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:19 pm
by bill
BigM
Nice paint job. :mrgreen:
bill