'77 Howard GN 20'

[Eliminator21vdrive]

Nice as always.

Do you weld the bridges/spacers to the external tube as well?

 

[cj222]

Nice as always.

Do you weld the bridges/spacers to the external tube as well?

Thank you! Yes they are welded to the inner pipe in several sections to dam up the water and spill over on the top side to keep the entire pipe surrounded by water. I leave a small gap on the bottom to allow a little bit of the water to pass by.

 

[cj222]

Nice as always.

Do you weld the bridges/spacers to the external tube as well?

Only the inner

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

Thank you! Yes they are welded to the inner pipe in several sections to dam up the water and spill over on the top side to keep the entire pipe surrounded by water. I leave a small gap on the bottom to allow a little bit of the water to pass by.

You are referring to the rings right?

 

[cj222]

You are referring to the rings right?

Yes. I cut them to size and in half, then weld them to the inner pipe leaving a small opening on the bottom so hot water doesn't get trapped at the bottom.

 

[HAP]

Yes. I cut them to size and in half, then weld them to the inner pipe leaving a small opening on the bottom so hot water doesn't get trapped at the bottom.

So, you went "dry tails"? Were you concerned about possible reversion issues? They look great!

R,
HAP

 

[cj222]

So, you went "dry tails"? Were you concerned about possible reversion issues? They look great!

R,
HAP

Thank you!
Yes I went dry exhaust to the transom not for concern of reversion as much as just to keep the exhaust flow as dry as possible without actually doing full dry pipe thru hull tails.

 

[cj222]

Had the tailpipes and transom tips polished. Got the transom tips installed and sealed up. Also finished mocking up my drive shaft tube.

 

[cj222]

Mounting the v-drive support brackets

 

[MOUZER]

how bad azzzz is this boat............love it...............

 

[cj222]

how bad azzzz is this boat............love it...............

Thank you!

 

[wzuber]

Awesome work Nick....per usual. Your creativity and talent shine bright here.

 

[cj222]

Awesome work Nick....per usual. Your creativity and talent shine bright here.

Thank you bud

 

[cj222]

Started building my fuel tanks. Started with a 60" x 144" x .125 sheet of 5052 aluminum. Had my friends in the shop next to me help me bend them up on their press brake after I did my layout and used their sheer to cut the flat pattern out. These should be approximately 28 to 30 gal each.

 

[wzuber]

Started building my fuel tanks. Started with a 60" x 144" x .125 sheet of 5052 aluminum. Had my friends in the shop next to me help me bend them up on their press brake after I did my layout and used their sheer to cut the flat pattern out. These should be approximately 28 to 30 gal each. View attachment 1434888 View attachment 1434889 View attachment 1434890 View attachment 1434891 View attachment 1434892 View attachment 1434893

Nice, seems you went a little heavier Guage then most? I think most of the other mfg.'s use .090". What did you use for slosh control?

 

[cj222]

Nice, seems you went a little heavier Guage then most? I think most of the other mfg.'s use .090". What did you use for slosh control?

Thank you! I went with this thickness for durability. I used 3/16" material for the end caps which will be used to secure the tanks to my gunnel supports. I have noticed after doing welding on a lot of IMCO tanks, adding extra fitting and building new tanks to replace old belly tanks, that most of them are built using .125 thick material for larger capacity. The walls don't flex as much and you can get a really nice weld. I chose not to run a baffle in these tanks.

 

[cj222]

Tanks are ready to bolt in.

 

[cj222]

Picked up a couple bolt on items for the Howard

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

Well that will help! Still using engine from the Rogers?

 

[cj222]

Well that will help! Still using engine from the Rogers?

Yes. Going to be a blown 548 now

 

[cj222]

Bought a new billet timing cover and a new Ram Force water pump for the motor I'm going to put in the Howard. I was trying to pick some brains on how to setup the cam thrust for the new setup and also searched around on here for a topic and happened to find one that @obnoxious001 had posted a few years back. He showed a very detailed step by step process on how he did it and also provided part numbers for the items he used. I ordered those same parts, pulled out the micrometers and calipers and started on it. After measuring everything several times and also mocking things up several times I went ahead and machined the back side of my timing cover. Once that was done I put it all back in place again and double checked that I had the clearance I wanted. Came out perfect . Thank you Barry for sharing your knowledge and experience with the rest of us DIY guys!

 

[obnoxious001]

Bought a new billet timing cover and a new Ram Force water pump for the motor I'm going to put in the Howard. I was trying to pick some brains on how to setup the cam thrust for the new setup and also searched around on here for a topic and happened to find one that @obnoxious001 had posted a few years back. He showed a very detailed step by step process on how he did it and also provided part numbers for the items he used. I ordered those same parts, pulled out the micrometers and calipers and started on it. After measuring everything several times and also mocking things up several times I went ahead and machined the back side of my timing cover. Once that was done I put it all back in place again and double checked that I had the clearance I wanted. Came out perfect . Thank you Barry for sharing your knowledge and experience with the rest of us DIY guys! View attachment 1437468 View attachment 1437469 View attachment 1437470 View attachment 1437471 View attachment 1437472

Glad it made enough sense for it to work out. You could also mill a round area, but square is how my current machinist friend prefers to do it.

 

[cj222]

Glad it made enough sense for it to work out. You could also mill a round area, but square is how my current machinist friend prefers to do it.

Yeah square is easier to do on a manual machine

 

[gottaminute?]

Yeah square is easier to do on a manual machine

but if you rotate the square( or the timing cover) 45 degrees, you miss the bolt holes. not a big deal but something to tuck away for next time.
BTW this project is moving faster than ANY of mine.

 

[cj222]

but if you rotate the square( or the timing cover) 45 degrees, you miss the bolt holes. not a big deal but something to tuck away for next time.
BTW this project is moving faster than ANY of mine.

Yeah lol I wasn't thinking about that when I did it lol

 

[obnoxious001]

but if you rotate the square( or the timing cover) 45 degrees, you miss the bolt holes. not a big deal but something to tuck away for next time.
BTW this project is moving faster than ANY of mine.

Very good point, mine are done that way to keep the strength intact. I didn't look at his photo that closely, I was just happy I had shared something that has worked so well for me.

 

[cj222]

Very good point, mine are done that way to keep the strength intact. I didn't look at his photo that closely, I was just happy I had shared something that has worked so well for me.

Still have .350 thickness on the cover for pump mount. Didn't think that far ahead before cutting the pocket

 

[cj222]

Got my seats back from upholstery today

 

[cj222]

Fits like a glove

 

[cj222]

Starting to come together now

 

[papabear639]

Damn dude! looking super cool!

 

[cj222]

Damn dude! looking super cool!

Thank you!

 

[papabear639]

Thank you!

I still have some trailer upgrades I need you to take care of...I will be in touch soon to get on your schedule this winter.

 

[cj222]

I still have some trailer upgrades I need you to take care of...I will be in touch soon to get on your schedule this winter.

Sounds good bud

 

[cj222]

Got my exhaust bolted on today

 

[cj222]

Pedal assembly, cavitation rod and lockout handle in the works

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Oh Man this is so bad ass!!!

 

[cj222]

Oh Man this is so bad ass!!!

Thank you!!

 

[Brokeboatin221]

I just cried thanks for posting! Beautiful work!

 

[cj222]

I just cried thanks for posting! Beautiful work!

Thank you

 

[cj222]

More progress tonight on getting the pedal assembly built.

 

[Backlash]

More progress tonight on getting the pedal assembly built. View attachment 1439450 View attachment 1439451

Man that sure looks good!! I have a minor critique and these details are stupid small. Feel free to ignore them!!

On the actual pedals, I might have placed the weld seam up near the toes versus down below the heels. That part of the pedal will get the most use from your feet resting on the bottoms of the pedals. Having the seam up by the toes wouldn't be seen or felt by your feet. Second, I would absolutely drill drain holes in the bottoms of the pedals to allow water to drain out. This isn't a Schiada so I'm sure it will see water!

Thinking while typing, maybe you could mill that seam flat where your heel will sit before you polish them up. Then my response will be completely pointless.

As always, AMAZING work!

 

[cj222]

@Backlash Polish? What's that lol. Going raw!

I like the weld at the bottom personally and in my other boat my toes were smashed up at the top of the pedal looking for more throttle lol so I would have felt the weld seam .

 

[cj222]

Made the cavitation control rod and spring stop bracket, clearanced the seat bases for the rod to go through and got it all installed tonight.