If you are considering any type of boat project or have a question about you motor, go here first. These guys have a first-class, no-nonsense forum. I have yet to pose a question that has gone unanswered. They have saved me a fortune in mechanic's bills, and I'm only a quarter of the way there.

This is how she looked when I brought her home. It's going to be a long ride. I think, while I'm at it, I will upgrade the graphics all the way around.

She has a Volvo AQ125-A with a 270 outdrive. They say it runs, but I will not even try to start it until after it's rebuilt. Why bother? The gas in the tank has been sitting for years, and I'd rather not suck it up into the motor. The outdrive will shine like a new penny.(A snow white penny)

EVERYTHING is rotten. Floor, stringers, even the transom. I can already feel the burn of the fiberglass.

I think while I'm at it, I will upgrade the dash, too.

These old 80's graphics will definately have to go.

I removed the windshields and put them in my company's warehouse for safe keeping. I'm not the most graceful person and I feared for thier safety.

Started tearing out everything. This is going to get NASTY.

Both the motor and outdrive bolt directly to the transom, so I'm hoping that after I replace it, she will ride and plane out a little better. It was so rotten that the mounting bolts were sunken halfway through the transom. Someone applied alot of silicone to try to keep everything sealed up.

Make sure if you are going to get involved with a similar project, you wear long sleeve shirts and long pants. I learned my lesson the hard way and could barely sleep through "the burn".

As I cut out the old peices of plywood with a 4" side grinder, I used them as templates for the new peices. My wife is already starting to get antsy about the garage.

After hours of grinding fiberglass in 100-degree sticky Georgia heat, I have decided to spend some time working on the motor and outdrive.

I have no idea how I'm going to get this thing out of here.

I found this old winch in the warehouse and it worked flawlessly. This is the first motor I have ever pulled out of ANYTHING, but it went very well.

I will be tearing everything off this motor and replacing most it. She will get all new gaskets and o-rings, a new paint job, a completey new ignition system, and a rebuilt carb (if it needs it).

I removed the raw water impeller and found that there wasn't much of it left. Just some ground up rubber in the housing and heat exchanger. I hope that this is not a sample of things to come.

Well, the rest of the motor looked pretty good as I tore it down. I was suprised at the condition of this 22 year old 4-banger. I'm giving it a fresh coat of engine block paint. I was limited on colors, so I went with the old standard red.

The other side.

It's been a few weeks now, and I am about 80% done with the motor. Everything came apart and went back together pretty easily. I had to completely readjust the timing gears, and I'm not really sure how it ran before with the timing so far off.

With the exeption of a few rubber seals and a new gimbal bearing set-up, she's about ready to roll.

I think I'm almost proud of myself. Next up for surgery....the outdrive.

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