New Owner here

[snclangen]

Morning all.....

Just purchased a 1978 Catalina 27 sailboat, and am in the process of getting it all cleaned up and checked out. Its been sitting for a year....has the atomic 4 in her...wondering what things are must do before firing up? Also, looks like it has original control panel and has two levers that are unlabeled and wondering what the hell they are for? I assume one is choke...

Thanks for any input!!!!

[Dave Neptune]

snclangen, first welcome to the MMI Afourian Forum.

There are many things to look at and a few questions first.
How long has the engine sat NOT RUNNING? Does it turn over when the starter is engaged?
Is the water intake valve closed? No long cranking episodes until we are ready. KEEP IT CLOSED until ready to start.

Fuel is the biggest question as far as age and condition. I suggest you try the starting process with an auxiliary tank with fresh REGULAR Grd. gas NOT PREMIUM!!!

If the engine turns over is there "spark"?

Most A-4's were shipped with a throttle and shifter lever as well as a very important manual choke. It is necessary to confirm that the choke is fully operational.

The A-4 is a simple engine good fuel, blue spark and compression is about all it needs.

If you do turn the beastie over with the starter does it turn evenly or grunt turn grunt?

Any pics are a big help for spotting common PO mistakes and safety issues.

Get back and the guys here will be an absolute wealth of knowledge>

Dave Neptune

[zellerj]

Hello snclagen,

And welcome to the forum.

Purchase a Moyer Marine manual - a wealth of information and worth every cent.

The beauty of this Afrourian forum is that the original poster follows up. Many and perhaps most forums on the net are very frustrating because a conclusion is never seen and the collective knowledge of what worked, or not, is lost. Sp please report back with what you found and your experience starting the engine.

Assure: clean gas is pumped to the carburetor, a strong spark is evident at a grounded spark plug, the compression numbers look good, and coolent (water) is available to flow through the engine.

With that in mind, the following (not in the best chronological order, but should be done to assure engine systems are OK and will help reliability of the engine):

1) take off the carburetor and make sure it is clean, and reinstall.
2) use a portable gas tank with fresh gas - a gallon milk jug will work. Place this in the cockpit with a hose - the fuel pump will suck up the gas and deliver it to the carb if the fuel pump is working.
3) Replace any fuel filters that might be present
4) take off the distributor cap and run a piece of paper over the points to remove any oxidation- if you have points instead of an electronic ignition modification. The electronic ignition modification is worth doing in my opinion. Once you have the distributor cap off, remove the plate and oil up the timing advanced centrifugal weights that are found under the plate.
5) take out the spark plugs and check that they look good, replace if you suspect them to be bad. While the spark plugs are out squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders. This will work its way into the valve seats and help prevent a sticky valve - which prevents compression that is needed for the engine to run.
6) Assure that the battery (ies) are in a good state of charge - replace if suspect. Check to make sure the starter turns over the engine.
7) check for spark by grounding a spark plug on the head and turning over the engine by the starter. Spark should be strong and blue. A orange spark may indicate that the plug is bad, so replace. Assure that the spark plugs wires are in the correct order.
8) measure the compression of each cylinder by putting a compression gauge in the spark plug hole and turn over the engine by the stater - numbers should be close on all four cylinders, and above 70 psig or so, ideally over 100 psig. If the compression numbers are bad, suspect that a valve is stuck open - this is not a terribly difficult problem to fix, and you can find advice in this forum on how to fix it. Low compression could also mean a blown head gasket or more serious issues.
9) since you have a Catalina, find and clean the trailer plug connectors that lead from the engine to the starter switch/instrument panel. Make sure these connectors are held up close to the cabin sole, and not where bilge water can easily get to them. Check that there are clean solid electrical connections for the "big wires" - at the battery, at the one both two switch, at the starter, and at the ground to the engine (usually by the fly wheel)
10) check the oil - rub some between your fingers - should not fee gritty and be thick and black. Replace if necessary
11) Change your water pump impeller and gasket. A good trick is to temporarily secure the new gasket with small black binder clips to the pump plate, which makes getting the screws started in the pump body without messing up the gasket much easier.
12) if the boat is in the water, close the through hull valve - trying to start the engine with the through hull valve open will pump water into the engine and fill the water lift muffler with water, that can run back into the engine if exhaust pressure is not present to push it out of the boat. If boat is not in the water, put the hose leading to the water pump in a five gallon bucket filled with water. This should be enough water to get the engine started.

Cross your fingers, and hope it starts. Might take a while for the pump to deliver gas to your carb. Once started all you need to do is assure that the gas in your gas tank is clean and smells like gas. If it smells a little sweet, I would pump it out and replace with fresh.

If it does not start, please post your symptoms.

Hope this helps.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Hello snclagen,
And welcome to the forum.
Purchase a Moyer Marine manual - a wealth of information and worth every cent.
Hope this helps.

+1 on the Moyer manual.
This manual will bring you up to speed if by chance you are not familiar carburetor fuel systems and old fashion points bases ignition systems.

TRUE GRIT

[snclangen]

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback so far...

attached is a albeit crappy pic of the control panel. Top right and bottom left are knobs that pull out. any idea what each one of these is for?

[zellerj]

One must be the choke. Take the flame arrestor off of the carb, and you will be able to see the choke plate. Pull the knob up (my guess is that the knob that pulls vertically is the choke) and then look to see if the choke closes at the carb. For the engine to be able to start, the choke needs to close completely. Once started, slowly push the knob back down to open the choke plate.

For the other one, trace it back to the engine and see what it does.

Another guess: the previous owner just installed a new choke cable and knob because the old one did not function any more. Left the old one there- disconnected from the carb.

[svEmerald]

The second knob could be a switch for a blower. On my old ('67) boat's apparently original panel, there was a knob for choke and one for the blower.

[sastanley]

welcome...and crappy pics are OK, as you can see, this one has helped us out with what you are asking already! The bottom one is choke (cable that goes all the way to the carb), and the one above the key is the blower. The blower should run if the main battery switch is engaged.
Looks just like my old panel in my 30'.

[snclangen]

so yeah!! replaced the battery and it at least turns over!! and the bottom left is the choke and the right one is the blower...so far so good.....!!!