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-   -   Free non-running Atomic 4 in Sandpoint, ID (https://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11793)

danpat 01-31-2021 04:45 PM

Free non-running Atomic 4 in Sandpoint, ID
 
Bought a ‘77 Newport 28 a couple of years ago that had a non-running atomic 4, and had been retrofitted with an outboard.

Finally got around to pulling the atomic 4 out this winter hoping it’d be an easy fix. No such luck. Looks like the original problem was a stripped tail shaft nut which would’ve been an easy, but the motor has been sitting for a decade and now the cylinders and valves are very rusted requiring a bigger effort. It’s not siezed.

As the boat already has a working outboard, I’m not going to bother rebuilding the atomic 4 - the rebuild effort has crossed my budget/time threshold. If anyone wants to come to Sandpoint, ID and take it, you’re welcome to it.

If it’s not gone by the spring I’ll probably just take it to a scrap yard.

danpat 01-31-2021 04:50 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Attached some pics showing the state of things.

Al Schober 01-31-2021 06:58 PM

The internals look pristine. Top end needs cleanup. Closeup photo needed to see the tailshaft. Is it a late or early block (where's the oil fill)?
Please don't scrap it. It's not like there was a crack in the block! I suspect a local technical high school would be happy to have it.

ndutton 01-31-2021 07:06 PM

If the engine is original to the boat it has to be a late model. 1977 Newport 28.

Mo 01-31-2021 07:59 PM

That block looks to be in really good shape. There's an engine there. If I was close I'd take it in a heart beat. Someone will be done right by you.

Surcouf 02-01-2021 05:44 AM

Indeed a pretty clean block, little to no rust on the outside, this is rare! Would really be a shame to trash it!

Being located in ID is of course the issue: had it been on the East / West Coast or the Great Lakes, you would have somebody at your door to pick it up in a few hours with a good Scotch bottle in hand... I would not be surprised if somebody from Seattle was to come pick it up. If you can crate it, somebody will pay shipping + something for crating

danpat 02-01-2021 11:24 AM

2 Attachment(s)
Yeah, I'm kinda bumbed about the whole situation. But with a full time job, and two small kids, I've got too many projects going to consider sinking the time and money into this it'd need. I was really hoping to get the inboard running again on the boat and stripping off the outboard contraption that had been added, but there's no way I'll ever find the time to get a rebuild done.

Attached a couple of pics showing the tailshaft and the drive gear.

From what I can figure, it looks like the tailshaft nut came off at some point. This lead to damage to the tailshaft and keyway, and loss of power to the propeller. The reversing gear was also disengaged from the drive gear, so the whole shebang seems to have slipped backward.

The motor has been sitting ever since then. In fact, when we bought it, the boat had about 5 inches of water in the cabin sole, the bilge pump hadn't been run in quite a while. The motor was *just* above the waterline fortunately.

My hope had been that it was just going to be replacing the tailshaft (or whole reversing gear assembly, depending on time), nurture it a bit with some new fluids, generally clean things up, and she'd go, but pulling the head off exposed more work than I can justify.

I hadn't thought to reach out to local colleges/schools, I'll do that too. I would really prefer to see it go somewhere where it could be useful, but I also want the space back in my garage, so I'm not going to sit on it forever.

Marian Claire 02-01-2021 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Schober (Post 124486)
The internals look pristine. Top end needs cleanup. Closeup photo needed to see the tailshaft. Is it a late or early block (where's the oil fill)?
Please don't scrap it. It's not like there was a crack in the block! I suspect a local technical high school would be happy to have it.

Everything I see says late model. T stat housing and head, type of distributor, lack of hand pump for oil changes and the aft housing with a square access and no oil fill. Looks like a late model oil fill at bottom left of first pic.

Dan
S/V Marian Claire

danpat 02-01-2021 12:24 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Yes, it's a late model.

Here are photos from before I started tearing it down - as you can see, from the outside, other than a bit of dirt/mold, it looks in pretty good condition. I was disappointed to open it up and find a bigger project than I anticipated.

Livelovelife 02-01-2021 03:34 PM

Good day fellas 👋🙂. Im new to the forum. I ran into this forum while looking for a rebiuldable A4 engine for a sailboat im looking into buying..Im willing to pay for the shipping cost if your willing to send the motor to me in Long Beach Ca. Im in the process of buying my first sailboat and have been looking for a decent fixer upper. Most of the sailboat ive seen have had issues with the motor so i was thinking i could get a motor and rebiuld it myself and then buy a boat to put it in. Im just a poor man trying to save some money:)...ill send you a bottle of scotch for you troubles:)..
😇
Thanks
Albert
#yourawesome:)

danpat 02-01-2021 05:17 PM

I would definitely prefer not to ship it if I don't have to - I'll wait for a bit and see if anyone is prepared to come and get it.

sastanley 02-03-2021 06:23 PM

danpat, that 199xxx serial number indicates '76-77 or so block casting, however, the actual casting date is on the block aft of the OPSS and located inside the carb flame arrestor area. It would be a 6 digit number like 041574 (April 15 1974)

I sure hope someone that wants to rebuild one, gets this motor. This is my dream project. Fresh water engine, clean block, sitting forever, waiting for me to rebuild it!:D

Ando 02-03-2021 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livelovelife (Post 124502)
Good day fellas 👋🙂. Im new to the forum. I ran into this forum while looking for a rebiuldable A4 engine for a sailboat im looking into buying..Im willing to pay for the shipping cost if your willing to send the motor to me in Long Beach Ca. Im in the process of buying my first sailboat and have been looking for a decent fixer upper. Most of the sailboat ive seen have had issues with the motor so i was thinking i could get a motor and rebiuld it myself and then buy a boat to put it in. Im just a poor man trying to save some money:)...ill send you a bottle of scotch for you troubles:)..
😇
Thanks
Albert
#yourawesome:)

I have almost all the parts for an early model A4. Lmk if you could use any of them.

danpat 02-04-2021 12:38 AM

2 Attachment(s)
Shawn - the casting date is 051376.

Also wanted to note that I did notice a crack in the head. Looks like it only affects the coolant channels not the cylinder space, but heads up to anyone that wants the engine that the head might need replacing or repair.

Surcouf 02-04-2021 03:45 AM

1 Attachment(s)
seems like the head froze...
coming back on previous pictures, there may be something else. A close-up would be necessary...

If that is confirmed, still a lot of valuable parts on that block...

CesarH 02-04-2021 11:07 AM

CesarH
 
Yo Danpat,

Greetings! I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I have a home in Heron, MT just 35 miles away from Sandpoint. My daughter has a Catalina 30 that she bought in Sagle, Id about three years ago with a torn apart A-4. It was weak when she got it but has served her for the last three years. Anyway, that engine is now in my living room getting torn apart for a rebuild. if your engine is still available I would certainly come and take it off your hands. Please give a holler. Cesar H 406-210-7146

danpat 02-04-2021 11:39 AM

Cesar - sent you a text. The engine came out of a boat in Hope, ID - if I'd known it was beyond my capabilities earlier, I could've saved you 10 miles of that drive.

danpat 02-05-2021 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surcouf (Post 124517)
seems like the head froze...
coming back on previous pictures, there may be something else. A close-up would be necessary...

If that is confirmed, still a lot of valuable parts on that block...

Yep, I think you're right - took a closer look, that's another crack. Welp, I'm glad I didn't rush ahead and order a bunch of parts from Moyer before I pulled the pin on this project. Hopefully Cesar will be able to make use of the recoverable parts.

My next job is to locate some nice compact ballast to replace the engine weight. With an outboard on the boat, the interior has gained a nice bit of extra storage space, but is currently riding a bit high on the water.

edwardc 02-05-2021 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danpat (Post 124526)
...My next job is to locate some nice compact ballast to replace the engine weight. ...

Sounds like the perfect place for a watermaker and a large lithium Iron Phosphate battery bank to support it! :)

Surcouf 02-05-2021 10:42 AM

So it took me some time... but I found it!!

https://www.moyermarineforum.com/for...d+block&page=4

LiveloveLife: check his post #93, for potential block repair... I would recommend you spend a couple beers reading LaunchPad McQ thread, as it is very instructive (and even more rare, updated for success 2 years later (only a few days ago)), and contact him: through his shop, you could have an idea of the cost of the block repair. This engine is a never-saw-salted water, so 0 corrosion, may be worth a potential unorthodox repair. The head is shot and much cheaper to replace.

danpat 02-05-2021 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edwardc (Post 124527)
Sounds like the perfect place for a watermaker and a large lithium Iron Phosphate battery bank to support it! :)

Being a freshwater boat on a landlocked lake, a watermaker isn't all that necessary :-)

The boat is actually going up for sale soon - we've bought a larger 35' boat we're properly refitting. I was hoping to get the A-4 running on this boat, then sell the outboard for a bit of extra cash. But alas....

danpat 02-05-2021 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surcouf (Post 124528)
So it took me some time... but I found it!!

https://www.moyermarineforum.com/for...d+block&page=4

LiveloveLife: check his post #93, for potential block repair... I would recommend you spend a couple beers reading LaunchPad McQ thread, as it is very instructive (and even more rare, updated for success 2 years later (only a few days ago)), and contact him: through his shop, you could have an idea of the cost of the block repair. This engine is a never-saw-salted water, so 0 corrosion, may be worth a potential unorthodox repair. The head is shot and much cheaper to replace.

Ha, I've seen that thread - but I know when to cut my losses :-)

The block crack does look like a candidate for some metal stitching, which actually isn't all that difficult to do and doesn't need much in the way of fancy tools. Pre-small-children me would definitely have taken that on.

ronstory 02-05-2021 07:04 PM

I love it...
 
1 Attachment(s)
Whew! I was getting concerned that I would need to drive the 7 hours to pick up the motor. With Cesar so close, another A4 finds a welcoming home.

CesarH 02-08-2021 02:28 PM

Free non-running A-4
 
Dear Sir,

Sent a response to your offer a couple of days ago. You might have missed it maybe because I labeled it Dan Pat but I see that you must be Ron Story, or that is your sign-on. My mistake if so. Anyway, I have a place in Heron, MT about 35 miles east of Sandpoint, and could / would easily take this A-4 off of your hands. My daughter has a 30-Catalina that has an A-4 we are in the process of tearing apart to rebuild, and possibly some parts off your engine would be useful. Give a holler if the engine is still available and you can be rid of it. Thank you. Cesar Hernandez 406-210-7146

danpat 02-12-2021 02:04 PM

Cesar swung by today (in lovely sunny wind-chill-down-to-20-below weather) and picked up the engine. I have my garage space, and the engine is going to a good home. All's well that ends well.


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