Free non-running Atomic 4 in Sandpoint, ID

[danpat]

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]

Attached some pics showing the state of things.

[Al Schober]

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]

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

[Mo]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!

[Ando]

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]

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]

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...