realcaptron
Regular Contributor
Hi folks.....new to this forum but hoping to get some help. A few months ago I picked up a 1976 32' Jeffries with twin Crusader 454's. They start and run great so far but I am getting to a point that I want to start learning more about what year of mfr these engines are...kind of assuming they are not original but they might be. I know that manifolds and risers and v drives and oil coolers all have dates of rebuild or replacement painted on them, and with the boat 40 years old, I'm certain these raw water cooled motors must not be the factory originals. As I said they start up almost instantly and idle great. I have not put it up to cruise speed yet. So how do i determine the year of build on these motors? Also, I am concerned that the distributors may not be marine grade. I believe they are HEI's and they have vacuum advance diaphragm coming off distributor to carb. Question, if these distributors are electronic ignition (not points), then do they still present safety hazard with potential sparks? A marine mechanic told me they do not, but that the vacuum advance from distributor to carb will very adversely effect fuel consumption. So....are they an explosion hazard? Should I worry about vacuum advance if my intention is to "cruise" this boat at about 1200 rpms? Its gonna be a gas hog I'm guessing, so I have no desire to cruise it on plane. I don't mind doing 8-10 knts from point a to point b. Trawlers do all the time. Thanks for any help.