Logo
FULL SITE MENU

82 Centurion General questions, total newb so flame away.

S

Sinco54

New member
Ok guys, i just bought my first boat, I thought I had done plenty of research, boy was I wrong. I bought an 1982 Ski Centurion by Fineline, its 17ft and has the 3.8 v6 GM with a OMC stern drive. Well, being a GM i figured parts would be available, LOL LOL LOL, dammit, could never have been so very wrong. Had her on the Water for the first time today, ran awesome and drove awesome, not a tick, knock or cough, really runs well, im pretty impressed with the way it runs.. I did let the 4 barrel carb load up a bit and it died once but fired right back up.. My question is, once this bad little chicken gives up the ghost how hard would it be to drop a small block in? will everything mount right up? I hate to throw good money at bad causes so once this goes im going to have to explore options power plant wise, was hoping there was some sort of direct fit as far a motor to replace the 3.8.. Also, it gets up and boogies pretty stinkin ok, the speedo indicated 62mph but i think it was a tish proud by 7-8 mph (ive owned a few seadoo xps, it was 62mph, closer to 54-58)... also any advicr you could give me on this little boat would be so very awesome, it has been very well taken car of but this is my first real boat and im really in the dark.... Thanks in advance guys.. Ive included a few pics of today, brought her into work to hit the water straight from there and finally figured out that sill top once ofcourse i got home and the day was over... :).. HOOAH.




IMAG0062.jpgIMAG0064.jpg
 

Attachments

  • boat.jpg
    boat.jpg
    56.4 KB · Views: 126
Last edited:
looks neat. If you're in the 50's now don't think you want a sbc. the back of those things sit low enough already.
plus the fuel tank probably isn't huge.

I love the 3.8 229- I think it's one of the best marine engines out there - lack of electronic ignition conversion is the only issue I have with it, but I'm ok with points really

If the carb has ever been swapped, it might not have the right primary jetting. I'm going through that with mine.... charcoal bbq plugs at cruise since I bought a reman carb from i5. I just researched the jets...supposed to have .066 with .036 rods. I'm going to open mine up but I bet it's a one-fits-all sort of thing as it was advertised to fit 3.8/4.3/5.0
not many places are going to warehouse a fuel sipper with tiny primaries for marine
 
with proper care the v6 won't die. regular oil changes and routine maintenance will keep you running happily for decades. I assume you are in fresh water, so rust out and other engine carnage isn't as bad as in salt. Be sure to drain the block and manifolds every winter if you are in an area that gets cold. You may also want to switch to the Edelbrock Performer marine carb #1409 which has electric choke. There is a rod and jet calibration kit for it for a few bucks.
Check the hull. Hull failure is way more troublesome than a wonky engine. the stringers and other structural members should be fully encapsulated in glass cloth and resin. These old ski boats are notorious for things like lightly tabbed structural items, exposed wood, and other shoddy build practices. I always look up under the deck to see the level of finish and detail especially the hull to deck joint. Also check the transom for rot. Even a trailered boat can have a soggy rear end if they failed to seal the wood.
 
Wow, thanks guys. Really put my mind at ease up there.. Ive no clue how to winterize or anything and (here in Portland Oregon) we do get a few cold snaps so it will be appropriate to look into the how to's.. I cant find ANY info from ANYWHERE about this boat, not even on Centurions site, Im going to email them and see what I come up with.. Thanks so much guys and thanks in advance to who every post after this.. :)
 
I5 carb had .071 primary jets with the correct .036 rods. no wonder I was drowning in gas at cruise.
had way wrong secondary rods too - giants- I found close enough ones in a parts carb I had. no wonder I had sucky top end power.
.066 jets on order - they'll be here in a week. ugh

This I5 carb is built nice! brass float - everything clean and tight -blue accelerator pump cup - but it ain't the one I ordered. this is jetted for a 7.4, approx. double the displacement of my motor
 
Wow thank you, think I will order that bad chicken right away.. real quick could I in theory use a auto alternator from say AutoZone and swap the rear casing that has the screen for fire safety I assume?
 
you can swap the screen on, or buy the screen kit for around $20- but there's lots on ebay with screens already on likely cheaper than autozone
 
hystat said:
you can swap the screen on, or buy the screen kit for around $20- but there's lots on ebay with screens already on likely cheaper than autozone
Click to expand...

Guys, really.. All this info is so very appreciated... Hopefully someday I will have some info in my head you guys need.. lol
 
Back
Top