73 Mandella

[rivergames]

I have known Bob pretty good over the yeats of needing parts and such. Bob is a great guy but getting pretty old. He has had the same polisher for a long time. Still no excuse for the lazy half assed polish job. I would stop by his shop at around 11 am and show Bob that his polisher is slacking and he either needs to have his guy correct his mistakes

 

[73mandella]

Thanks. Everyone speaks highly of Bob. I am going to give it one more try next week

 

[73mandella]

Got my trailer back from J. R. Powder Coating (8435 Loma Place, Upland, CA 91768) and it looks great. I quickly found out that it's easier to take a trailer apart than it is to put it together again. Most of today was spent on chasing parts. It still looks like I'll be done by this Saturday. I will however, take Thursday off of work so I can complete the job.

 

[73mandella]

Ryan, my son and part owner of the 73 Mandella, worked on the trailer today. We got almost all the wiring done and the bunks installed. With luck, we should still be able to get the trailer done by this Saturday to pick up the boat.

No new photos today.

 

[73mandella]

Finished the trailer yeaterday and picked up the Mandella today!

 

[Sleeper CP]

Very nice work guys.......

Drove my first V-drive this weekend ....just a stock sub 400 hp 454, but what a blast. Driving with both feet is a lot of fun. Wish I had the $$$ to do something like one of these with an honest 600 hp Ford or my 500+ hp 427 mr stroker motor.

Just dreaming but I'll follow this thread. It only takes money.

S CP

Jon

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Richard, got to the shop this evening and the Mandela was gone, you didn't even leave me a note Trailer looks great and glad to see the fender pads on her. Don't rub off the clear coat, I see you are already polishing. Good luck with the rest of the project and keep in touch, remember second week of July, coem hang out with a few flatties at Kings.

 

[RyanPartridge]

Lookin' good!:thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[73mandella]

The inside of the hull has lost much of its shine so we are going to work on that next. While I know I cannot return it to it's original shine (without gel coating it), I want to come close with a "little" muscle and lots of polishing products. I welcome any suggestions!

 

[RyanPartridge]

The inside of the hull has lost much of its shine so we are going to work on that next. While I know I cannot return it to it's original shine (without gel coating it), I want to come close with a "little" muscle and lots of polishing products. I welcome any suggestions!

Not sure what your floors are looking like right now, but I'm sure you can get em to shine up.

On mine, there were some brush marks and drips from a crappy flow coat job from years back, especially around the shaft log. We used 400 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rough spots. Then 600 and 800, then wet sanded with 1000 and 1,200. Then buffed it with 3M buffing compound. Then waxed with Meguiars.

At the end of each trip out, after cleaning the boat, I hit everything with Meguires cleaner wax. :thumbsup

 

[94Nautique]

Richard,

Looks great! Is there another Mandella behind your "new" one in the shot with Ryan wiping the boat down?

 

[73mandella]

Yes. It's Butch's 21-footer.

 

[73mandella]

Marty
The one in the photo is a standard deck. He also has a 21-foot step deck that was originally setup with an outboard.

 

[73mandella]

My son sent me a couple pictures of a Mandella at the races this weekend.

 

[73mandella]

Another long deck Mandella at the 300 this weekend.

 

[CampbellCarl]

Black one (pixs) was cool, injected 427 Ford........Green/white one didn't race but was seen running the river after the race.

Both VERY cool boats.

Carl

 

[77Mandella]

Another long deck Mandella at the 300 this weekend.

Great looking Mandella!

 

[73mandella]

I went to my brother-in-law's shop today to work on the boat for the first time since it came out of the paint shop. I've been a little busy.

The first thing we did was make a gunwale (aka gunnel) cover so we would not damage the paint by leaning against or while climbing in and out of the boat. The gunwale cover is made from 3/8 inch foam padded vinyl. It reminds me of the old Sears or Snap-On fender covers I used when I worked on my cars.

Since I cannot sew a straight line, my brother-in-law (Louie) and his friend (Gloria) did all of the sewing. Now that this is done, we can start working on the hull again.

 

[73mandella]

I haven't done any work on my Mandella lately so i thought I'd post some photos of my brother-in-law's 20 footer. It needs a little work, but the hull is in good shape.

 

[msmeads]

"I haven't done any work on my Mandella lately so i thought I'd post some photos of my brother-in-law's 20 footer."

I did not know Mandella had a 20 footer? Could you post some more pictures of this boat?

Thanks

 

[73mandella]

Here is one I found on the internet several years ago.

 

[73mandella]

Here is the 20 footer step deck.

 

[73mandella]

I think this is also a 20 footer.

 

[flyingcolors]

the 20 ft flat deck A231 (Lone Eagle) started as Tom Pappas,s ski racing
boat
The 20 ft Sportcruiser ,red w/white deck w/ NY#'s is my old boat

 

[73mandella]

the 20 ft flat deck A231 (Lone Eagle) started as Tom Pappas,s ski racing
boat
The 20 ft Sportcruiser ,red w/white deck w/ NY#'s is my old boat

I always liked the sportcruiser (or step deck as I call it), but my wife is a fan of the 18 footer. I remember going to Brummett?s shop in Pasadena and seeing it for the first time. It was a beautiful boat. Carson had one at the shop a few months ago. The guy was having him do some engine or rigging work on the boat.

I saw the Lone Eagle on the internet several years ago. It needed some engine work and was for sale for about 9k. I should have picked it up. I found and bought a 20-foot flat deck about 7 years ago. It needed a lot of work, but I bought it because they are so hard to find. I was told that Brummett only made 6 of them. That is the white and red one on page 12. My brother-in-law now owns it, but hasn't done any work on it yet. All it takes is money.

Do you have any photos of your old boat you can post?

 

[flyingcolors]

sorry 73 Mandella I not a techey guy. The photos I have are prints maybe
35 mm but call me 626 664 7842

 

[73mandella]

I went to the boat show today with my sons. The show was not much different from last year. The economy has really impacted the show.

I met two guys from CP Performance and they were really helpful. We talked a lot about what we wanted to do to the Mandella. Mike Mays was particularly helpful. I have not done anything to the boat in months, so I am going to order some gauges this week form CP. A young lady from Teague was also helpful and far more knowledgeable about motors than me.

 

[RyanPartridge]

I have not done anything to the boat in months, so I am going to order some gauges this week form CP.

What gauges you going with?

Classic Stewart Warner and a Jones Tach?:thumbsup

 

[73mandella]

I bought a few parts for the Mandella from CP Performance after the boat show. I ordered new Livorsi gauges (tach, oil pressure, volts, and water temp) and a velocity stack. The face is all white with black numbers and a polished chrome ring. They should look great with the white deck. I ordered them separately and it cost almost $500.

A few hours later, I was on the CP performance website and saw a sale on a set of 5 Livorsi gauges, but the tach was 6000 rpm instead of the 8000 rpm I needed. I called them back and asked a few questions. In the end, they gave me the set that was on sale at a $150 savings and changed the tach to the 8000 rpm I needed.

It was great working with these guys and I will definitely shop there again.

 

[73mandella]

I have a Jones mechanical 9000 rpm tach with a black face. The black face did not go with the red and white boat color scheme so we decided to get new gauges. Livorsi gave me the options we wanted.

w

What gauges you going with?

Classic Stewart Warner and a Jones Tach?:thumbsup

 

[73mandella]

Motor goes in tomorrow (hot tank, align bore, and cylinder honing)
454 Chevy (1977 I believe) (high performance passenger)
Block casting number 361959
Four-bolt main bearing caps

 

[73mandella]

heads

 

[73mandella]

I am thinking of powder coating the engine block. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with powder coating the block and heads?

 

[SKIA36]

I am thinking of powder coating the engine block. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with powder coating the block and heads?

Just paint it the color you want it...


Awesome boat!

 

[CudaChick1968]

I'm digging on those M/Ts! Very distinctive.

As far as coating your block goes, it's pretty popular to have done but obviously costly to ship. Make sure your chosen shop is well qualified ... the last thing you want to have to do is retap threads or grind excess powder out of the bores.

Heads can be coated too with great success -- especially aluminum, it turns out gorgeous -- but they're a LOT easier and cheaper to do if they're bare. Besides avoiding heating your valve train components for the powder to cure, that's a LOT of masking.

Now those valve covers won't be that much to ship so they need to come here for a custom job .........

Good luck with your build!

 

[73mandella]

Thanks for the information. I checked out your website and you've done some great work. I sent you a PM about the valve covers.

I'm digging on those M/Ts! Very distinctive.

As far as coating your block goes, it's pretty popular to have done but obviously costly to ship. Make sure your chosen shop is well qualified ... the last thing you want to have to do is retap threads or grind excess powder out of the bores.

Heads can be coated too with great success -- especially aluminum, it turns out gorgeous -- but they're a LOT easier and cheaper to do if they're bare. Besides avoiding heating your valve train components for the powder to cure, that's a LOT of masking.

Now those valve covers won't be that much to ship so they need to come here for a custom job .........

Good luck with your build!

 

[CudaChick1968]

Thank you!!! I returned your PM.

I appreciate you checking out my work and look forward to working with you.

 

[73mandella]

Thank you for the great offer. I managed to get my hands on another set of M/T valve covers that are already powder coated (clear) so I will most likely be selling my original set.

Richard

 

[73mandella]

My son is working on the inside of the hull at this time to try to bring back some of the sheen without having to flow coat the hull. This is what it looks like now. The two wooden blocks that held the battery box (to the left of the shaft log on the first picture), were removed and the battery will be placed between the stringers near the transom.

 

[73mandella]

We used 240-grit paper to remove some really rough spots and the excess fiberglass from the battery box blocks (see previous post). Unfortunately, I did a little damage to the hull when I removed the blocks.

We are RyanPartridge's advice from his post in October 2010 and just finished the 400-grit sanding. You can definitely see the damage I did when I removed the battery box blocks. The next step will be the 600-grit paper.

Not sure what your floors are looking like right now, but I'm sure you can get em to shine up.

On mine, there were some brush marks and drips from a crappy flow coat job from years back, especially around the shaft log. We used 400 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rough spots. Then 600 and 800, then wet sanded with 1000 and 1,200. Then buffed it with 3M buffing compound. Then waxed with Meguiars.

At the end of each trip out, after cleaning the boat, I hit everything with Meguires cleaner wax. :thumbsup

 

[73mandella]

It is not always good news. I had the engine checked and was told that my 454 Chevy will make a good boat anchor. It apparently has heat checks in two cylinders. That, I was told, were cracks in the block. At least the heads, crank, and rods are good.

 

[73mandella]

Anyone have any recommendations on how to remove an exhaust elbow from the exhaust manifold. I've worked for hours and have had absolutely no luck.

 

[73mandella]

Got my gauges the other day (tach, oil, water, volts, & fuel).

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Anyone have any recommendations on how to remove an exhaust elbow from the exhaust manifold. I've worked for hours and have had absolutely no luck.

Richard, try a little heat but be very very careful as there is not much meat where the studs go into those logs and if you pry against them they will come out the side of the manifold. Also try a putty knife to break the gasket between the elbow and log and then some good spray lubricant around the studs, stand the logs up on end and let the stuff sit. With the two types of metals in the studs and elbows they have reacted and stuck together.

 

[73mandella]

Thanks Cliff. Good to hear from you. I used the putty knife and got most of the gasket out. I also tried the lubricant, but it is as if the studs are welded to the aluminum. I'll try the heat this weekend.

By the way, how is your project going?

 

[CudaChick1968]

Did you try some PB Blaster on the exhaust? That stuff is amazing and blows doors on WD-40 when it comes to breaking rusty / galled metal loose.

 

[73mandella]

No I haven't. I'll look for some this weekend.

Thanks

Did you try some PB Blaster on the exhaust? That stuff is amazing and blows doors on WD-40 when it comes to breaking rusty / galled metal loose.

 

[73mandella]

Thought I'd see how the gauges looked in the boat. Looks a little empty.

 

[94Nautique]

Richard, looks good. You could always go old school and add some pinstriping and a grab handle to the right of the guage cluster.

 

[73mandella]

Good to hear from you Marty and thanks. Vicky already decided the boat will have a grab handle, but pin stripping around the gauges didn't cross my mind. Not a bad idea.

Ryan has been sanding the inside of the hull, off and on, for a few weeks now. The next step is 3M rubbing compound and then wax. I'll post some pictures when he gets it done.

Richard, looks good. You could always go old school and add some pinstriping and a grab handle to the right of the guage cluster.