Picked up an 8' Hydro/Runabout thing last weekend, what is it?

[ZUL8TR]

Good show the engine is responding.
Have you set the timing?
What was the problem with the recoil that is now fixed? 
Great trueing on the bottom that should help a lot.  
Shame there is a crack in the gear case, hole to stop crack creep and weld is a good solution to save the case.
From my years testing and racing Mercs with these sensitive QuickiI units I never tightened the outer cone like the manual states at 100 ft lbs + thread lock to boot, Yikes!. That tight probably aids cracking of these units and ruining threads. The cone needs to be pulled often (I do it after each use)  for grease service of the outer needles in the inner cone ( I assume your unit has those needle bearings?). I also change gear lube after each use to keep the Quicki internals alive, it has. Quickies on my A & 20H engines of the past and Merc 25ss (still have and use) I use 70 ft lbs + NGLI #2 grease with moly on the threads. I still put a sharpie hash line across case and cone for a quick view look to see if it loosened, never has :-)  My 1973 Merc 25ss with essentially the same Quicki cone design as yours has the same cone nut, gears, bearings. prop and drive shafts (seals have been replaced)  as when bought in 1973 to race in APBA 70 ft lbs + grease noted. CCW tighten same as prop rotation also helps keep it there as well as balanced props. 70 more than enough to keep water pump cartridge pressed against the prop ball bearing and compress the O ring to seal and not bust ruin threads and cause cracks.   

With your Quicki to be welded I would be careful with excessive cone tighten especially if the new cone fits well in the old case threads.      
Also when you are ready to run there is no need to excessively tighten the prop nut to hold the prop. The shear pin is in double shear and excessive tightening can start the shearing process. I use a nylock 1/2 x 13 tpi nut with a fender washer as a backer and good snug tight. The nylock holds well has never loosened for me.
Keep us up dated.

[ADDvanced]

So that's Ron, exchanged tele calls and several emails on Merc quicki stuff and the 25ss engine, the master of the gear cases, slight edit that would be Ron Thomas not Thomson.
Please post what Ron finds and did.

Well, we disassembled my gearcase when I dropped it off; my waterpump was in amazing condition, and he said it was more pliable than his reproductions, so I should use it. The conical nut at the rear of the case was worn, so he's going to be using a new one when it's reassembled. The prop shaft itself looked really good, and did not show much wear, so that will be reused. The biggest issue was the gearcase itself had a 2" long crack coming from the drain plug going towards the rear edge. It stopped before the threads started; he was saying once the cracks get into the threads they're impossible to repair; even if you weld/remachine the threads, the forces on them when you tighten them will generally snap the welds. He's getting a guy up in FDL to drill out the end of the crack, reweld it, and make it beautiful again

I actually talked with Ron about my hull, and he shared some tips and tricks, some of which were said by others in this thread earlier. We discussed a sharp rear edge, along with the curve of the bottom of the boat (slight hooking up is ok, hooking down = pushes the bow down, slow), how to block it, textures/sanding/polished hulls and which one was faster, and the addition of airdams to my hull. I'm aware airdams will increase the performance, but I am hoping to run this thing as shown in the video, dial in the engine, and establish a baseline, then do the mods and see how it improves my speed.

Anyway, video:

Thank you for everyone's help! I have ordered a throttle adaptor from portagebay and a few other things to get this thing rigged. Next step is rebuilding the steering support and rigging it. I've also ordered a new float/carb rebuild kit, because although my engine does fire, it was leaking a fair amount of fuel from the carb, which seems like a stuck float.

[Albert]

Instagram informed me yesterday that the motor runs. Keep this updated it’s good entertainment.

[ZUL8TR]

So that's Ron, exchanged tele calls and several emails on Merc quicki stuff and the 25ss engine, the master of the gear cases, slight edit that would be Ron Thomas not Thomson.
Please post what Ron finds and did.
Thanks

[ZUL8TR]

So that's Ron exchanged tele calls and several emails on Merc quicki stuff and the 25ss engine, the master of the gear cases, slight edit that would be Ron Thomas not Thomson. Please post what he found and did.
Thanks

[ZUL8TR]

So that's Ron exchanged tele calls and several emails on Merc quicki stuff and the 25ss engine, the master of the gear cases, slight edit that would be Ron Thomas not Thomson.

[ADDvanced]

The gearcase is the only really rare/valuable part on this engine, so I want to make sure it doesn't turn into a paperweight, so I'm having it serviced by a 4 time national hydro champion; Ron Thomas down in Milwaukee:



Thanks Ron!

Also, my GF is low key excited about this little thing and offered to help, so she offered to learn how to take the lower unit off:

[Albert]

Boys I bet no one found a way to replicate that seal.

[DeanFHobart]

One of the reasons Mercury put these wire lead seals on the motors meant that the motor had not been blue printed or ‘tinkered with’… so the inspection would take less time.

[ZUL8TR]

That link went to message that stated:

This site contains deceptive content
We have detected a variety of phishing items on www.muskokaseaflea.ca that might attempt to trick you into installing harmful software on your computer and revealing your sensitive personal information, such as passwords, bank account information, etc. Learn more about "what is phishing and how it works"

So my protection software said to not go.

[Albert]

My experience here on the forum in the last year has shown me that if you ask a good question you’ll get a good answer from this crowd. Heck even sometimes when you ask a mediocre question it seems like you get good info back.

You’re doing great on the project. Keep it up.

[25xs]

1. What's the advantage to running a bottom fin?

2. Is there an easy way to differentiate between the 15 and 20ci blocks?

3. What do you mean by seal lead wire?

1. You get to turn the boat.
2. Not really. Bore diameter of cylinder and you can measure across the cylinder 'good enough' by removing the intake passage covers and measuring across top of piston to the exhaust side of cylinder.
3. Factory put twisted pair of wires thru crankcase to block flanges and crimped a lead disk with an awesome "Kiekhaefer" logo. You had to break the seal to get into the powerhead. Very, VERY rare for a racing engine to have a block seal 60years down the road... See pic of new lead seal below. Kiekhaefer Mercury had a cool die crimping tool to crush the lead on the wires to make the block tamper proof (warranty...) lead seal.jpg

[ADDvanced]

Your KG4 is what was called the ‘Thin Flange Block’ style…. That is why there is no Serial Number on the block flange… because it is too thin for stamped numbers. Was there a ‘Seal Lead Wire’ on the motor before you took it apart? Most likely it is an all original KG4 with the 447380 Serial Number on the front plate on the tank rim. It’s cool to have an all original motor. Good job.

What do you mean by seal lead wire?

From what my dad told me about this engine, was that it was a mishmash of a few bits and pieces from multiple engines, so I kind of doubt it's originality.

[ADDvanced]

Super pics! You are in "good hands" with Ron Thomas and you are very lucky to live close enough to visit in person! If you need/want a bottom fin for your boat, I just ran across one in my storage and will donate it to your restoration. Check your boat bottom carefully and you may see the previous mounting holes for a fin. Really, the only difference between a 20ci KE/KF/KG/KH-7 block and a 15ci KG-4 (A-class) block is the displacement, so you may still have a 20ci (B-class) engine there with a KG-4 tank rim and serial tag.

Have you figured out which "Sea Flea" boat plans your hydroplane was built from?? It is not a Minimax or a Minimost.

Could it be this little shingle? https://www.muskokaseaflea.ca/Plans/...0Hot%20Rod.pdf

Yeah, I'll try to see if I can convince Ron to be in my next video update, he declined the first time :P

What's the advantage to running a bottom fin?

Is there an easy way to differentiate between the 15 and 20ci blocks?

Also, THANK YOU! That DEFINITELY looks like my boat! I've spent a lot of time looking around and haven't seen any sea fleas with the twin sponsons like mine before! That's awesome!!!!

[DeanFHobart]

Definitely a Sea Flea… with a rounded bow front instead of flat and straight. Good job fixing it up.

Your KG4 is what was called the ‘Thin Flange Block’ style…. That is why there is no Serial Number on the block flange… because it is too thin for stamped numbers. Was there a ‘Seal Lead Wire’ on the motor before you took it apart? Most likely it is an all original KG4 with the 447380 Serial Number on the front plate on the tank rim. It’s cool to have an all original motor. Good job.