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1971 Sleekcraft 19ft

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sleekcraft
20K views 84 replies 20 participants last post by  Sleekcrafter1977 
#1 ·
Hey guys,
New here, first post. Name is Shaun, 27yr old, first boat for me and wifey, got a 455 olds hardin marine, just upgraded to elec distb, tryen to work out kinks. Father in law is rebuilding carb now, due to bad running at lake perris last weekend, sorry don't have too much info, going to post sum pics shortly. Im looking for any info regarding this boat and specs or i can look and inform you with more info based on number etc. Original owner was in Temecula ,Ca but wasn't the sharpest of tools or quality man when it came to work. Ive owned it for 6 months or so Vehicle Motor vehicle Car Parking Asphalt
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#6 ·
Thats not a Rebel. Sleekcraft built an 18ft that was a rebel and a 19ft that didn't have a name. They look almost the same except for the cavitation plates. the length and the semi vee bottom on the 19. I bought a new 19 in 1973 . The price on a Rebel back then was $4,000 and the 19 was $4,500. The difference in price was because the dealer sold the 19 with a tandem trailer. The 19 is a good boat. The bare hull was reported to weigh 960lbs witch was on the heavy side but it was a very solid hull. 73 was the last year they built the 19. You will have fun with that boat.:)devil
 
#13 · (Edited)
mine is a 18' sleek sportster... i always thought the rebels were 17'...my neighbor had a 19 and we looked through old sleek ads and found it to be a kauai...
nice lookin boat. never seen one with your style engine compartment.
My 74 Rebel is an 18'. The one brochure I have has the Kaui listed as a 19'. Below is a price sheet I have from 1980 listing all the boats/options for that model year. Both the Kaui and Rebel are in it as well as the 18' sportster. I know SleekCraft made at least one length change for a specific model. My 76 Ambassador is a 25'. At some point (I believe it was 76) they Ambassador grew to 26'. Interesting info non the less.

(Clickable thumbs)


 
#14 ·
More Info On 71 Sleek Craft

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, I have a feeling this should get fun, Ill post sum before pics when I picked it up, I had a local boat shop here in Moreno Valley do some body work and paint, Install a bilge dump out the back, Glass in a second mount for Aux Batt. There was a hole in front where the eyelet is for the trailer. I rewired the trailer and new LED's, rattle can paint job for now. Org owner painted the original interior white and the current wheel, that will soon change also. I'm about to install a Bimini and a new steering wheel for this upcoming Memorial trip to Parker. Trying to get the boat dialed in now. First trip out to Lake Perris aka Lake Pepe for a test run the points stuck 10 minutes in. Upgraded that to HEI conversion and got it dialed in, next weekend, next trip, all was well besides the leaks around the pump on the inside(where it mounts to floor), I have to keep an eye or it fills pretty fast, original owner siliconed the shit of it and installed 2 bildges, But it started missing and father in law couldnt get the carb adjusted, long story short he rebuilt it last week and Im about to take it out again this mourning to Lake Pepe again for another tester run.

* the ID plate on it says
Sleek Craft Boats Santa Fe Springs,ca
Serial Number 19-1008
Persons at 150lbs = 6
lbs for Person = 2000
Max Hp 450

* Sorry Outlaw lol
 
#17 ·
After Pics (so far)

Some of the work Ive done, Had a local boat shop install the bilge dump, Strap hooks on back, Minor paint, Some body work in the back, fixed alot of drill holes the org owner made, Install a second battery mount
 

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#18 ·
Help the Newb Dik

Looken for sum feedback guys, idk much about 455 olds or motors other then general stuff, any advice or changes I can make that you expert boaters can see in the general pics? Ive been a river rat and glamis boy all my life but what about general maint? things I should look for/Keep an eye on? I changed the oil, so far it looks ok, but it only took about 4.5 quarts, I hope I pumped all the original out, but got 4.5 back in, is that normal? Pan im not sure if its a 10qt or not, sorry still looken and learning

* the 2x ive had it out for less then 1hr at Lake Perris, the tach reads tooo high, why would that be? Even when im cruising at 25-30mph it says im 4-7k, when i know im not, not even full throttle.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Looken for sum feedback guys, idk much about 455 olds or motors other then general stuff, any advice or changes I can make that you expert boaters can see in the general pics? Ive been a river rat and glamis boy all my life but what about general maint? things I should look for/Keep an eye on? I changed the oil, so far it looks ok, but it only took about 4.5 quarts, I hope I pumped all the original out, but got 4.5 back in, is that normal? Pan im not sure if its a 10qt or not, sorry still looken and learning

* the 2x ive had it out for less then 1hr at Lake Perris, the tach reads tooo high, why would that be? Even when im cruising at 25-30mph it says im 4-7k, when i know im not, not even full throttle.
How far do you wanna go with the motor? You can tell if you have a 10 qt pan if it is a big square box under the engine. A big pan (if you don't have one) is one of the best basic things you could do for it. You know you have a small pan if it isn't a big box and curves up in the front to clear the crossmember of a car.

Your engine has a torker manifold, which is good, alot of guys run the performer manifold as well with a little better results, it just depends on your build. Not sure what carb you have, maybe a quadrajet, some guys like those alot, but you would most likely liven it up with a holley 750 or even 850 depending on what has been done to the engine. The olds is known for liking big cfm carbs even though conventional motor math doesn't agree.

is the tach bouncing or steady when you read high rpm?
 
#24 · (Edited)
A droop is easy and you should pick up a few mph. I just got one from JBP and picked up about 4mph. The performer is supposed to give you more mid range power than the torker from what I hear. You will prob be just fine leaving the torker on there. If you did want to try a performer, you could find one for about $150 or so.

just curious,Take a look at your heads and see what letter they are, it will be a 1" letter on the top side/exhaust side.

47mph isn't too bad, but it isn't too great either. As far as your pump and impeller go, I would suggest calling JBP or any other of the respectable shops on here. It may be worth a few mph to have your pump freshened up.
 
#28 ·
I didn't get to take it out this past Sunday after all for another test run after the carb rebuild, Dam i hope that was the only problem. Idk much about motors or boats other then forum and past experiences but im sick of this shit breaken down 1 mile out from the bouy, my dad and father inlaw have helped a ton, but im a waste and learning lol. I will try again this saturday at Lake Perris aka Lake Pepe and hope for better results, I will look at the tach and make sure the settings is for 8 cyl, but if it is set right, WTF else would make it read suck high RPM?
 
#32 · (Edited)
Not 100% sure about the ride plate, leverage and more speed I believe is the gist of it.
I installed a gate valve right on the pump followed by a hose hook up, T fitting to the engine and a pop it valve. The pop it valve is adjustable and dumps water overboard under hard acceleration that exceeds the psi setting.


I also installed a thermostat kit instead of just a water inlet. This helps your motor get up to a warmer temp and also prevents overpressure. Another good thing to add is a psi gauge on the manifold to help adjust water pressure. The Olds 455 doesn't like much over 12psi.

 
#34 ·
The T valve you've read about are for boats running water injected headers. The valve keeps the header from filling up with water and getting back in the cylanders via the exhaust valve. At low rpm when the exhaust does not have enough pressure to blow the water out. The t valve only opens when the boat is running a higher rpm than idle. The T fitting in the above picture allows water into the main lines running to the engine and also to the bypass valve to keep the water PSI from getting to high in the engine. since you're running logs water is injected into the exhaust after ther riser. this prevents the water (either injected or backing up the pipes from the lake) from getting in the engine. You do not need a tee valve by might need a t fitting to run a bypass valve.
 
#52 ·
Ohh wow thats good to know, No one ever mentioned that before, I was going to get one too, Any other ideas of what I can for more top speed, I took it out this last Saturday and it ran great, other then the wire on the water temp sending unit being loose and my water temp bouning, It ran nice finally, Never got about 120 degrees tho, Seems to cold huh? Max speed with 3 of us was right at 50mph, Didnt seem fast, I need more lol
 
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